Frank Garcés' masterful start nearly went to waste for the Barrie Baycats, who came through with an unlikely 3-2 walk-off win over the Toronto Maple Leafs and took a 1-0 series lead in the 2025 IBL Quarterfinals Thursday at Athletic Kulture Stadium.
The Baycats' starter matched a career high with 15 strikeouts in eight innings, amassing a season-high 133 pitches. The last time he had that many strikeouts was in a regular-season shutout win in Brantford on July 18, 2018.
"He gave us a chance to win that whole game when our offense wasn't rolling," Baycats designated hitter Noah Hull said postgame. "There's no one I trust more than Frank Garcés."
Meanwhile, Maple Leafs starter Wilgenis Alvarado lived up to the ace role by striking out seven and allowing one earned run in six innings. Barrie had just four hits until the ninth inning, when a comeback effort ultimately led to Toronto throwing the game away.
BARRIE LEADS SERIES 1-0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
RECAP
Garcés struck out the first five batters he faced, far more than any other Baycats to start a game this season.
However, he was touched for a couple of runs with two out in the third. After an infield single by Luca Boscarino and a walk to Ryan Dos Santos, Jhon Javier made it 2-0 with an opposite-field double.
After a walk drawn by former Baycat Jordan Castaldo, Garcés retired 16 of the next 18 batters he faced, including another stretch of five consecutive strikeouts.
Barrie didn't score until the sixth when Francisco Hernandez doubled off the left field wall and scored Noel McGarry Doyle. Both players accounted for the only Baycats hits until the ninth inning.
Braeden Pakkala pitched a scoreless ninth for Barrie in his first career playoff outing. After a walk to Dennis Dei Baning, he stranded him on second base after a steal.
"I knew I had to be good," Pakkala said postgame. "My stuff felt good... hadn't thrown in about a week."
After a quick eighth inning, Luis Florentino returned on the mound for Toronto, attempting to convert the two-inning save. However, he got into trouble.
With one out, Tristan Clarke and Noah Hull each singled, followed by a walk to Clayton Keyes. Then, with the bases loaded, Tyler Plumpton hit a sacrifice to score Clarke and advance Hull to third.
Adam Odd stepped in with the winning run 90 feet away, and eventually worked the count to 2-2 before the next pitch got by Maple Leafs catcher Justin Marra.
Marra couldn't squeeze the pitch from Florentino, but the ball didn't roll far, only about 10 feet. Hull, at third base, didn't try to score initially.
"I talked to [third base coach Andrew White] on the game plan before, Hull recalled. He told me 'gotta be 100 per cent'. It squirted away from the catcher, and I didn't think I could score."
However, Marra attacked the play as if there would be a play at the plate, and his throw to Florentino was high and wide. Then, Hull went for the plate and scored after Florentino couldn't handle shortstop Spenser Ross' return throw.
"Whenever your team has the energy, things are going to go the right way," Hull said. "We were just able to catch it late and be able to ride it for those last three innings."
Even after the game, the effort by Garcés didn't go unrecognized.
"He's a team player, he wants to win," Baycats manager Josh Matlow said postgame. "He understood how big a game one and how pivotal it can be and he gave us everything he got... I guarantee if we were winning, he would have fought me for the ninth."
The win gives Barrie its 11th consecutive playoff win, and fourth in that span against Toronto.
UP NEXT
Game two of the first round series between Toronto and Barrie goes Friday at Dominco Field at Christie Pits in Toronto. Juan Benítez will start for Barrie against Toronto's Franklin Hernandez.
AROUND THE INTERCOUNTY
WELLAND LEADS SERIES 1-0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | x | 7 | 12 | 1 |
Welland starter Teodoro Ortega cruised through eight shutout innings in another first-round redux from 2024. He only allowed two hits and racked up eight strikeouts. Kitchener didn't have a baserunner past second base.
Robert Mullen doubled and drove in two. James Smibert also had an RBI double while Greyson Barrett matched Mullen with his own multi-hit effort.
HAMILTON LEADS SERIES 1-0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 0 |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
Despite Yushin Ohta's two-homer performance, Hamilton outslugged Chatham-Kent to take a 1-0 series lead in the teams' first postseason meeting.
Carlos Dominguez had a pair of home runs for the Cardinals, while Tyler Duncan, Jommer Hernandez, and Brendan Daley each homered as well. The home runs were Hamilton's only extra-base hits, and the team struck out 15 times collectively.
The two homers by Ohta and another longball by Sadler Goodwin accounted for all of Chatham-Kent's RBI. Ohta was three-for-three with a walk.
