Garcés Dominant, Baycats Blank Royals 3-0 for Fourth Straight Win

Barrie, ON – The Baycats are hot, and the 1,000-plus fans at Athletic Kulture Stadium Thursday night saw it firsthand. A 3-0 win over Guelph didn’t showcase much run scoring—something the majority of fans crave—but winning in different ways will get fans excited. And who would complain when Frank Garcés is on the mound and the Royals only manage three hits total in the ballgame?

“Everyone was efficient,” said Baycats manager Josh Matlow postgame, speaking on the three arms they used in Thursday's game. Another line we often hear from Matlow is, “Frank was Frank,” and that couldn’t be more true in Barrie’s fourth consecutive win. Only six strikeouts—only because we’re used to 8–12—but when you only allow three hits, it doesn’t matter one bit.

Barrie crossed home twice in the second, one coming on a double from Tristan Clarke, who added a nice running catch to his game as well. The IBL All-Star outfielder isn’t going to the game just for his bat—his glove is one of the best in the league, noted Baycats TV broadcaster Julius Hern after his stellar fourth-inning grab.

The Baycats may have also found themselves another setup option out of the bullpen with the addition of Chris Torres, who tossed a scoreless eighth in his IBL debut, leading to Carlos Sano’s seven-pitch ninth-inning save.

“That was nice to see,” said Matlow. “It was nice to see Torres maybe as a setup guy.”

FINAL SCORE: Baycats 3, Royals 0.
 NEXT UP: The Baycats head back to Brantford Friday night. First pitch is at 7:30 p.m.