Kyle Degrace had four hits and three RBI(s) and Jason Pilkington went eight shut-out innings as the Toronto Maple Leafs destroyed the London Majors 12-1 at Christie Pits Wednesday night.

Degrace and Damon Topolie hit two-run shots in the first inning as the Leafs scored six to finish off the Majors early in game three.

Jason Pilkington (1-0) struck out nine over eight innings. Mark Sikorski gave up the Majors’ lone run in the ninth.

The Leafs pounded four London pitchers for 16 hits. Gamin Teague had three hits and scored two runs. Dan Gibbons and Damon Topolie had two hits apiece. The only starter not to get a hit was third baseman Bryan Ivan. Jeremy Walker and Kyle Morton drove in three each. Morton and Walker also went deep for the Leafs.

London starter Aaron Boag (0-1) lasted two innings, charged with six runs earned on six hits. Hiarali Garcia went four innings and allowed six runs on eight hits.

The Majors’ offence, which got 13 hits in a game-one victory on Sunday, managed only five. Vince Burke got the lone RBI for the visitors with a ninth-inning single.

The Leafs take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Degrace provided numerous offensive highlights for the Leafs but he made a nice defensive play in the first inning to snuff out hopes for the Majors.

Lead-off hitter Jordan Dreiling walked and took off for second on a hit-and-run. Kyle Piwowarczyk shot a ball up the middle but Degrace snared it, tagged Dreiling sliding into second and threw Piwowarczyk out at first.

“The key (to the game) was getting out of the first inning without any damage,” Topolie said. “That was the problem last Sunday (when London scored four first-inning runs).”

“You just want to get off to a good start in your home park. You can’t set the momentum if the visiting team has the advantage.”

Degrace ignited the Leafs offence in the home half of the first inning as the Leafs busted things wide open with six runs on four hits.

Teague walked and Degrace brought him in with a liner over the left-field fence. Gibbons singled, Walker walked and Raul Borjas brought Gibbons home with a single to left. After a wild pitch, Morton cashed in Walker with an RBI ground out. A two-run shot by Topolie capped the scoring.

“A lot of times pitching is an individual thing but when (your team) scores six runs in the first inning it takes a load off your shoulders,” Pilkington said.

“It (a lead) doesn’t change my pitching philosophy, you just let everything go and throw as hard as you can for as long as you can.”

The Leafs added four more in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 10-0.

Degrace drove in his third of the night when he scorched a ball through the right side to score Kern Watts and Walker crashed a three-run homer to right centre.

Pilkington cruised through the first six innings, allowing three singles and two walks. Only three London players reached second base.

“My fastball was definitely my best pitch,” Pilkington said. “It (fastball) established everything and we just worked off it. I threw a lot of them early in the game and a lot late in the game, basically used it to set up the other pitches.”

Pilkington’s quick innings also had a positive effect on the offence.

“It just gives us the momentum to keep rolling,” Teague said. “When the pitching is going I find defence is easy but, on offence, it seems like you’re always hitting and that helps the hitters out a lot.”

In the six the Leafs made the score 12-0 when Gibbons led off with a double down the left-field line Two outs later, Morton crushed a fastball to dead centre, well over the 395-foot sign.

The Majors broke the shutout when Burke singled to left field to score on Ryan Cattrysse.

Game five is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Christie Pits. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.