Barrie familiar foe for Panthers
KITCHENER — For the third time in four years, the Kitchener Panthers will battle the Barrie Baycats for the Intercounty Baseball League championship.
They’ve seen this movie before. But this time, after getting swept by the defending-champion Baycats in the 2016 and ’17 playoffs, the Panthers hope they can finally change the ending.
The best-of-seven championship series begins Tuesday night in Barrie. Game 2 will be Thursday night at Jack Couch Park.
The Baycats, making their seventh trip in a row to the IBL final, will be a tough opponent. They came into the playoffs on a 13-game winning streak and ran it to 20 games by sweeping both their opening round and semifinal series to advance to the championship.
Their pitching staff is led by ace Frank Garces, who has 31 strikeouts in 23 innings in the post-season, and a minuscule 0.38 ERA.
Barrie’s lineup is full of dangerous hitters, including Branfy Infante and his 14 RBIs in seven games, and Glenn Jackson, who’s hitting .500 in the post-season. They haven’t lost a game since July 4, when Hamilton beat them 5-4.
But the Panthers, who last won a championship in 2001, are heading into the series on a high, too. Like Barrie, they swept their way to the final. “We’re playing pretty good baseball,” said second baseman Mike Andrulis, after the Panthers beat Toronto 4-3 Thursday night to advance.
“We’re getting it from all facets. We’re getting good pitching, good defence and timely hitting. It’s hard not to win when that’s happening.”
They’ve gotten big hits when they need them, and their pitching has been the best fans have seen all season.
Starter Noelvis Entenza hasn’t given up a run yet in the playoffs, and a relief corps led by Mike Schnurr and Miguel Lahera has been watertight.
On Thursday night, starter Jonder Martinez found a way to win without his best stuff, while Matt Vickers and Schnurr shut Toronto down in the final three innings.
Despite Barrie’s obvious success, the Panthers aren’t suffering from a lack of confidence.
“They’re a good team, but we can beat them. We know that,” said catcher Mike Gordner, who’s homered on back-to-back nights.
Gordner has been locked in at the plate lately. He says he’s been helped by a video on the MLB Network that explored the role that breathing plays in hitting.
“I’ve just changed my breathing, and it’s calmed me way down,” he said.
“It’s worked the last two games. I’ve felt really good.”
First baseman Keegan Marsden said solid defence set the tone in the Toronto series, boosted their pitchers and kept the team confident. That needs to continue if they want to beat Barrie.
“We’ve got to keep playing good defence. They’re a great-hitting team, and if they’re going to give us outs, we have to take advantage,” he said.
Offensively, the Panthers have been producing runs up and down the lineup, rather than relying on a handful of players to get it done. That’s critical, he said.
“Every single game, somebody different is stepping up. That’s what it takes to win a championship, you need everybody contributing,” Marsden said.
Game 3 in the championships series will be played Saturday afternoon in Barrie. Game 4 will be Sunday at 7 p.m. in Kitchener.
Game 5, if needed, is scheduled for Tuesday night in Barrie; Game 6 will be Sept. 6 in Kitchener. Game 7 would be Saturday, Sept. 8, in Barrie.