PREVIEW: Leafs Visit Baycats For Thursday Night Matchup

by Patrick Melbourne

BARRIE - The Barrie Baycats are back at Vintage Throne Stadium tonight for a Thursday night matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team is looking to add another win following their walkoff victory on Sunday night against Welland.

RECAP: WELLAND @ BARRIE (JUNE 4, 2022)

Note: We had some technical difficulties this week on BarrieBaycats.com - the next recap will be back to our normal schedule. Sorry for the delay.

It was an extremely close game on Sunday night between the Baycats and the Jackfish - here's the official recap from the Intercounty Baseball League website.

BARRIE – The Barrie Baycats walked off Welland 8-7 in 11 innings Sunday evening.

Ryan Rijo went 3-for-6 with three RBI for Barrie (5-3). Jake Wilson had two hits, an RBI and a run, Royce Ando had two RBI and a run, while Noel McGarry-Doyle and Carson Burns each scored twice.

Brad Grieveson (3-0) earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief. He struck out four and walked one. Marshall Leishman started and went three innings, allowing four runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

Ethan Hunt led the Jackfish (7-2) with four hits and two runs. Tyler Dupuis went 2-for-6 with two RBI and a run, Gianfranco Morello drove in a run and scored twice, and Matteo Porcellato, Hogan Brown and Chris Tani all drove in a run.

Chris Boatto (0-1) took the loss, allowing two runs on three hits in 3.1 innings. He walked three and struck out six.

Quite the game! There were tense moments throughout, particularly in extra innings. Chris Boatto, who entered in relief for the Jackfish, was on the mound as the team intentionally walked the bases loaded to face Ryan Rijo. Rijo, the team's best hitter across the 2021 season, singled and won the game for the team in a walk-off.

Evan Soules, Brandon Hillier, Chris Cox, and Brad Grieveson combined for six scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Marshall Leishman, who started the game for the team, didn't have his best stuff, but worked out of some tough jams.

With an 8-7 win, the Baycats beat a tough Welland Jackfish team, and importantly, scored a good number of runs following a stretch where the pitching was the highlight for the team rather than the offense.

PREVIEW: MAPLE LEAFS @ BAYCATS (JuNE 9, 2022)

Now onto tonight's game! Baycats ace Jayson Aquino is scheduled to pitch in his first game in a while - he was scheduled to start on May 26 against Dalton Pompey and the Guelph Royals, but was scratched from the start with inflammation in his arm.

The team will be facing the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team that's had their ups and downs so far this season. With a record of 4-5, their best game of the season so far was against the Baycats at Christie Pits. The Maple Leafs most recently faced the Guelph Royals, and won 4-3 in extra innings. The team has recently signed starters Diego Dominguez and Yusei Taraoka to their rotation.

The Baycats offense should be fairly unchanged from recent games, with one exception - Marcel Lacasse has signed with the Trois-Rivieres Aigles of the Frontier League. The Baycats would like to wish Lacasse all the best with the Aigles this season.

Tonight is Health Care Appreciation Night at the ballpark. Bring your signs and your applause for all the doctors, nurses, practitioners and volunteers around Simcoe Region and Ontario as they will be in attendance tonight with their workmates and families! - Barrie Baycats Media Team

The game between the Baycats and the Maple Leafs is set to begin at Vintage Throne Stadium at 7:30 PM ET tonight (June 9th, 2022). You get get tickets here, or watch live on Baycats TV. Enjoy the game!