Adam Odd and Nolan Machibroda each homered, powering the Barrie Baycats to their first professional win, 6-1 over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday at Athletic Kulture Stadium.
The game marked a rematch from the 2025 IBL quarterfinals, which Barrie won in five games.
Barrie's homers came in the second and third, respectively, while Toronto's lone run came off the bat of Dennis Dei Baning in the fourth inning, who hit his second dinger in as many games.
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CANADIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE
Toronto 000 100 000 1 6 0
Barrie 013 002 00x 6 8 1
Veselinovic (L, 0-1) Ribis (4), Gulko (6), Sitarenios (8);
Garcés (W, 1-0), Encarnacion (6), Moreta (8), Pakkala (9).
HRs: Tor — Dei Baning (2); Bar — Machibroda (1), Odd (1).
The Baycats' pitching was very impressive, with Frank Garcés getting the opening day start, logging five innings, allowing one earned run on five hits and two walks while striking out five.
And the relievers that followed—Breidy Encarnacion, Oscar Moreta, Braeden Pakkala—did not let the Leafs claw back, allowing just two baserunners collectively.
Overall, Baycats manager Josh Matlow was impressed with a lot of the new additions that appeared in the opening-night win.
"I'm glad they got that monkey off their back," he said postgame. "I told the guys, especially Wandy (Ciprian) coming in, you don't have to be the guy, be a guy. Be a piece of the puzzle, not the puzzle."
Later, in the sixth, Ciprian zoomed around the bases for an RBI triple—his first CBL hit—before Odd knocked him in one pitch later.
Maple Leafs outfielder Yasiel Puig, a former major leaguer who hit two homers in his CBL debut on Sunday in Toronto, was undoubtedly the must-watch hitter of the night. However, he was held hitless, only reaching on walks in the third and fifth innings.
Matlow says the team didn't approach Puig differently.
"It wasn't really a big deal," he said. "I totally forgot until we got here that's who we were facing... [there] wasn't really much of a conversation.
Garcés, a former major leaguer himself, faced Puig twice on the big stage during his time with the Padres. Over two plate appearances between 2014 and 2015, Puig was 0-for-1 against Garcés with a walk.
Puig, set to appear for a hearing in a Los Angeles court on May 26, after he was convicted of obstruction of justice charges and lying to federal officials in relation to a U.S. investigation into an illegal gambling operation. His prosecutors are reportedly seeking 18 years in prison, while his lawyer is advocating for no prison time.
Despite the off-field troubles, kids swarmed him even before batting practice for autographs, and many teammates who spoke to Barrie360 pregame say he's been a great teammate so far. However, "wild horse," as legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully called him, refused any pre-game interviews.
For Barrie, both the pitching and hitting, clearly the three exhibition games before the season are helping the team get off to a good start.
"We had a good talk before the game and I think the message was sent that there's no time to figure it out—the time is now," Matlow said. "I think we had that game in a chokehold."
However, Odd, who only appeared in three innings at third base during pre-season play, went 2-for-three with two RBI despite the lack of live reps.
It was a busy offseason for Odd off the field, who had a baby in March, leaving him little time to take swings ahead of his first pro season. But the pre-game batting practice might be what led to his key performance.
"I asked myself why I sucked last year," he said, recalling his .680 OPS in 15 games.
"I just realized I was a little bit too close to the plate. I felt like I was seeing the ball well, but I wasn't hitting the barrel... I just kind of backed up from the plate a bit, and I started finding the barrel a little more and hitting the ball to left field, which is kind of what I did a couple years ago when I played well."
His home run falls into the category of "dad strength," a phenomenon that began in MLB when a player hits a home run in their first game since having a baby.
"I've been joking around with some guys in the league that I'm guaranteeing 10 home runs this year," he said laughingly. "I don't know if that'll happen, but one in the first game is definitely a good start."
Following Odd's homer, Ryan Rijo got his first pro hit, a deep, two-RBI single to right field as part of a three-run third inning.
After a bout with myocarditis took him out of the lineup for most of the season last year, it meant a lot for Rijo to step back in the box in a meaningful game.
"It was exactly how I pictured it would be," he said. "Just to hear my name get called again and your music hits and the fans cheer. It's what I live for so it was an awesome feeling."
Meanwhile, Marcus Knecht impressed for Toronto with two doubles off Garcés before adding a walk later in the game.
BARRIE KID MAKES PRO DEBUT
Thursday marked the professional debut of Barrie-native Cooper Tomkinson, who started at second base and hit seventh for Toronto.
He told Barrie360 before the game that he'd gone to plenty of Baycats games as a kid growing up, and that it was "surreal" to make his debut in his hometown.
Despite having multiple family members in attendance for the occasion, Tomkinson went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, and was hit by a pitch.
UP NEXT
The Baycats are in London to face the Majors, who open their season, on Friday. Saul Vasquez will make his first career CBL start against Majors ace Victor Payano.
Meanwhile, Toronto will host the Hamilton Cardinals on Sunday.
