Baycats win 9-1
The "dog days" of summer are upon us.
There are two origins to this old term, both going back centuries.
First, ancient astronomers noted that Sirius - the dog star - rose and set with the sun around the beginning of July to late August.
Second, these weeks in July and August are the hottest of the year, sometimes bringing the edginess out in people and especially dogs, making them disagreeable, and even rabid.
Out at Christie Pits tonight, dogs were tearing up and down the hillsides, circling, barking and chasing.
Things were more orderly on the field of play, for the most part. The Barrie Baycats jumped out to an early lead, held onto it, and expanded it late in the game for a 9-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tempers briefly flared in the bottom of the 8th, when pinch runner Gianfranco Morello slid hard into second, and shortstop Branfy Arias voiced his displeasure. Some circling and barking took place, but no chasing, and everyone cooled down.
Rough night for the Mapes. They were a few runs down for most of the game and hung in there until the visitors piled on four more in the 9th. Dan Marra got the only hit for extra bases, and recorded the lone RBI. The home nine scattered three other hits and left seven stranded on base.
It was Branfy's Big Adventure early on. In the top of the 2nd, Arias reached base on a fielder's choice, stole second, stole third and stole home. Wild. He added a solo home run in the top of the 4th and tallied 2 hits, 2 runs and 2 RBIs on the night.
But I'm not here to write the Baycats recap. That task is in capable hands, here.
As for the Leafs, they have a chance to split this home-and-home series tomorrow night, when they roll up the 400 to Coates Stadium for a rematch.
Game Recap:
Brett Van Pelt of the Toronto Maple Leafs faced Brett Lawson of the Barrie Baycats as both starters took the field on an evening that cooled off after the sun had set at Christie Pits.
Catcher Kyle DeGrace reached base on a fielding error by leftfielder Raul Borjas in the top of the 1st. First baseman Jordan Castaldo followed with a double, and a sac fly by third baseman Kevin Atkinson plated DeGrace for the first run of the game.
In the top of the 2nd, second baseman Jeff Cowan walked to lead off, then was thrown out on a fielder's choice that put Branfy Arias at first base. Arias proceeded to steal, second, third, and home while Tyler Fata was at the plate. Fata was then walked by Van Pelt. Centerfielder Glenn Jackson then doubled to score Fata, and it was 3-0 Baycats after two innings.
Barrie added another run in the top of the 4th. It came off the bat of Arias, who hit a solo home run. 4-0 Baycats midway through the 4th.
Lawson pitched well on the night. He did not give up a hit until the bottom of the 4th, when Will Richards singled, but the Leafs couldn't cash him in.
The Leafs did get on the board in the bottom of the 5th. Catcher Brendan Keys singled. Dan Marra then hit a double off Lawson and Keys roared around the basepaths all the way home. An excited spectator exclaimed that Keys tore around the bases "as if someone just stole his TV". Sometimes a writer has to tap into the resources around him in order to describe the action. 4-1 Baycats after the 5th inning.
Van Pelt and Lawson both pitched into the 8th inning. The Baycats tacked on a run when Castaldo scored on a fielder's choice by Cowan. 5-1 after eight innings.
Barrie piled it on late, scoring four more runs and turning the game into a laugher. RIght fielder Ryan Spataro walked to lead off, stole second, stole third on a double steal along with DeGrace, then romped home on a wild pitch by reliever Dan Zlotnick. Dave Ertl came in to pitch. A sac fly by Atkinson brought DeGrace in. A single by Cowan scored Castaldo, and a single by Arias scored leftfielder Steve Lewis. All told, the Baycats banged out eight hits and used some aggression on the basepaths to rack up a 9-1 final score.
Barrie 9-8-3
Toronto 1-4-2
W - Lawson (7-1, 3.60)
L - Van Pelt (3-3, 3.19)
BOXSCORE
The Maple Leafs are stuck at .500 with a 13-13 record. They are 8.5 games behind these Baycats and the clubs will play a rematch in Barrie tomorrow night.
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