Barrie gets socked

Sports

Posted By LUKE EDWARDS, SPECIAL TO THE EXAMINER

Posted 3 months ago

Fans of the Barrie Baycats may have viewed Saturday's game against Brantford as a chance to get redemption after last year's championship series, but for the Baycat players, it was just another game.

And that's probably a good thing, as they didn't play like a team looking for redemption.

Barrie lost 10-4 to Brantford at Barrie Metals Stadium in an error-filled contest.

Rightfielder Ryan Spataro was quick to jump in defence of Fillier, though, and said that the team has every confidence in the second baseman.

"It's still early. He just came back three games ago. We know he'll be right back in there (for the next game)," Spataro said, adding that Fillier just returned from college, where he mostly played the outfield.

Spataro was a spark plug for Barrie in the leadoff position on Saturday night. He scored two runs in his first two at-bats, and wreaked havoc on the base paths early on.

In the first inning he singled up the gut, then promptly stole second and third, before scoring on a wild pitch.

"I saw (Brantford third baseman Hyung) Cho hanging back and wanted to get into position for the guys hitting behind me," he said.

He scored again in the third on a sacrifice fly by Matt Logan.

The game was a rematch of last year's championship series that saw Brantford sweep Barrie, despite three of the four games going to extra innings.

Barrie manager Angus Roy wasn't heading into the game with any extra motivation or pressure, though.

"We're not looking at it as a chance for redemption. We just try to worry about how we play," he said, although he admitted that some of the players could get a little more excited knowing who they were playing.

Roy said that other teams in the league would probably be keeping a close eye on the first Barrie-Brantford match of the year to see how the two top teams from 2009 stack up against one another.

"That's how you gauge yourself," he said.

Barrie and Brantford have been at the top of the league for the past few years and have combined to win four of the past five league championships. Brantford has won three of the past four.

They currently occupy the first and second places in the standings this year, with Brantford stretching their lead over Barrie to one and a half games with Saturday's win.

The Barrie manager said the team was still working on some things in all facets of the game, namely sharper defence and taking advantage of their offensive opportunities.

While the defence obviously still needs some work, Barrie used their speed and played fundamental baseball to capitalize on opportunities. Unfortunately for them, they didn't get enough chances.

Spataro scored after stealing second and third base in the first inning and Glenn Jackson did the same in the third inning.

But Barrie only had 13 batters reach base to Brantford's 25.

It was the four-run Brantford fourth that set the tone for the rest of the game. Barrie stayed close until the eighth when the Red Sox tacked on three more runs, but the Baycats couldn't put a sustained rally together to tie it up.

Marc-Andre Major got the win for Brantford, going 5 1/3 innings. He gave up four runs, all earned, on four hits. He struck out three and walked five.

Adam Garner was hit with the loss for Barrie. He battled his way through six innings, giving up seven runs -- four earned --on seven hits. He walked three and struck out three.

Barrie rebounded for a 14-7 road win over the Hamilton Thunderbirds on Sunday, pounding out 16 hits to improve to 16-2.

The Baycats host Kitchener on Tuesday night. Game time is 7:30 p.m. They then go to Mississauga on Thursday before returning home to play a twin bill against London on Saturday. The first game starts at 1 pm.

sports@thebarrieexaminer.com

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