Garcia’s Blast Powers Baycats Past Maple Leafs

Barrie, ON – The Barrie Baycats are winners of five straight after an 8-6 victory at Christie Pits against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Willy Garcia’s sixth-inning home run off Ayami Sato was the difference in the ballgame, giving Barrie an 8-1 lead at the time.

Baycats starter Juan Benítez’s final line does not accurately reflect his outing. Benítez pitched six very good innings, striking out five. A five-run Toronto seventh took a hit on his earned run total. He finished having tossed six and two-thirds innings, allowing six runs—four earned—and left with an 8–5 lead. A Dennis Dei Baning RBI single off Brad Grieveson brought in the sixth run charged to the Baycats’ starter.

One mistake that led to a three-run double by Ryan Dos Santos made Garcia’s monster three-run shot the inning before all the more important. The former big leaguer drove in four runs with two extra-base hits. Clayton Keyes racked up a trio of run-scoring singles.

Benítez got the win as Grieveson and Braedan Pakkala held the lead through the seventh and eighth innings, setting things up for Carlos Sano, who notched his fourth save of the season—and second this week—with a scoreless ninth. Maple Leafs starter Matt Brown took the loss, going four innings and giving up four runs, three earned, on nine hits.

FINAL SCORE: Baycats 8, Maple Leafs 6

NEXT UP: The Baycats are back home Saturday afternoon as they take on the London Majors at 4:05 p.m. on another Paul Sadlon Motors Junior Baycats Day.