Offence Erupts as Baycats Cruise Past Red Sox 16-5

Brantford, ON – When the offence clicks and you have a guy named Frank Garcés on the mound, you’re in a good place. Friday’s 16-5 win over the Brantford Red Sox was indeed a bounce-back game for the Barrie Baycats on both sides of the ball.

Last Sunday, walks hurt the Baycats — but walking only three on Friday night, compared to nine walks and six hit batters on Sunday, certainly helped the cause. It also helps when you have Garcés pitching — he almost never walks anyone. Barrie’s ace went five scoreless innings, punching out six.

Those five innings might have been seven or eight had the Baycats not exploded on offence early. It was 10-0 in the third inning. Just about everyone in the lineup was getting on base — whether it was Noah Hull’s two home runs, Willy Garcia’s three-run shot, or another big day at the dish for Noel McGarry Doyle.

The Red Sox got a glimpse of hope when they plated five runs in the sixth, but the damage was stopped and Brantford’s bats were quiet for the rest of the night. Brody Black picked up a pair of hits, one of them being a three-run triple in that sixth inning.

Jonathan Warden’s fourth outing in the IBL didn’t go as planned, but his ability to limit the damage was huge in Barrie not having to use high-leverage bullpen arms like Braedan Pakkala or Carlos Sano. Instead, Sano picked up an at-bat and went 0-for-1. Ramon Henriquez threw the final two frames.

FINAL SCORE: Baycats 16, Red Sox 5.

NEXT UP: These two teams are back at it on Saturday afternoon at Athletic Kulture Stadium. First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m.