McGarry Doyle Homers Twice as Baycats Roll Past Royals

Barrie, ON – This team’s energy is on another level right now. It might be because Noel McGarry Doyle is back, it could be the huge contributions from the juniors, or—an easy guess—it’s because this Baycats team has now won four in a row and nine of their last 12. The Baycats were 12-2 winners tonight over the Guelph Royals.

From the start—fuelled by McGarry Doyle’s leadoff home run off Royals starter Adyn Schell—the crowd was into it, and they came in bunches. When summer comes and school is out, there’s no better place to be than the ballpark. Barrie led off both the bottom of the first and second innings with home runs, as Tristan Clarke left the yard on the second pitch he saw from Guelph’s rookie starter.

All that excitement goes up a notch when you have a hometown kid making his first career Intercounty Baseball League start. Right-hander Johnathan Warden was solid through two scoreless innings. A tight strike zone didn’t help him in the third, despite his stuff being elite. Warden left after two and two-thirds, punching out three.

It was a 4-2 contest going into the fifth inning, when the Baycats matched the inning number with five runs—started by McGarry Doyle’s second homer of the ball game. Nolan Machibroda and Tristan Clarke hit back-to-back RBI singles, followed by another pair of back-to-back run-scoring knocks from Noah Hull and Tyler Plumpton.

Adam Khan picked up the win—his first since 2022—with four and a third shutout frames.

Machibroda gave the fans another big swing to cheer about as he absolutely obliterated an 0-2 pitch from Royals reliever Connor King, sending it way over the 405 sign in centrefield. Take your guesses on just how far—because it was crushed.

Ramon Henriquez closed the door with two scoreless innings.

Centrefielder Clayton Keyes left the game for precautionary reasons in the fourth after making an incredible diving catch with his back to the ball. Manager Josh Matlow says it’s nothing too serious—just a minor quad issue—and expects Keyes to be in the lineup tomorrow against the Maple Leafs.

FINAL SCORE: Baycats 12, Royals 2.

NEXT UP: The Baycats travel to Toronto Friday night to take on the Maple Leafs. First pitch is at 7:30 p.m. from Dominico Field at Christie Pits.