Panthers force playoff with Baycats

GUELPH – Top seed in the IBL playoffs will come down to one game.

The Kitchener Panthers (25-11) forced a tiebreaker with Barrie after a 6-3 win Saturday night in Guelph. Barrie will host the tiebreaker Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. thanks to having a better head-to-head record against the Panthers. 

Ryley Davenport homered and drove in two in the win. Liam Wilson went 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run, Zarley Cina singled twice and drove in two, and Zach Johnson scored twice. 

Brady Schnarr (4-1) picked up the win, allowing a run on four hits in 2.2 innings. He walked one and struck out two. Stephen Gade started and went 4.1 innings, giving up two runs on six hits with a trio of strikeouts. Miguel Lahera walked one and struck out one in a hitless ninth for his sixth save. 

For Guelph (16-20), Matt Schmidt went 3-for-5 with a home run and two doubles. He also scored twice. Ricky Murray had three hits and two RBI, Justin Interisano singled twice and scored, and Matthew Pilarczyk added a pair of hits. 

Edwin Javier (5-1) took the loss, allowing six runs (three earned) with two walks and two strikeouts.