After his error sealed a loss Thursday, Justin Marra redeemed himself with an eighth-inning homer to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 3-2 win in game three of their IBL quarterfinal series over the Barrie Baycats and 2-1 series lead Sunday at Athletic Kulture Stadium.
All three of Toronto's runs came off solo home runs, while Barrie once again struggled to string hits together to score. The Maple Leafs have now hit three home runs in back-to-back games.
Baycats starter Cesar Rosado got an early hook after a four-inning outing in which he allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five.
"We didn't want to overthrow anyone at this point, Baycats manager Josh Matlow said postgame. "We felt we had fresh arms, and they did their job. If you told me we only gave up three runs, I'd be pretty confident we won that game."
Meanwhile, Toronto starter Josh Berenbaum cruised in his second outing and first start of the series. The UFV product allowed two earned runs in 6.1 innings on seven hits while collecting eight strikeouts.
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TORONTO LEADS SERIES 2-1
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
RECAP
Rosado's wake-up call came early when he allowed a leadoff home run to Ryan Dos Santos. One pitch later, Jhon Javier singled, and there was already action in the Barrie bullpen.
Berenbaum retired each of the first ten batters he faced before a fourth-inning single by Brandon Hernandez.
Marcus Knecht led off the fourth with a solo home run, making it 2-0. Ramon Henriquez took over for Rosado in the fifth and went 2.2 innings.
Barrie seemingly had some energy after a leadoff double by Tristan Clarke, who showed some uncharacteristic emotion toward his dugout upon reaching second base.
"I felt like it was the right time out of the whole season to show I do have emotion, and if it has to start with me, then so be it," he said postgame. "I'll be the one who starts it, but keep it going."
However, Berenbaum made quick work of each of the next three batters, and returned the reactionary favour after three-pitch strikeouts of Andrew Johnston and Noah Hull.
The Baycats finally got to Berenbaum in the sixth, however. After Noel McGarry Doyle and Brandon Hernandez singled, the latter attempted to steal second base, but Justin Marra's throw went into center field, allowing McGarry Doyle to score.
One pitch later, Francisco Hernandez singled to score his brother and tie the game at two. The older Hernandez brother has accounted for three of the five runs batted in by the Baycats through three games.
In the seventh, with the bases loaded and two out and Javier due up, Carlos Sano replaced Henriquez. Despite the jam, Sano forced his fellow countryman to fly out and strand three.
But Toronto finally touched the Dominican right-hander in the eighth when Justin Marra launched a two-out solo home run to right field, giving the Maple Leafs a 3-2 lead. The Maple Leafs' catcher's homer was his second of the series and the first Sano had allowed all year.
Barrie only reached one baserunner on against Maple Leafs reliever Luis Florentino, whose only blemish on a 2.2-inning outing was hitting McGarry Doyle with a pitch.
In the ninth inning, down one run, the Baycats tried to spark a rally but came up empty again, slowed in part by a couple of contentious calls.
First, third base umpire Jeff Rose rang up Adam Odd on a controversial check-swing appeal, sparking anger from the Baycats dugout.
The next batter, Johnston, bunted and Florentino's throw got away from first baseman Jordan Castaldo, which appeared to put the tying run on base. However, first base umpire Mike Kinnear ruled that Johnston stepped out of the basepath and interfered with the throw, calling him out.
Immediately, Baycats manager Josh Matlow furiously went out to argue the call and kicked dirt in the middle of the argument with Kinnear and Rose. He was then ejected for the first time this year.
"We're scratching and clawing for anything we can get," Matlow said postgame. "Finally, we catch a break, and they decided to make a miraculous, heroic call... It's unfortunate that it becomes about the umpires in that scenario again... but we shouldn't be in that position. If we're swinging the bats properly, then we wouldn't be in those positions."
Baycats hitters struck out 13 times Sunday, more than in game one (11). There have been just six innings in the series in which Barrie has had multiple hits, and the team has left 20 on base in the series.
"It's just a matter of getting those hands ready," Clarke said. "Getting back early instead of trying to put something in a gap... just put a ball in play."
UP NEXT
Game four of the first round series between Toronto and Barrie goes Tuesday at Dominco Field at Christie Pits in Toronto.
Frank Garcés (0-0, 1.12 ERA) will start for Barrie, while Toronto will likely start Wilgenis Alvarado (0-0, 1.50 ERA), creating a rematch of game one starters.
AROUND THE INTERCOUNTY
GUELPH WINS SERIES 3-0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 14 | 2 |
 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 3 |
