Jackfish gear up for semifinal showdown with Baycats
5-time Intercounty Baseball League champion Barrie features plenty of power on the mound and at the plate
If someone had told Welland Jackfish manager Brian Essery back in late April his team would reach the semifinals and face league powerhouse Barrie Baycats, he would have taken it in a heartbeat. Well, that day is here. The Jackfish will open the semifinal round of the Intercounty Baseball League at Coates Stadium in Barrie Saturday night. Game 2 is Sunday night at the Welland Stadium.
“They are the five-time IBL champ,” Essery said. “Their lineup is really good. Their starting pitching is good. We are in tough. We know that. We will not roll over. We’ll battle and see what happens.”
Barrie features power both on the mound and at the plate.
Starter pitcher Adrian Salcedo led the league in strikeouts with 90 (against only 20 walks) while teammate Emilis Guerrero was fourth with 71 strikeouts (and only six walks).
Welland’s team leader, Euclides Leyer, had 67 strikeouts (against 29 walks).
“We have seen all their starters, and they are always around the strike zone,” Essery said. “They don’t walk a lot of guys. All four of their starters are tough.”
Leyer will get the ball in Game 1 Saturday in Barrie. Essery is waiting to announce his starter for Game 2 in Welland.
As a team, Barrie led the league with 44 home runs, and Barrie infielder Jordan Castaldo led the league with 15 homers.
He actually out-homered the entire Welland team, which finished the regular season with 10. Kevin Atkinson was tied for fourth with 10 homers.
DeAndre Asbury-Heath hit four homers to lead Welland in the regular season. Midseason addition Vaughn Bryan hit one in 18 regular season games but slugged two against London in five playoff games.
Welland’s advantage is in the speed department. The Jackfish stole 120 bases, led by Caleb Feuerstake and Wilson Soriano with 22 each, but Feuerstake has gone back to school.
Brandon Nicholson and Asbury-Heath had 18 and 17 each. Barrie stole 44 bases, though teams with power traditionally play it safe on the basepaths.
“We won’t change our game plan at all,” Essery said.
“We will continue doing what we have been doing offensively.”
“We are going to manufacture runs by getting on base. We aren’t going to hit the three-run homer. That’s just not us,” Essery said.
“I was a pitcher myself, and facing a team with speed is tougher than facing a team with power. You know what to expect with the power guys.
“Speed puts a lot of pressure on the pitchers. That’s when you make mistakes. That’s when you leave a pitch over the middle of the plate. That’s when you lose your command, because you are thinking about a lot of other things.
“The players in the field are also back on their toes. They know something is coming; they don’t know when. That’s the team I like, and that’s the team my assistant coach Ricky Pillitteri likes, as well. We built the team around speed.”
Game 3 is in Barrie Tuesday night. Game 4 is back in Welland Thursday. Games 5, 6 and 7 are scheduled for Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday, if necessary.
Welland defeated the London Majors 4-1 in the opening round, which included a come-frombehind 11-7 win to clinch the series Tuesday.
The series win was the first in franchise history, which stretches back to the 2009 Mississauga Twins.