Baycats Dominate Red Sox 12–1 in Front of Season-High Crowd

by Sam Aucoin

Barrie, ON – Never mind a morale boost — that was the perfect game if you're a Barrie Baycats fan. Strong pitching, strong hitting, and some great defensive plays. The Baycats defeated the Brantford Red Sox 12-1 on Saturday afternoon in front of well over a thousand fans — the largest crowd of the season.

The rowdy bunch was behind fifth-year Baycats starter Juan Benítez, who picked up his second win of the season, going seven innings and allowing just four hits and one earned run — a solo home run from Red Sox catcher Andrew Savage in the top of the seventh. Benítez lowered his ERA to 3.19.

It also helped that by the end of the second inning, the Baycats were up by six. Tristan Clarke cashed in Noel McGarry Doyle and Brandon Hernandez with a single, then Willy Garcia knocked in Nolan Machibroda. In the second, Hernandez blasted one over the wall, scoring McGarry Doyle and Alex Wickett in front of him.

Wickett, playing in just his second IBL game, picked up three hits before being taken out of the game. The Tiny, Ontario native had also recorded three hits earlier that morning in Kitchener with the 22U Barrie Baycats, who are playing in a tournament there this weekend — six hits in total on the day.

McGarry Doyle returned to the Baycats on Saturday after a brief stint with the Ottawa Titans of the Frontier League. The Maple, Ontario native had three hits, including a three-run shot to centre field in the eighth inning. Clayton Keyes also homered — his first as a Baycat.

Adam Khan and Christian Lazar each worked a clean inning to close out the game.

FINAL SCORE: Baycats 12, Red Sox 1

NEXT UP: The Baycats travel to Hamilton tomorrow to face the Cardinals, with Frank Garcés on the mound. First pitch is at 2:05 p.m. Don’t forget — the game in Hamilton won’t be on YouTube. It will be streamed live on Cable14Now.com.