Maple Leafs Lose Big to Baycats

By Rob Vona

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Barrie Baycats by a score of 15-3 on Thursday night at Vintage Throne Stadium. 

Maple Leafs pitcher Julian Valdez took the loss after he surrendered seven earned runs on eight hits in four-and-one-third innings pitched as he drops to a 1-2 record on the year. 

The visiting squad got on the board in the top of the first inning courtesy of a solo home run from catcher Justin Marra, giving the Maple Leafs the early lead.

The lead didn’t last long as the Baycats scored four runs in the bottom half of the inning thanks to an RBI fielder’s choice from right-fielder Starling Rodriguez and a pair of RBI base hits from DH Ryan Rijo and first baseman Adam Odd. 

Rijo led the charge for the Baycats, hitting a solo shot in the bottom of the third inning to make it a 5-1 ballgame. The 25-year-old would go on to finish with a game-high four hits and six RBI. 

After Marra recorded his second RBI of the day in the top of the fifth inning with a base hit that scored right-fielder David Alvarez, Rijo and the Baycats responded with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning that scored two more runs, extending the home team’s lead to 7-2.

The Baycats exploded for seven runs in the sixth inning, sending 13 batters to the plate and getting the best of first-year Maple Leaf Julian Tymochko.

The 24-year-old failed to record an out and was tagged for five runs, three earned and issued two walks.  

The seven-run inning was highlighted by a grand slam from first baseman Hayden Jaco as the Baycats now led 14-2. 

The two teams exchanged runs in the eighth inning, a second solo home run from Marra and another RBI single from Rijo made it a 15-3 ballgame.

The Maple Leafs will travel to Brantford, Ont. for a match with the Red Sox at Arnold Anderson Stadium before they take on the red-hot Welland Jackfish on home soil. First pitch is set for 8:00 p.m.