Jackfish one win away from IBL title

The Welland Jackfish took control of the IBL Finals on Saturday night, defeating the Barrie Baycats 5-1 at Athletic Kulture Stadium to move within a single victory of the championship. The win gives Welland a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series and puts Barrie in a must-win situation heading back to Welland.

For the second straight game, pitching defined the early innings. Barrie’s Frank Garces and Welland’s Euclides Leyer matched each other through three frames before the Jackfish broke through. In the fourth, Robert Mullen opened the scoring with an RBI single to left, giving Welland the lead. They struck again in the fifth, when Mullen doubled home another run and Brendon Luther followed with an RBI single to make it 3-0.

Mullen capped his strong game with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 5-0. Jake Sanford finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI, while Mullen went 2-for-3 with a double and three runs driven in.

Barrie’s only spark came in the bottom half of the seventh. Noel McGarry Doyle, who continues to swing one of the hottest bats of the postseason, ripped a double — his third of the playoffs — and later scored on a defensive miscue. McGarry Doyle had two of Barrie’s four hits, with Tristan Clarke and Noah Hull providing the others. The Baycats’ offense, however, struck out 11 times against Leyer and reliever Deivy Mendez, never mounting a serious rally.

On the mound, Garces gave Barrie eight innings of work, striking out four while allowing 10 hits and four earned runs on 109 pitches. Leyer, meanwhile, dominated from the start. The Welland ace fired eight innings of four-hit ball, walking just one and fanning nine. Mendez closed the door in the ninth with two strikeouts to seal the win.

Welland’s relentless pressure on the bases once again played a role, as the Jackfish swiped six bags on the night, led by two each from Jonah Weisner and Matteo Porcellato. Barrie, on the other hand, was caught stealing once and couldn’t match Welland’s aggressiveness.

The Baycats now face the tall task of winning three straight games, starting Tuesday in Welland. The Jackfish will have a chance to celebrate their second IBL title in front of their home crowd, while Barrie will try to keep its championship hopes alive and send the series back to Midhurst for a Game Six.