When Barrie leadoff hitter Noel McGarry-Doyle stepped in to start the seventh inning, it was only his third plate appearance.
That’s how dominant Euclides Leyer was Saturday afternoon.
The Dominican right-hander faced the minimum of 18 batters through six innings and went on to throw eight strong frames, leading the Welland Jackfish to a 5-1 win and a 3-1 lead in the IBL Finals over the Barrie Baycats.
It was nothing like his previous start, when he allowed seven earned runs in 5.2 innings in a loss to Guelph. This time around, he allowed one unearned run on four hits and a walk while striking out nine.
The performance gives Welland a prime opportunity to clinch its second IBL title with one more win, and a full bullpen at its disposal.
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2025 INTERCOUNTY BASEBALL LEAGUE FINALS — WELLAND LEADS 3-1
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WELLAND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 10 | 1 |
| BARRIE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 4 | 2 |
Leyer (W, 2-1), Mendez (9)(SV, 3) and Mullen;
Garcés (L, 2-1), Grieveson (9) and Plumpton.
HRs: WEL — None; BAR — None.
"That was huge for us," Jackfish manager Brian Essery said postgame. "We got to keep our bullpen down today. Go to Deivy [Mendez] to finish it for us... we got all arms available tomorrow."
The 34-year-old pitcher, who returned to Welland in 2025 after spending time playing professionally in the United States and Mexico, went 6-1 in the regular season with a 1.77 ERA in 13 appearances. In the playoffs, he's lowered his ERA to 3.42.
It was his first outing against Barrie since the 2019 playoffs, which was also his last outing of eight innings or more.
Leyer was helped mightily by his defense, which turned two double plays and caught McGarry Doyle stealing within the first six innings to maintain the clean scoresheet.
McGarry Doyle scored the Baycats' only run after he doubled to lead off the seventh inning, his second of two hits. He was bunted to third by Brandon Hernandez before scoring on a passed ball by Jackfish catcher Robert Mullen.
Deivy Mendez relieved Leyer in the ninth, allowing two walks and loading the bases, but struck out Tristan Clarke to end the game.
Meanwhile, Frank Garcés couldn't match Leyer's dominance and uncharacteristically struggled. His outing was clean until Brendan Luther drove in Mullen with a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
In the fifth, Matteo Porcellato reached on an infield single, stole two bases, and scored on a hit by Jonah Weisner. Mullen followed with a double to score Weisner, finishing two-for-three with a walk and two RBIs.
Mullen's second RBI came on a seventh-inning sac fly before Jake Sanford drove in the fifth run on a double, his second of three hits off Garcés.
"We're just comfortable facing him now," Essery said about Garcés. "Obviously, he's a great pitcher. One of the best in this league, if not the best in this league. For us to be able to beat Barrie twice with him on the mound, that's huge."
The Baycats' left-hander's body language was noticeably more negative than usual. On a seventh-inning bunt single by Gianfranco Morello, he neglected to attempt to field the ball. He later avoided a mound visit by walking off the mound toward second base as Barrie coach Andrew White emerged from the dugout.
His frustrations boiled over after the eighth when he reportedly smashed a garbage can in the dugout and threw it onto the field. From there, he stormed off to the Baycats clubhouse without telling anyone or returning, prompting a scramble for Brad Grieveson to enter and pitch in the ninth.
Garcés struck out four and allowed four earned runs on 10 hits across eight innings. The four strikeouts were his fewest in a start since the 2024 title-clinching game.
He wasn't the only Baycats player to express their frustrations. Helmets and bats were thrown in the dugout on multiple occasions by multiple players, including Clayton Keyes, whose outburst after the eighth inning and his third of three strikeouts against Leyer, prompted Baycats manager Josh Matlow to remove him from the game.
"We didn't see the fight like we're used to," Matlow said. "A couple of guys just weren't into it, and it was disappointing to see."
The mood of the majority of players was overwhelmingly negative following the game, despite there still being hope in salvaging the series.
"It's just about trying not to cave in on ourselves," McGarry Doyle said postgame. "We were doing a lot of things right, just a lot of things weren't going our way today. I feel like we just need to not get down on ourselves and look forward to tomorrow."
"The guys who want to fight will fight. We're a good team, and when our backs are up against the wall, then we're still going to fight," Matlow said. "We have no reason not to."
UP NEXT
Game 5 of the Finals goes on Sunday in Welland, where the Jackfish can clinch an IBL title at home for the first time.
Jackfish right-hander Ben Abram (1-0, 4.23 ERA) will start. Barrie will send Hayden Jaco to the mound to make his first career playoff start.
