By: Ken Beckett

BURLINGTON -- Despite a rally in which they added five runs in the late stages of the ball game, the Burlington Herd fell short in their comeback bid, losing 8-6 to the Barrie Baycats on Thursday night.

The Herd jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to an RBI triple from Vaughn Bryan that scored Mattingly Romanin in the bottom of the first inning. The triple was Bryan's second in three games and third of the season, while the run driven in was his sixth of 2018.

That slim 1-0 lead would not last long as Baycats leftfielder Brandon Dhue hit a two-run home run in the second inning which scored designated hitter Tim Smith to give Barrie the lead. The home run was Dhue's third of the season, while the RBI'S gave him 20 on the year.

Barrie would extend that lead in the third inning, batting around and scoring six runs, with all nine batters coming to the plate to make it an 8-1 ball game. Herd starter Trent Lunsford gave up three walks to go along with four wild pitches that inning and those mistakes proved to be costly.

The Herd would mount a late-game rally, starting with a four-run seventh inning that got kicked off with a double from Andrew Mercier. The double was his first of the season and he would score on an RBI single from catcher Jon Thibodeau.

Justin Gideon added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run double that scored Thibodeau and Herd third baseman Nolan Pettipiece. Following that up was Daniel Ohordnyk, who scored Gideon with an RBI double of his own to cut Barrie's lead to 8-5.

Burlington would add another run in the bottom of the eighth inning as designated hitter Tyler Patzalek started off the eighth with a lead-off double and was brought in to score by second baseman Grant Okawa on an RBI double

That would be as close as the Herd would get however, as despite a double from Mattingly Romanin in the bottom of the ninth, Baycats closer Adam Hawes shut the door to pick up his first save of the year.

Earning the win on the mound was Baycats starter Frank Garces. The left-handed pitcher from the Dominican Republic who spent two years with the San Diego Padres from 2014-15 pitched six innings, giving up four hits and one earned run to go along with one walk and five strikeouts.

Taking the loss for the Herd was Lunsford in his first official start with the Burlington in 2018. The Overland Park, Kansas native pitched 2.2 innings, giving up seven hits and seven earned runs to go along with three walks and two strikeouts.

The Herd are back in action on Saturday afternoon as they take on the Kitchener Panthers. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05PM on "Bark in the Park" day, in which fans are encouraged to bring their dogs to the ballpark.

If you can’t make it to the game, “The Voice of The Herd” Ken Beckett has the call for all Herd home games on Mixlr.com/IBLHerd. For live-game broadcasts, interviews, player profiles, game previews, and recaps, follow Ken on Twitter at @KenBeckett. 

The Burlington Herd are a member of Ontario's most elite baseball league, the Intercounty Baseball League. The 100-year old summer league is one of the oldest baseball leagues in the world, with the league established in 1919, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. For more information, visit www.iblherd.com or follow the Herd on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @IBLHerd.