WILLIAMS WALKS IT OFF IN TENTH INNING, BARRIE WINS 4-3

BARRIE — The fans got what they wanted tonight. It took ten innings but the Barrie Baycats walk off the Kitchener Panthers 4-3. Malik Williams was the hero while Frank Garcés and Juan Benítez shut things down on the mound. 

On the offensive side, it was Baycats slugger Ryan Rijo who got Barrie on the board. Rijo hit a two-run home run to right field in the fifth inning. With the home run, Ryan now has eight on the season which leads the team. Starlin Rodriguez is second with six bombs.

We do have an update on Rodriguez. Starlin is scheduled to return to game action this Thursday when the Guelph Royals come to town. He will be a big piece in the middle of this lineup once he returns.

Although Barrie got two on the long big fly, they were still down by a run. It was the usual suspects for Kitchener. Andy Leader and Raul Gonzalez with Leader getting on base and Gonzalez knocking him in. The big blow was another two-run home run in the top of the fifth extending their lead to three. Leader, with two more hits in this one, has surpassed 200 career hits in his IBL career (201). For Gonzalez, it was his IBL-leading tenth home run. 

With that, we had a 3-2 game heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. Tyler Plumpton, a late addition to tonight's lineup, led things off with a single. A couple of batters later and with  Plumpton on third, Noel McGarry-Doyle brought him in with an RBI groundout. From there, Baycats ace Frank Garcés, tonight’s starter, and Juan Benítez, in relief of Frank, combined to pitch all ten innings limiting a good Kitchener offense to just three runs. 

It was time to end things in the tenth inning. With Brad McQuinn on second, Malik Williams ripped a ball into left-center field to drive in McQuinn to win the game for Barrie. With the win, the Baycats are now 18-9 on the season and have won two in a row.

NEXT UP: The Barrie Baycats will face the Guelph Royals at home this Thursday at Vintage Throne Stadium. The first pitch is at 7:35 pm. Get your tickets here. 

CHECK OUT THE FULL BROADCAST OF THIS GAME ON BAYCATS TV FEATURING PATRICK MELBOURNE, MARK PARÉ, AND SAM AUCOIN. THE BROADCAST WAS PRODUCED BY BRIAN BACKLAND.