Baycats advance after Game 5 win
BARRIE – The defending champs are still alive.
Barrie advanced to the IBL semifinal after a 5-4 walkoff win over Toronto in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Athletic Kulture Stadium. That gave the Baycats a 3-2 series victory and a date with fifth-seed Hamilton in the second round.
With the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, Nolan Machibroda drove a 1-0 pitch over a drawn-in outfield to score Noel McGarry-Doyle, who started the inning with an infield single. The RBI was Machibroda’s second of the game, as he opened the scoring in the first inning on a groundout.
Tristan Clarke went 3-for-3 with an RBI, and he scored on Adam Odd’s two-run homer in the sixth to give Barrie the lead. McGarry-Doyle and Brandon Hernandez had two hits apiece.
Barrie reliever Carlos Sano pitched a clean ninth to earn the win. Starting pitcher Juan Benitez fanned five over six innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and a pair of walks.
Jordan Castaldo went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Toronto, which entered playoffs as the seventh seed. Luca Boscarino and Dennis Dei Baning each drove in a run, and Marcus Knecht had a pair of hits and scored.
Greg Carrington took the loss on the mound after giving up three hits and a run without recording an out. Starter Franklin Hernandez went 6.1 innings and allowed four runs on six hits. He walked two and fanned 11.
In the other semifinal, top-seed Welland will face No. 6 Guelph. Schedules for both series will be announced soon.