The London Majors clinched their second straight Intercounty Baseball League championship on Thursday night with a dramatic 8-7 comeback win in Game 6 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
With with two out and London trailing 7-2 in the eighth inning, it looked very much like the trend that had lasted two years was going to continue. The teams had played 10 IBL championship series games against each other and the home team had won every single one of them.
But then Taylor Wright hit a home run to make it 7-3.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, London took care of three Toronto hitters on six pitches and the momentum built.
Still, the Majors were down to their final three outs and still needed four runs to tie the game in the top of the ninth.
The inning was as wild as it had to be for London. Maple Leafs pitchers threw five wild pitches, Byron Reichstein came through with yet another clutch home run and the game sat tied with two out and Wright back at the plate for London.
The Vancouver, B.C., native hit a sacrifice fly that scored Gibson Krzeminski and London had the lead.
Fernando Fernandez came in to try to close things out on the mound for the Majors. A double play and a strikeout later, the celebrations began for the second time in just under two years.
London had gone 46 years between championships before last season dating back to 1975.
They kept the IBL’s repeat champion streak alive by winning again in 2022.
Since 2008, only three franchises have won titles.
The Brantford Red Sox won six straight championships between 2008 and 2013.
Following that streak, the Barrie Baycats took over and won their own half-dozen in a row between 2014 and 2019.
There will be a championship celebration for the Majors on Friday night (Sept. 23) beginning at 6 p.m.