Saturday night High Park returned home to the Christie Pits taking on the Whitby Chiefs. Winning thanks to a walk-off single from Ryan Kula.
The story of the game was Jordan Oats and Owen Maize who had a combined five hits, four doubles, four runs scored and two runs batted in.
Alex Tabascio got the start on the mound for High Park. Coming into the game Tabascio was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 13 innings pitched.
The first inning was a quick one for Tabascio as he retired the Chiefs in order.
High Park loaded the bases in their half with one out but was unable to take advantage of the early game chance.
After two walks and a soft base hit Tabascio found himself with the bases loaded and two outs. A weak fly ball to the shortstop got him out of the jam and brought High Park back on offence.
High Park strung a couple of hits together to start the second inning, and it was a comedy of errors for Whitby that lead to High Park pushing through a couple runs.
Something happened in the third inning that hadn’t happened all season, Tabascio gave up an earned run. It was a double that came around to score a few batters later on a two-out single.
High Park would put runners at second and third with one out in the bottom half, however, they were unable to cash in on the opportunity and it was 2-1 after three.
The fourth inning gave Tabascio a challenge but he was up for the task. With runners at second and third and one out, Tabascio got back to back fly outs to second base. Getting him out of the inning with no damage.
The bases were loaded for High Park in the bottom of the fourth but once again the offence was unable to extend the lead.
Whitby pounced in the top of the fifth and after taking a 3-2 lead early in the inning they had runners at first and second with one out and they were looking to score more.
But Tabascio was calm in the situation and pitched his way out of it, ending the inning with a strikeout. After three appearances of scoreless ball from Tabascio it was time for his offence to help him out.
High Park had two runners on with one out when Jordan Oats hit a bases-clearing double giving High Park a 4-3 lead. The offence didn’t stop there as Taka Ryan cashed Oats on an RBI single.
High Park took a 5-3 lead into the top of the sixth when reliever Evan Ross entered the game, closing the book on Tabascio.
Tabascio ended the day with five innings pitched, three earned runs and five strikeouts leaving in line for the win.
Two hit batters set the table for Whitby, and when a groundball found its way through the infield the game was tied up.
High Park put some pressure on in the bottom of the sixth but was unable to put any runs across and it was 5-5 going into the seventh inning.
A leadoff walk ended Ross’ night and Cam MacPherson entered looking to keep the score tied.
Whitby had two runners on base with one out when MacPherson turned it on and struck out the next two batters giving High Park a chance to walk it off.
Jordan Oats lead off the inning with a double to right field giving the top of the lineup a golden chance to end the game.
After a walk and hit-by-pitch, Ryan Kula laced a bases-loaded single to left center field and High Park had the walk-off win.
The win gives High Parks a five-game win streak and pushes their record to 5-1 on the season. High Park will be back in action Thursday night in Markham.