Baycats Battle Back Late in Finals Rematch to Stun Welland in Extra-innings thriller.

Barrie, ON – In a dramatic rematch of last season’s IBL championship series, the Barrie Baycats got their early-season revenge by storming back twice to walk off the Welland Jackfish 5-4 in 10 innings Thursday night.

In a cold, pitching-dominant game filled with momentum swings, tense late-inning moments, and defensive miscues, Barrie never led until the final play of the game.

Welland struck first in the opening inning against Barrie starter Juan Mejia when Robert Mullen delivered an RBI single to make it 1-0. The Jackfish added another run in the second inning after Bryce Arnold brought home a run with an RBI single, extending the lead to 2-0 early.

Despite the rough start, Mejia settled in quickly and turned in a dominant outing. The left-hander retired nine consecutive batters from the third through sixth innings and finished with a quality start, allowing two runs on five hits across six innings while walking just one batter.

While Mejia kept Barrie within striking distance, the Baycats struggled offensively against Welland starter Euclides Leyer. Leyer tossed five shutout innings, allowing just four hits as Barrie stranded six baserunners through the first four innings.

The breakthrough finally came in the bottom of the seventh inning against Welland reliever Danny Howat. Once again, Barrie’s bottom of the order sparked the rally. Edgar Figueroa opened the inning with a single before Adam Odd added another base hit two batters later.

After striking out in each of his first three plate appearances, Canice Ejoh delivered a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 2-1. Later in the inning, a wild pitch allowed Barrie to score the tying run and even the game at two.

Out of the bullpen, Brady Encarnacion continued his dominant start to the season. The right-hander fired two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, with five of his six outs coming via the strikeout.

The tension escalated in the ninth inning. Both teams threatened, but neither side could capitalize. Barrie reliever Oscar Moreta escaped a major jam in the top of the ninth, stranding the go-ahead run at third base after Welland put runners on second and third with only one out.

With the game tied after nine innings, the extra-inning ghost runner rule set up a chaotic 10th inning.

Welland regained the lead in the top half after Barrie’s defence committed its only two errors of the game. Mullen drove in a run with another RBI single before Brendan Luther executed a safety squeeze bunt to give the Jackfish a 4-2 advantage. Despite allowing two unearned runs, Carlos Sano limited the damage and kept Barrie within reach.

Down to their final three outs in the bottom of the 10th, the Baycats responded once more. Francisco Hernandez opened the inning with a bloop single to right field to spark the rally. After a walk by Nolan Machibroda and a strikeout by Figueroa, Kristyan Puyol-Genossar hit a weak comebacker to Welland pitcher Pedro De Los Santos, who was unable to field it cleanly, allowing a run to score and cutting the deficit to 4-3 with the bases still loaded.

Moments later, Odd delivered from the bottom of the lineup once again, lifting a deep sacrifice fly to right-centre field to tie the game.

That set the table for Canice Ejoh to step up to the plate with a chance to complete the comeback. After enduring a difficult night that included four strikeouts, Ejoh simply put the ball in play to Welland shortstop Luther. The ground ball snuck underneath his glove, allowing the winning run to score as the Baycats stormed the field to celebrate, completing the dramatic walk-off victory against the rival Jackfish.

Closer Carlos Sano picked up the win for the Baycats. The win marks another statement early in the season for Barrie, who showed resilience throughout the night by erasing multiple two-run deficits against the defending champions in a playoff-like atmosphere.

The Baycats are now 2-1 on the season, while improving to 2-0 on home field at Athletic Kulture Stadium, with a chance to improve that record to 3-0 when they take on the Kitchener Panthers on Saturday, May 23rd, with first pitch slated for 4:08 p.m. EST. Baycats Manager Josh Matlow confirmed Juan Benítez will get the Start for Barrie on the bump.