LINESCORE
CANADIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE
Hamilton 000 020 000— 2 6 4
Barrie 000 001 000— 1 5 1
Yan (W,5-1), Seroski (6), Warkentin (8), Adames (S,3) (9) and Hernandez;
Garcés (L,5-4), Večerka (7) and Puyol-Genossar.
HRs: Ham — Dominguez (9); Bar — None.
OTHER SCORES
Welland 6 Brantford 5 (10 inn.)
Kitchener 7 Toronto 5
The Barrie Baycats had plenty of chances to beat Hamilton on Thursday. They just couldn't finish them.
Barrie left 10 runners on base, including six in scoring position, in a 2-1 loss to the Cardinals in a game described as having a playoff feel.
"Unfortunately, we just didn't capitalize," Baycats manager Josh Matlow told Barrie360 postgame. "Obviously, we had many chances... how many chances do you need, really?"
Barrie went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position, including two of the team's 13 strikeouts.
Even late in the game as they tried to come back, seven of the team's nine outs came on strikes.
Matlow says that inopportune strikeouts aren't anything new for the Baycats.
"We've got to put, at minimum, the ball in play and we've been trending where we're striking out with guys in scoring position or in key situations and it's starting to add up."
For the Baycats, those missed opportunities are starting to add up in the standings. Barrie sits tied for fourth at 22-16, five games back of first with 10 games remaining.
But of greater concern is that the team is now 2.5 games back of third-place Hamilton.
With its 22-16 record, Barrie can clinch a playoff spot as early as Sunday, but if it finishes fourth or fifth, it would have to play a one-game playoff to clinch a semifinal berth — something everyone among the likely playoff teams is trying to avoid.
"It's obviously the wrong team to lose against," Matlow added. "We do play them twice (before the end of the season)... so it's still possible, but we're not helping our cause when we have opportunities and we're not capitalizing."
Matlow lamented that the team couldn't get a lead for starter Frank Garcés, who did his part to keep the Baycats in the game. He threw 6.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits and four walks while striking out a season-high eight, but Barrie managed just three hits during his outing.
His only damage came in the fifth, when Carlos Dominguez hit a two-run homer, Hamilton's only extra-base hit.
Barrie's lone run came in the sixth, when Ryan Rijo doubled and eventually scored on a fielding error by Cardinals second baseman Darlin Germán.
Cardinals starter Hector Yan struck out six over his 5.2 innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits and three walks. His six strikeouts put him back in sole possession of the league lead in the category with 94.
Yan committed three of Hamilton's four errors, another set of opportunities the Baycats couldn't take full advantage of.
The Cardinals now lead the season series 3-1, giving them the edge in the head-to-head matchup with two games still to play.
UP NEXT
The Baycats host the first-place London Majors on Saturday. Saul Vasquez (5-1, 4.26 ERA) will get the start for Barrie.
Hamilton hosts Welland on Friday.
