Photo by Brian Backland

BARRIE – The Barrie Baycats opened defence of their IBL title with an 8-0 win over the Burlington Herd Thursday night at Coates Stadium.

Ryan Spataro went 3-for-4 with a solo home run. Starlin Rodriguez singled twice and scored once, Jordan Castaldo had three hits and a run, Kevin Atkinson, Kyle DeGrace and Tim Smith each drove in a run, and Jeff Cowan had an RBI and two runs. Glenn Jackson singled, doubled and had two RBI.

Frank Garces (1-0) went the distance, scattering four hits with two walks and 12 strikeouts.

Nolan Pettipiece had two of four hits for Burlington.
Chris Boatto (0-1) took the loss, allowing six runs (four earned) on nine hits over 5.2 innings. He walked four and struck out three.