The Baycats sure love exciting finishes, and Thursday may have been the been the best so far.
After being down by as many as five runs, Barrie came back for a thrilling 11-10 win in 10 innings over the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers at Athletic Kulture Stadium.
Adam Odd's broken bat single drove in the winning run in extras after his team tied the game in the ninth inning with a three-run frame. Until that point, Barrie had trailed virtually the entire game.
The single, which came in his sixth at bat of the game, came in the nick of time to extend his season-opening hit streak to six, having come into extra innings 0-for-5.
"I had a pretty tough game. I just felt like I was seeing the ball well, but just couldn't make contact the way I wanted to," Odd said postgame. "[The moment] always seems to find me, and I just was able to get it done today."
The win, for the time being, keeps Barrie in a tie for first place in the CBL with Welland at 6-2.
CLICK HERE FOR GAME SUMMARY
CANADIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE
Chatham-Kent 313 021 000 0 10 12 2
Barrie 204 000 103 1 11 17 2
Mercadier, Akatsuka (4), Kurikka (8), Pettipiece (9, L,0-1);
Benítez, Vasquez (5), Pakkala (7), Sano (10, W,4-0).
HRs: Ckb — Barrett (3), Kucera (1); Bar — McGarry Doyle (1), Rijo (1).
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Much like Saturday afternoon, the Barnstormers scored early, this time with a three-run home run by designated hitter Greyson Barrett, which got a little help from Canice Ejoh. The Baycats center fielder settled under the routine flyball on the warning track, but the ball popped out of his glove and over the fence.
Ejoh scored in the bottom half of the frame on a two-run shot from Noel McGarry Doyle, his first of homer the season in his first at bat after taking the previous game off due to injury.
"We got punched, and now we got to punch back," he said. "The only thing you can do is start swinging."
Chatham-Kent kept adding on, however. Lee Kucera's first hit of the season drove in a run in the second before he lined a three-run homer over the left field fence in the third to make it 7-5.
Another answer for Barrie came in the third with an RBI single from McGarry Doyle before Ryan Rijo blasted a three-run homer to right field, his first of the season and first since a midseason health scare in 2025.
"He's been getting his hits, but he wants to pop one out of the yard," Odd said. "I hope he goes on a little run and keeps hitting them out."
Barnstormers starter Thibault Mercadier's season struggles continues in what was his third start of the season, allowing six earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three in just three innings. The outing ballooned his ERA from 8.59 to 11.32.
The four-run third was all Barrie could muster for a while. In the meantime, the Barnstormers got an RBI double from Owen Constantineau in the fifth before he scored minutes later on a passed ball by Baycats catcher Wandy Ciprian. Then, Barrett drove in another with a double in the sixth.
It may have been the roughest outing in the IBL/CBL career of Baycats starter Juan Benítez, who allowed nine runs (eight earned) on 11 hits, while striking out four in four innings.
Barrie's comeback attempt began in the seventh inning, down 10-6 when Nolan Machibroda drove one in with his second hit of the game.
Baycats reliever Braeden Pakkala was able to keep the visitors at bay in what were three clutch shutout innings between the seventh and ninth innings that included four strikeouts. He is yet to allow a run through four appearances.
"When my innings start to get away from me, it's usually because I'm not getting ahead," he said. "So tonight I was focusing on trying to get ahead as much as possible and let it go from there."
In the eighth, Barrie brought the tying run to the plate for the first time since the fourth, down by three. In the midst of the threat, Edgar Figueroa took off from second base to steal third, and crossed home plate after an errant throw by Barnstormers catcher Mitsuki Fukuda got away from third baseman Yushin Ohta.
However, home plate umpire Adam De Caire determined that he had interfered with Fukuda as he reached back to throw, calling the play dead and motioning both baserunners back to their starting position.
Rushing out of the Baycats dugout, appearing to argue the call, manager Josh Matlow was quickly ejected, which appeared to have a positive effect on the squad.
"If our [manager] is ready to go out there and die for us, or get tossed in this case, then we should be able to go out there and try to do the same thing: play with a little bit more grit, and really try to be more aggressive," McGarry Doyle said.
In the ninth, Machibroda scored again on an RBI single by Brandon Hernandez before McGarry Doyle drove another run two batters later.
Two errors by Barnstormers shortstop Thomas Green kept Barrie in the game, including a misplay off the bat of Figueroa which could've been a game-ending double play, but instead allowed Hernandez to score and tie the game at 10.
Odd's bat shattered on his game winning single, sending the ball into a tough area for Chatham-Kent's defence and giving pinch runner Brendon Daley a chance to score the winning run.
In their first eight games of the season, Barrie has played in four extra-innings games and won each of them, three of them coming at home.
"You look around the talent level on our side of the field is pretty unreal," Pakkala said. 'We're never out of it, whether it be three runs, five runs, two runs, we always feel like we got a chance to win."
Carlos Sano got his fourth win of the season, all four coming in extra innings appearances. The Baycats closer is yet to pitch in a save situation despite five of the team's eight games being decided by one run.
McGarry Doyle finished the game 5-for-6 with a home run and four RBI, one of five Baycats with a multi-hit effort.
Meanwhile, Barrett's 2-for-5 performance with a home run moves him into a nine-way tie atop the league with three homers, but his four RBI puts him atop the league in that category with 14. Machibroda and Ejoh also have a league-high three home runs so far this season.
UP NEXT
The Baycats face the Brantford Red Sox for the first time this season on Friday night on the road. Frank Garcés (2-0, 3.38 ERA) will start for Barrie, while Brantford will send Jose Arias (0-0, 9.00 ERA) to the mound.
Chatham-Kent hosts the Red Sox on Saturday afternoon.
