Baycats Rally falls short in 7-4 loss to Cardinals

Barrie, ON – The Barrie Baycats tried to rally late, but an early hole proved too deep as the Hamilton Cardinals came away with a 7–4 victory Saturday afternoon at Athletic Kulture Stadium.

Hamilton set the tone in the opening frame when Tyler Duncan reached and came around to score the game’s first run. The big blow came in the third inning, as the Cardinals strung together four runs on a mix of timely hitting and Barrie miscues. Shortstop Brandon Nicoll doubled home two runs, and Yolki Peña later singled in another as Hamilton pushed the lead to 5–0 and chased Baycats starter César Rosado after 2.1 innings.

Barrie’s bullpen steadied things in the middle innings. Chris Nagorski escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third and went on to toss 2.2 scoreless frames, while Ramón Henríquez later struck out five across two innings of shutout ball to keep the Baycats within striking distance.

Hamilton added what proved to be crucial insurance runs in the sixth when Nicoll doubled again and Niko Kekatos followed with a run-scoring hit to make it 7–0.

The Baycats finally broke through in the seventh as Tristan Clarke ripped a double into the gap to score Noah Hull. In the ninth, Barrie mounted a rally. Hull drew a walk and scored on Andrew Johnston’s sharp single, and Tyler Plumpton followed with an RBI knock to bring the score to 7–4. But former MLB closer Fernando Rodney ended the comeback bid, striking out two straight Baycats with the tying run still on deck to record his seventh save.

Clarke led the Barrie offence with two hits, including his seventh double of the season, while Johnston and Plumpton each drove in runs late. Nicoll’s three-hit, two-double night powered Hamilton, supported by Peña’s three-hit effort and Kekatos’ pair of RBI.

On the mound, Hamilton starter Logan Warkentin (1–0) was sharp in his first win of the year, striking out five over five scoreless innings. Rosado (4–5) took the loss for Barrie.

FINAL SCORE: Hamilton 7, Barrie 4.

NEXT UP: The Baycats will host the London Majors Sunday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. to decide second place in the IBL standings. Fans can use code “FREE” here to receive free tickets.