NEWS RELEASE
INTERCOUNTY BASEBALL LEAGUE
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HAMILTON — The Barrie Baycats evened their record at 9-9 with a convincing 7-2 victory over the Hamilton Cardinals on Sunday afternoon at Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium.
Frank Garces was outstanding on the mound for the Baycats, tossing eight innings of four-hit ball while striking out 11 and allowing just one earned run to pick up the win.
The Baycats offense backed him up with a 15-hit effort, led by Nolan Machibroda, who went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored. Tristan Clarke added a pair of hits and an RBI, while Noah Hull and Tyler Plumpton each chipped in three-hit performances.
The visitors opened the scoring with two runs in the second inning and steadily added to their lead, scoring in five different frames. Willy Garcia drove in a pair, and Alex Wickett also delivered an RBI single to help pace the attack.
Hamilton’s lone offence came in the fifth inning, when Johnathan Solazzo laced a two-run single.
Cardinals starter Chris Boatto took the loss, giving up two runs in 1.2 innings of work as Hamilton dropped to 9-10 on the season.
The Baycats will look to carry their momentum into its Canada Day road date with the London Majors at 6:05pm. The Cardinals aim to regroup on July 4, when they host the Brantford Red Sox at 7:35pm.
Balanced Barnstormers attack clip Royals
CHATHAM — The Chatham-Kent Barnstormers stayed hot on Sunday afternoon, using a balanced offensive attack and strong pitching to top the Guelph Royals 7-2 in Intercounty Baseball League action at Fergie Jenkins Field.
Yuri Yokoyama delivered another quality start for the Barnstormers, going six innings while allowing just two runs on four hits, striking out five to improve his ERA to 2.53.
The Barnstormers’ bullpen took care of the rest, with Catalin Morin and Garret Day combining for three scoreless innings of relief.
At the plate, Sadler Goodwin and Torrin Vaselenak supplied the fireworks, each hitting solo home runs to help pace an 11-hit afternoon for the Barnstormers.
Spencer Marcus continued his strong season, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and two walks, while Mitsuki Fukuda and Yushin Ohta each reached base multiple times to keep the pressure on the Royals pitching.
The Royals managed six hits on the day, including a solo home run from Anderson Fenwick — his first of the season — and an RBI single from Blake Simpson.
Starter Brandon Deans took the loss after allowing four runs (three earned) over 5.2 innings of work.
With its fifth win in a row, the Barnstormers improve to 13-7. They host the Brantford Red Sox Tuesday at 6:05 pm. The Royals slip to 9-10, and host the Kitchener Panthers on Canada Day at 7:30pm.
Big first inning leads Majors over Maple Leafs
LONDON — The London Majors struck early and held on late for a 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Labatt Park in Intercounty Baseball League action.
The Majors did most of its damage in the opening frame, plating four runs to seize control of the game.
Tucker Zdunich and Brad Verhoeven each drove in runs during the rally, while Champ Garner capped the inning with a two-run single.
The Maple Leafs chipped away with single runs in the first, third, and seventh innings, but couldn’t overcome the early deficit. Jhon Javier had a strong day at the plate for the visitors, going 3-for-5 with a double, while Justin Marra drove in two runs.
Majors starter Jose Arias worked 6.2 innings for the win, scattering nine hits and striking out five. Skylar Janisse closed out the ninth with three punch outs to earn the save.
Drew Howard took the loss for the Maple Leafs, allowing four runs — two earned — over five innings.
With the win, London improves to 13-7, and are poised to host the Barrie Baycats at 6:05pm on Canada Day. The Maple Leafs slip to 10-11 on the season, and also play on Tuesday, when they travel to the Niagara region to take on the Welland Jackfish.
Panthers use three-run third to take out Red Sox
BRANTFORD — The Kitchener Panthers made the most of a decisive third inning and strong pitching to edge the Brantford Red Sox 3-1 on Sunday afternoon in Intercounty Baseball League action at Arnold Anderson Stadium.
All three of Kitchener’s runs came in the top of the third, sparked by a Yordan Manduley RBI single, followed by Yosvani Penalver driving in another, and Charlie Towers adding a sacrifice fly to cap the rally.
Manduley led the Panthers’ offence with a three-hit performance, while Jamie Cabral and Iyad Ansari each added a hit and a run.
On the mound, Owen MacNeil was outstanding for the Panthers, tossing seven innings of one-hit, shutout baseball while striking out two and walking just one. Danny Garcia closed things out, allowing one run over the final two frames to earn the save.
Brantford’s lone run came in the bottom of the ninth on a Christian Ortega sacrifice fly, but it was too little, too late.
Rene Tachioka collected two of the Red Sox’s three hits in the game, including a double.
Connor Irvine took the loss for Brantford despite a solid seven-inning effort, giving up three runs on six hits while striking out three.
With the win, the Panthers improve to 7-13 and visit the Guelph Royals on Canada Day at 7:30pm.The Red Sox fall to 4-16 and hit the Road Tuesday to take on the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers at 6:05pm.
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