Pitching Woes Continue as Cardinals Snap Baycats' Win Streak

MIDHURST - Trouble on the mound.

The Hamilton Cardinals defeated the Barrie Baycats 9-5 on Thursday evening to improve to 4-3 on the regular season.

With the loss, the Baycats fall to 3-2 on the season.

Cardinals starter Ben Bruan recorded the win, tossing seven innings while allowing three earned runs on nine hits and one base on balls while striking out a trio of batters.

Cardinals right fielder Austin Wheeler led the way at the plate, going two-for-five.

Young Baycats starter Hunter Campese took the loss in his Intercounty Baseball League debut, going just two innings while allowing five earned runs on five hits and six bases on balls.

The southpaw struck out three Hamilton batters.

HAMILTON - 9-9-1

BARRIE - 5-12-4

BIGGEST PLAY OF THE GAME...

Down 2-0 in the top of the first inning with the bases loaded for the Cardinals, Baycats second basemen Branfy Infante tried to make a basket catch for what would have been the last out of the inning, but he dropped the ball on a ball that should have been right fielder Noel McGarry-Doyle's ball from the get-go. 

The Cardinals ended up scoring three runs on the play, breaking the game wide-open.

NICEST PLAY OF THE GAME...

With two out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Baycats designated hitter Ryan Rijo crushed a ball to centre field, only for Cardinals superstar Justin Gideon to make a diving catch in centre.

The Cardinals dugout erupted and emptied the dugout to greet Gideon on his way back from the outfield.

BY THE NUMBERS...

3. After a pair of hits in tonight's game, Baycats left fielder Jeff Cowan is now three hits away from 400 in his IBL career.

4. The Baycats made four errors in tonight's ball game. With young pitchers on the mound, that simply cannot happen.

6. The Baycats got six huge innings from Marshall Leishman in his IBL debut tonight, saving the Baycats' bullpen from being overloaded after a tough night at Christie Pits on Wednesday.

NEWS FROM THE GAME...

- With Leishman throwing 97 pitches out of the Baycats' bullpen tonight, Baycats manager Josh Matlow now has to find a new starter to start in one of the games against the Majors in Sunday's doubleheader in London.

QUOTES FROM THE GAME...

Baycats manager Josh Matlow on Campese's outing: "It seems like a common theme for our young guys. It gets in their head, things start moving up top, and he just couldn't get it going. End of story. He's a great pitcher who throws a ton of strikes, so it hurts my heart to see it as his debut."

Matlow on Leishman's relief outing: "We were going to save him for Sunday but we had to throw him in as an emergency. We are very excited about his outing and it was his pace that was really exciting for us. He was on the mound, ready to pitch, and his monument kept him going through the seventh, so it helped us out a lot."

Matlow on Bruan's outing for Hamilton: "He dealt and you know what, we beat him when he was here last week, but he wanted the ball, got it, and he did well. He threw a ton of strikes. Kudos to him."

NEXT UP...

The Baycats host the Brantford Red Sox this Saturday evening from Coates Stadium in Midhurst.

The game will air live on Rogers TV Barrie.

For more information, follow the Baycats on Facebook and Twitter at @iblbaycats, on Instagram at @barriebaycats, and on Youtube at Barrie Baycats TV.

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Lastly, remember that you can buy tickets to all of our home games here.

Photo: Bob Hurley/Bob Hurley Photography