In a rematch of the 2025 IBL Finals, Thursday's game between the Barrie Baycats and defending champion Welland Jackfish sure gave off playoff vibes.
And no, it wasn't just the fall-like temperatures hovering around the 8 C mark for much of the game.
The two bitter rivals played a tight contest from start to finish, ending with Barrie rallying for a come-from-behind, walk-off 5-4 win in 10 innings at Athletic Kulture Stadium.
"This is what playoff baseball feels like," Baycats catcher Kristyan Puyol-Genossar said postgame. "[It takes] a will (to win) over anything else."
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CANADIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE
Welland 101 000 000 2 4 7 3
Barrie 000 000 200 3 5 10 2
Leyer, Howat (6), De Los Santos (7, L,0-1);
Mejia, Encarnacion (7), Moreta (9), Sano (10, W,1-0).
HRs: Wel — None; Bar — None.
After an RBI single by Jackfish catcher Robert Mullen and an error by Baycats pitcher Carlos Sano gave the Jackfish a two-run advantage in the 10th inning, the Baycats pushed situational approaches to eventually get the win.
"We were looking for guys who will put the ball in play and that's kind of what it came down to in this situation," Baycats manager Josh Matlow said. "If they didn't put the ball in play we would be standing here and talking about a loss."
The final play came off the bat of outfielder Canice Ejoh, who hit a weak groundball that was flubbed by Jackfish shortstop Brendan Luther, allowing Nolan Machibroda to cross home plate as the winning run.
Prior to the final at bat, Ejoh was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts and a sacrifice fly, which gave him a sense of vindication after the walk-off.
It would have been a tough play for Luther to make even if he came up with the ball, but Ejoh said he wasn't necessarily trying for a base hit.
"When you have a game like that, you just want to do your best to help the team out, especially in that moment," he said postgame. "I just tried to put the ball in play and it worked out."
It was the same case for the two batters before Ejoh, who both came up with the bases loaded.
In his first CBL plate appearance after entering as a defensive replacement, Puyol-Genossar hit a groundball to Jackfish pitcher Pedro De Los Santos, who had an opportunity to turn a game-ending double play. Instead, he bobbled the ball, and had no play.
"I've been taught since I was four, put the ball in play, good things happen," the rookie said.
Adam Odd followed that up with a clutch sacrifice fly to tie the game.
Barrie struggled to muster anything off of Jackfish starter Euclides Leyer, who allowed just four hits and a walk while striking out seven over five innings in his first outing of the season.
"We want to get it going early, but again, Leyer pitched really well," Matlow said. "He was locating and putting guys off balance, and it just took some time."
The team didn't get on the board until the seventh on Ejoh's sacrifice fly, which was followed by Odd scoring on a wild pitch by De Los Santos.
Meanwhile, Baycats starter Juan Mejia allowed two earned runs on five hits over six innings. He also struck out five , walked one, and hit a batter.
Welland's early runs came from a first-inning RBI single by Mullen, and another by third baseman Bryce Arnold in the third.
For Barrie, Edgar Figueroa had a standout performance at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk.
AROUND THE HORN
Jackfish right fielder Justin Gideon appeared in his 158th game for the club, setting the franchise's career record for games played, surpassing Matteo Porcellato's previous record total.
Left-hander Myles Martinez was set to make his first appearance of the season for Welland in the sixth inning, but appeared to injure himself during his mid-inning warmup tosses and left the game before he faced a batter. Jackfish staff confirmed that he had suffered an injury, but did not provide further details.
UP NEXT
Juan Benítez is set to start for Barrie when the team hosts the Kitchener Panthers on Saturday.
Welland will host the Toronto Maple Leafs for the first time in 2026 on Saturday.
