Baycats Complete Wild Comeback, Walk Off Chatham-Kent in Extras

Barrie, ON – For nine innings, the Barrie Baycats trailed.

In the tenth inning, they finally found themselves in front when it mattered most.

The Baycats completed a stunning late comeback Thursday night at Athletic Kulture Stadium, erasing a three-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth before walking off the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers 11-10 in extra innings.

Despite scoring 11 runs, Barrie did not hold a lead at any point during the contest until the very last pitch of the game. On the final play, Adam Odd delivered a broken-bat walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the tenth to score Brendon Daley and complete one of the Baycats' most dramatic victories of the season (amongst a list of many so far).

Chatham-Kent came out swinging from the opening inning. Greyson Barrett launched a three-run home run in the first to put the Barnstormers ahead 3-0, but Barrie quickly answered when Noel McGarry Doyle, who made his return to the lineup after a tweaked hamstring holding him out of the last couple of games, crushed a two-run opposite field homer, in the bottom half to cut the deficit to one.

The Barnstormers continued to pressure Barrie's pitching staff throughout the night. By the sixth inning, Chatham-Kent had already collected seven extra-base hits, including doubles from Evan Morrison, Yushin Ohta, Austin Gurney, Owen Constantineau and Barrett, along with home runs from Barrett and Lee Kucera.

Kucera's three-run blast in the third inning pushed the visitors' lead to 7-2, but Barrie responded immediately in the bottom half. Noel McGarry Doyle drove in a run before Ryan Rijo launched his long awaited first long ball of the season, a three-run homer to center field, bringing the Baycats back within one at 7-6.

However every time Barrie threatened and got close, Chatham-Kent seemed to have an answer. The Barnstormers added insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings to build a 10-6 advantage and appeared to be in control entering the late stages of the ball game.

An apparent turning point in the game happened in the bottom of the eighth. With Barrie attempting to mount another rally, an umpire interference call sent two Baycat baserunners back to their previous bases after it looked like a successful double steal. The ruling sparked an animated reaction from manager Josh Matlow, who was ejected from the game after arguing the call.

Rather than deflating the Baycats, the controversy appeared to energize the Baycats and bring a spark to a fiery and energetic Thursday night crowd.

A major reason Barrie remained within striking distance was the work of Braedan Pakkala out of the bullpen. Entering in the seventh inning, Pakkala delivered three scoreless frames, allowing Barrie's offense the opportunity to chip away at the deficit. He struck out four batters and did not allow an earned run while keeping the Barnstormers off the scoreboard through the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.

Trailing 10-7 entering the bottom of the ninth, Barrie finally broke through to tie the game for the first time since it had been 0-0. Brandon Hernandez singled home a run, Noel McGarry Doyle - who had a five hit game - followed with an RBI single, and an error by the Barnstormers shortstop tied the game at 10-10, sending the contest to extra innings.

After Carlos Sano entered the game and worked a scoreless frame in the top of the tenth, the Baycats completed the comeback in the bottom half. With one out and the winning run at second, Baycats third baseman Adam Odd, who struggled most of the night and was 0/5 in the game prior, delivered when it mattered most for Barrie, blooping a broken bat single into left field, bringing home Brendon Daley and setting off yet another wall off celebration as Barrie secured an improbable 11-10 come from behind victory.

The win capped off a resilient performance from a Baycats team that spent the entire night battling from behind before delivering the final blow when it mattered most. 

The Baycats continue to play about as entertaining a brand of baseball as you can get, and rebounded from their 3-2 loss against Chatham Kent just this past Saturday.

Barrie improved their overall record to 6-2 on the year, while remaining a perfect 4-0 in their games that have reached extra innings. Chatham Kent fell to 2-6 after they lost their third consecutive contest. 

Barrie closer Carlos Sano picked up another win for the Baycats. Sano now improbably has four of the six wins on the year for Barrie, despite zero save opportunities.  Eric Pettipiece was charged with the loss for the Barnstormers.

Barrie is right back at it Friday night, when they travel to Brantford to take on the Red Sox. First pitch is slated for 7:07 p.m. EST, as Barrie looks to win their second straight game in a stretch where they play on four consecutive days. Baycats ace Frank Garcés is expected to get the start for Barrie.