Rookie Arms, Big Hits Power Baycats to Dominant Win in Kitchener
Kitchener, ON – A new month may have sparked the Baycats’ offence, as they erupted for twelve runs in a 12–4 win over the Kitchener Panthers at Jack Couch Park. Francisco Hernandez – among six Barrie home runs – hit his first two bombs as a Baycat.
On the pitching side, it was the juniors who stepped up big in a hitter-friendly park. Ethan Morris earned his first win, starting the game and working five innings with six strikeouts, no walks, and just one unearned run allowed. John Warden followed and, in just two innings, struck out four with some nasty stuff on the mound. Jason Roach and Adam Khan recorded the final six outs.
Kitchener hit a pair of home runs off Khan in the ninth, but it was far too late. Baycats pitching collected 15 outs via strikeout on Sunday afternoon. Owen MacNeil was charged with the loss (1), giving up six earned runs over three and two-thirds innings.
Hernandez got the offence going for Barrie with the first of his two home runs, a solo shot in the third. Kitchener tied it in the bottom half on a Trent Lawson single, but Ryan Rijo untied it in the very next inning, launching one over the fence to make it 2–1. Rijo came up again in the fourth after the Baycats batted around – highlighted by an RBI double from Hernandez and a two-run single from Tristan Clarke – and drew a walk that brought in another run, capping off a five-run inning.
Austin Boylan, just a day after collecting his first IBL hit, crushed one over the left-field wall for his first IBL homer, making it 7–1. Two innings later, Leliis Beltran (two-run shot) and Hernandez (solo shot) went back-to-back – 10–1 Baycats. Malik Williams joined the party in the eighth with his first homer of 2025, another two-run blast, ending the scoring for Barrie.
Clarke also made a spectacular catch to rob a home run. No video but this is what manager Josh Matlow said after the game. "It was crazy... Back back back, jumped over the wall [and] robbed [it]."
Final Score: Baycats 12, Panthers 4.
NEXT UP: The Baycats are back at home this Thursday for another crack at the undefeated Welland Jackfish. First pitch is set for 7:35 p.m. at Athletic Kulture Stadium.