It was an "ugly" win for the Barrie Baycats (3-1) in the words of manager Josh Matlow.
His team committed three errors and still came away victorious in a close 6-5, 10-inning walk-off win over the Kitchener Panthers (3-2) on Tuesday at Athletic Kulture Stadium.
But it was a key error by former Baycat Malik Williams, one of two committed by the Panthers that allowed Noah Hull to score the winning run for Barrie in the tenth inning.
With Hull on second base as the automatic runner, he dashed home after Edgar Figueroa bunted and Williams couldn't pick Yosuke Fujie’s throw to first. The ball trickled away, giving Hull the chance to clinch Barrie's second extra innings win of the year in as many games.
"It's just those weird things in sports where one guy seems to always be getting hit by a pitch (for example)," Hull said postgame, referencing a walk-off win in Game 1 of the 2025 IBL Quarterfinals against Toronto. "One guy always seems to be in that spot, and I guess over the past couple of years, I seem to always be in that guy to score a winning run in an odd scenario."
It was the second consecutive game for Barrie won via walk-off after a 6-5 win over Welland in 10 innings on Thursday, which also came as a result of an error.
In Hull's time with the team over the past two seasons, Barrie was 8-3 in extra innings games, while in the same span going 14-8 in one-run games.
He said that for the Baycats, pulling off a win late in the game is never in doubt.
"The dugout stays level headed," Hull said. "We know we have a team that's built with a lot of good depth and a lot of guys who can perform in any spot that they're put into."
Tuesday's game was originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon but rescheduled after the Barrie area saw over 26 millimetres of rain that made for what would’ve been awful playing conditions.
Kitchener entered the contest tied for first place in the league and on a three-game winning streak.
"Those are fun games to be a part of," Baycats first baseman Nolan Machibroda said postgame. "Pressure situations is kind of what you play for...That's a great team we just played, a lot better than last year, for sure."
CLICK HERE FOR GAME SUMMARY
CANADIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE
Kitchener 000 021 200 0 5 4 2
Barrie 000 320 000 1 6 11 4
Serrata, Reid (5), Liberta (8, L,1-0)
Benítez, Pakkala (7), Encarnacion (8), Sano (10, W,2-0)
HRs: Kit — None; Bar — None.
Barrie had the game's first major threat in the fourth inning, but couldn't capitalize despite having runners on second and third base with none out.
Two came across the following inning, however. Following a double by Ryan Rijo and single by Francisco Hernandez, Wandy Ciprian drove them both in with a two-RBI single.
Brandon Hernandez had an RBI single, followed by a two-run knock by Nolan Machibroda, in the fifth to give Barrie a 5-0 lead.
But it wasn't insurmountable for the Panthers.
Right away, Kitchener loaded the bases and Petey Kiefer came through with a two-run double, upping his CBL-leading RBI total to 10. It was nearly worth three runs, but Mateo Zeppieri was thrown out, mere feet behind Charlie Towers scoring, on a perfect 9-4-2 relay.
Those were the first runs off Baycats starter Juan Benítez, who had held the Panthers hitless through the first five innings. He finished his six-inning outing having allowed two earned runs on two hits and two walks while striking out three.
Kitchener continued to crawl back, next with Jamie Cabral scoring on an egregious throwing error by Baycats catcher Wandy Ciprian as he tried to the catch pinch runner stealing at third base.
Ciprian continued to struggle defensively, allowing the Panthers to tie the game. In the eighth, Yosvani Penalver scored on a passed ball, before Malik Williams scored on another throwing error from the young Dominican catcher. Williams had only reached due to an error on a dropped flyball by Baycats right fielder Clayton Keyes.
Jake Liberta entered the game for Kitchener on the mound, shutting down the Baycats until the game-ending error in the 10th inning, including getting a lucky 6-4 double play off a line drive out off the bat of Ciprian.
Liberta was responsible for two of the Baycats 12 strikeouts as a team, from which home plate umpire Danyon Newell drew considerable ire from Baycats hitters throughout the game.
Through that, Brandon Hernandez was ejected while on the on-deck circle in the ninth inning due to what appeared to be continuous profane language directed toward Newell.
"It got the best of him," Matlow explained. "That was my moment to let it loose, but he didn't give me a chance to do it. I'd like to be the guy in that situation at the front of the line, but he was on deck and he was right there and he said some pretty nasty words and they tossed him. It is what it is.
"You can't let the emotions get the better of you and I think that was part of the ugliness."
Any potential discipline has not been announced by the league, however, it's not the first time the younger Hernandez brother has been ejected during a Panthers-Baycats game.
Meanwhile, Carlos Sano earned his second win of the season similarly to his first, entering in extra innings but not letting a run score in this outing.
Despite being a closer, Matlow has had to use him in tie games multiple times before a save situation this season.
"I'm sure he's tired of pitching in those situations, probably wants to come in for a proper close." the Baycats manager said. "If the setup man (Breidy Encarnacion) had have held them down, then he would have, but that's how we had to use him."
Malik Williams, in his first game against Barrie since an offseason trade sent him to Kitchener, went 0-for-5.
In his first CBL start, Elian Serrata allowed five earned runs on nine hits and collected eight strikeouts.
UP NEXT
The Baycats begin a two-game stretch on the road Wednesday in Toronto with Frank Garcés (1-0, 1.80 ERA) expected to make his second start of the season.
"We're starting to figure it out in terms of who's who and what's what," Matlow said. "Everybody needs to stay healthy, be ready [for] when your number is called."
Kitchener hosts London on Thursday.
