By: Ken Beckett

BURLINGTON – Returning home to Casey Cosgrove Field for the final time this regular season, the Burlington Herd look to enter the playoffs on a winning note, taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Already picking up a win this week, the Herd take on the Maple Leafs, a team that they beat in their previous meeting on July 15 in Toronto.

The Herd already picked up a win this week on Monday against the Hamilton Cardinals, receiving a dominant complete game win from starter Chris Boatto, who struck out six batters in the 4-1 road victory.

Going 2-for-4 at the plate in the win over Hamilton was Burlington centerfielder Justin Gideon, who also drew a walk and registered a stolen base. Gideon would also pick up a hit in Tuesday’s loss on the road to the Guelph Royals to give him 48 hits on the year.

Entering the final game of the season, Gideon is working on a ten-game hitting streak and ranks second in the league in hits with 48, just one behind Hamilton’s Grant Arnold who currently leads the IBL with 49 hits. 

Last year’s Herd MVP also enters play ranked second in the league in doubles with ten on the year, just one behind the Royals’ Ethan Mohan. Gideon is the league leader meanwhile in stolen bases, pacing the league with 16 swiped bags in 2018.

The Toronto Maple Leafs come to Burlington looking to turn things around and also finish their regular season on a strong note, having lost nine of their last ten games.

The Maple Leafs most recently suffered a 13-4 home loss at the hands of the London Majors on Sunday. With three games left in their season, Toronto sits fourth in the IBL standings and will look to hold on to home field advantage with the fifth-place Guelph Royals hot on their heels.

As the season winds down, Maple Leafs designated hitter Justin Marra finds himself near the top of the league’s leaderboard in a few different stat categories.

Marra enters play on Thursday tied with the Barrie Baycats’ Kevin Atkinson for the league lead in batting average, with both players hitting .364 this season. Marra also sits just three home runs back of London’s Cleveland Brownlee for the league lead in home runs with nine on the year.

First pitch between the Herd and the Maple Leafs is scheduled for 7:15PM and tickets can be purchased in advance at IBLHerd.com, or at the front gate at Casey Cosgrove Field in Burlington.

The Burlington Herd are a member of Ontario's most elite baseball league, the Intercounty Baseball League. The 100-year old summer league is one of the oldest baseball leagues in the world, with the league established in 1919, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. For more information, visit www.iblherd.com or follow the Herd on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @IBLHerd.