Baycats Beat Royals 8-4, Move Into Fourth Place

Guelph, ON - The Barrie Baycats jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, defeating the Guelph Royals 8-4 at Hastings Stadium.

Barrie opened the scoring in the first inning when Noel McGarry Doyle came around on a Ryan Rijo sacrifice fly. The Baycats added three more in the second, highlighted by a solo home run from Noah Hull. McGarry Doyle later scored on an RBI single from Brandon Hernandez, while Francisco Hernandez also crossed the plate as part of a double steal to make it 4-0.

After Garrett Takamatsu put Guelph on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the second, Barrie answered with three runs in the third. Hull drove in Ryan Rijo with an RBI single before Hayden Jaco launched a two-run home run to left field, extending the Baycats' advantage to 7-1.

The Royals chipped away with a solo home run from Ryan Dos Santos in the third and an RBI single from J.D. Williams in the sixth. Takamatsu added an RBI double in the eighth to make it 7-4.

Barrie added an insurance run in the ninth after McGarry Doyle stole second and third before scoring on a Canice Ejoh RBI single. McGarry Doyle finished 3-for-4, while Jaco went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.

Juan Benitez earned the win for Barrie, while Jacob Kush took the loss for Guelph.

With the victory, Barrie moves a half-game ahead of Guelph in the standings and takes over fourth place.

The Baycats return home Thursday to face the third-place Hamilton Cardinals at 7:38 p.m. for Pack the Park, presented by United Way Simcoe Muskoka. Admission is FREE.