Bats Lead the Way For Baycats In Big Win over Maple Leafs
MIDHURST - There was a certain happiness at Coates Stadium following Tuesday night's game, and it was for good reason - the crowd was leaving in a great mood, and the hometown team's players were celebrating a 28-hit performance. The offence for the Baycats was clicking perfectly all night on the way to an 18-7 Barrie win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It was truly a team effort, too. All nine Barrie Baycats starters ended the game with more than one hit (even late-innings defensive substitution Darius Barlas joined in on the fun with an eighth-inning base hit of his own). Jeff Cowan and Jake MacDonald led the way statistically with four hits each.
MacDonald, back in the lineup after a day off on Saturday, was perhaps the biggest performer of the day. Two of his four hits were doubles, and he scored three runs. "We had to find a way to for him [to be] in the lineup," Manager Josh Matlow said after the game, mentioning how well he's been hitting over the last few games.
"We thought it would be a good spot for him to get in as a catcher today because Toronto wasn't a big running team - it just fit nicely. He had a few that he hit really hard, and some that just found their way in; that's what happens when you're swinging the bat [well], you find ways to find the holes."
"I'm just happy for him, I'm happy he can get it going, I'm happy for everyone who really put a good effort in."
The 18 runs were the headliner, but left-handers Andrew Grieder, Riley Hoover, and Aidan Rossel combined to hold a powerful Toronto Maple Leafs offence to seven runs. The Maple Leafs were limited to scoring only two through six innings, and their only big scoring play was an eighth-inning home run from Justin Marra. Rossel pitched through a leadoff single to finish off the game and secure the win for the Baycats.
"I'm proud of the boys," Matlow finished. "I think we really needed that."
THE BIGGEST PLAY OF THE GAME...
MacDonald's RBI double in the fourth inning really set the stage for the Barrie offence to shine. They scored four by the time the fourth ended, and then three in the fifth before scoring ten more over the next two innings. He was later named the Barrie Baycats Player of the Game.
BY THE NUMBERS...
4. Barrie centre fielder Jake Wilson (photo), finished the game with three hits, four RBI, and a run. He also made a nice diving play on the defensive side.
4 (Again). Baycats first baseman James Anderson had a great night as well, with four runs, three hits, and two RBI.
76. As mentioned late in the game by Baycats TV play-by-play announcer Ben Davy, Barrie has now scored 76 runs against Toronto this season over five games.
2. Technically, this was IBL game number two this season, as it was a rescheduled game following a rainout on July 8th.
3.85. Riley Hoover's ERA through two games this season is 3.85. He's started one game, and now can add a relief appearance to his season's highlights.
NEXT UP...
Kitchener's in town on Thursday, and Jaspreet Shergill will make his 2021 Barrie Baycats debut. Shergill will be beginning his third stint with the Baycats; he pitched to a 2.05 ERA in the regular season of 2016, and pitched to a 3.31 ERA in 2018. This weekend, the Baycats will face off against London twice - once on the road, once at home.
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Photo: Bob Hurley/Bob Hurley Photography