Majors shut out Baycats

Written by Dan Haugh/Photo by Matt Hiscox Photography 

Solid pitching and timely hitting was what the London Majors used to produce a 3-0 shutout win over the second-place Barrie Baycats at Labatt Park on Friday night.

The game saw great pitching from both teams. London Left-hander Travis Keys picked up his sixth win of the season as he allowed only four Barrie hits and one walk while striking out eight in seven shutout innings. Skylar Janisse came on in relief in the eighth and Victor Payano pitched the ninth for his third save of the season

Frank Garces pitched all eight innings for Barrie allowing the three London runs on nine hits.

London field manager Roop Chanderdat had this to say about the pitching in tonight's game,  ̈Garces is one of the best in the IBL, and any time you can get a win off him is great. Our starter Travis Keys kept Barrie off balance for most of the night, and then the bullpen did their job with Skylar Janisse and Victor Payano closing out the win. ̈.

The game was scoreless through six innings until Kaiden Cardoso led off the bottom of the seventh inning sending a four-bagger way over the right field fence onto Riverside Drive to give London a 1-0 lead.

Chanderdat added this regarding Cardoso,  ̈I have put Kaiden in the seven spot in the batting order for the past couple games to take some pressure off of him, and he has responded really well. ̈

The Majors added two more runs in the eighth inning when Eduardo De Oleo drove a one-out double into the gap in left centre. Designated hitter Cleveland Brownlee stepped to the plate next and slapped a drive to left field that eluded Barrie left fielder Nolan Marchibroda and went to the wall bringing De Oleo home from second base with London's second run of the game. Charlie Bowman replaced Brownlee as a pinch runner at second base and plated the third London on a single by Victor Plaz.

Eduardo De Oleo, Cleveland Brownlee, and Kaiden Cardoso had two hits each, while Drew Lawrence, Victor Plaz and Ty Mosher chipped in with one hit each to bring the London hit total to nine on the night.

The London Majors and Barrie Baycats will meet again on Saturday afternoon at Vintage Throne Stadium in Barrie. The Majors will then return to Labatt Park on Sunday afternoon to host the Hamilton Cardinals. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 P.M.