Maple Leafs lose big to Baycats

By Rob Vona

The Toronto Maple Leafs fell to the Barrie Baycats on Wednesday night at Dominico Field by a score of 11-3. With the loss, the Maple Leafs fall to 2-6 on the year and currently sit in seventh place in the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL).

The Baycats got off to a very fast start, shortstop Adam Odds went to other way and snuck in an opposite-field home run that just barely stayed fair, giving his team a 2-0 lead in the first inning. 

The Baycats continued to hunt down Maple Leafs starting pitcher Sam Greene, catcher Hayden Jaco took Greene deep to left-field for a solo blast, while Odd drove in another run with a single to right-field. 

Right-fielder Ricky Phillips blew the doors wide open after a two-run blast made it a 6-0 game in the blink of an eye. 

Greene exited the game two batters later due to some discomfort in his arm, he was tagged with the loss after surrendering six runs (three earned) in two innings of work. 

Baycats starting pitcher Cesar Rosado was on point, cruising through the first three innings before giving up a solo home run to Maple Leafs third baseman Johnathan Solazzo in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

The Baycats scored another run in the fifth inning, capitalizing on a fielding error by shortstop Jose Vinicio. 

First baseman Jordan Castaldo was quick to respond, launching a two-run blast in the bottom of the fifth inning in an attempt to give Toronto some life, as they now trailed 7-3. 

The Baycats red-hot bats would not go out quietly however, they tacked on another three runs, an RBI double from Williams and a base hit into left-field courtesy of third baseman Noah Hull extended the lead to eight for Barrie. 

Rosado cruised to his second win of the season with five strong innings that saw him give up three runs on three hits while striking out seven batters. 

Ryan Lacasse was credited with his first save of his IBL career, going four scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and striking out a pair of batters. 

The Maple Leafs are back at it on Friday at 7:35 p.m. at Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium for a date under the lights against the Hamilton Cardinals.