RECAP – The first homestand of 2023 is complete. The Barrie Baycats finished 2-2 winning the first 2 and losing the next 2. Missed all the action? We got you covered with a summary of what happened.

Game Summaries 

Opening Day Win vs Maple Leafs: The 2023 home opener featured one of the greatest comebacks in recent Baycats history. Down 10-6 in the bottom of the 9th inning, Barrie mounted a 5-run comeback capped by a Ryan Rijo walk-off single (watch the video here). Win: Brandon Hillier (1) (in relief), Loss: Adam Marra (1). The full game recap can be found by clicking here. 

7-2 Win vs Brantford: This was the Evan Soules game. Soules pitched 8 1/3 innings with 9 strikeouts. Evan was named IBL pitcher of the week for his outing against Brantford. The offense in this game was great as well. Starlin Rodriguez hit a 2-run home run (watch the video here) while Christian Kuzemka, Royce Ando, and Brad McQuinn all had RBI knocks. Win: Evan Soules (1), Loss: Jeremias Sucre (1). The full game recap can be found by clicking here. 

5-3 Loss vs Hamilton: Not a lot happened for Barrie in this game as Logan Walters was able to shut down the Baycats. Walters punched out 10 through 5 2/3 innings pitched. Clayton Keyes went 3/4 with 3 RBIs and 2 doubles for the Cardinals. James Anderson picked up 2 RBI singles in the loss. Win: Logan Walters (2), Loss: Jeifry Nunez (1). The full game recap can be found by clicking here.

7-3 Loss vs London: This was a game where the 2-time defending IBL champions showed us why they won the last 2 years in a row. London hit 3 home runs and limited the Baycats to only 3 runs. Adam Odd drove in 2 for Barrie and added some great plays at shortstop. Win: Edisson Gonzalez (1), Loss: Emilis Guerrero (1). The full game recap can be found by clicking here.

Injury Updates

A common thing about this homestand was Baycats getting injured. 3 Barrie players left games with injuries. Catcher Tyler Plumpton was one of them. Thankfully he came back to play on Saturday against London. But we still have 2 Baycats who are pending return and 2 who are coming back from injuries soon. 

Pitcher #37, Christian Mullen: After getting taken out of last Sunday’s game against the Brantford Red Sox, Christian Mullen is not expected to see game action for 2 weeks. Facing his third batter of the game, Mullen suffered right shoulder tightness and was taken out for precautionary reasons. The 25-year-old didn’t get IBL action last season but posted a 4.95 ERA in 2021 with the Baycats. 

Outfielder #47, Brad McQuinn: Barrie’s most recent injury came at outfielder Brad McQuinn’s expense. McQuinn suffered a quad injury against Hamilton last Thursday and had to come out of the game. No word yet on when he will return but hopefully it is nothing serious. Last season with the team Brad hit .263 with a home run in 18 games played.

Catcher #55, Hayden Jaco: 2021 IBL Rookie of the Year Hayden Jaco joined the Baycats for the first time this season. Jaco is said to be back later this year after recently getting knee surgery a couple of weeks ago per Baycats TV broadcaster and reporter Julius Hern. A slash line of .379/.455/.611 (average/on-base/slugging) with the London Majors in 2021 for the 26-year-old catcher. 

Pitcher #41, Garner Spoljaric: New to the IBL is Baycats pitcher Garner Spoljaric. Fans will have to wait to see this new arm as Garner is recovering from a shoulder injury and won’t be back in action until later this season per Julius Hern. 

A Look At The Upcoming Schedule

Sunday, May 28 AT Hamilton: The Cardinals already won last Thursday in Barrie so the Baycats will be looking for revenge. Hamilton is 3-2 so far this season. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 pm at Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium. You can listen to the game on Baycats Radio: Exclusively on Baycats TV or buy road tickets Here.

Thursday, June 1 VS Guelph: Guelph will make its first trip up to Barrie this season. The Royals are 1-2 so far this season after dropping games to Toronto and Welland. They will play Kitchener and Brantford before coming into town.  The first pitch is scheduled for 7:35 pm at Vintage Throne Stadium. Get your tickets Here. If you can’t make it to the game, tune into Baycats TV.

Saturday, June 3 AT Guelph: After facing the Royals at home, the Baycats will head to Guelph. There are no games in between for both teams so it’s a 2 game series home and away for Barrie. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 pm at Hastings Stadium. You can listen to the game on Baycats Radio: Exclusively on Baycats TV or buy road tickets Here.

Sunday, June 4 AT Kitchener: Guelph's game against Kitchener Sunday, May 28 will be a good watch for fans wanting to know how the Baycats might match up against the 2 teams. Barrie will face the red-hot Panthers at Jack Couch Park with the first pitch thrown at 2 pm. You can listen to the game on Baycats Radio: Exclusively on Baycats TV or buy road tickets Here.