Brian Backland Photography 

By Ryan Eakin

MIDHURST, ON - Five to go.

The Barrie Baycats defeated the Hamilton Cardinals 8-5 on Sunday evening to take a 3-0 series lead in their best-of-seven semi-final series.

Baycats reliever Santos Arias recorded the victory, tossing two innings while giving up zero earned runs on zero hits and one base on balls, while striking out one batter along the way.

Baycats third basemen Branfy Infante led the way at the plate, going two-for-four with four runs batted in, batting all four runs in on a sixth inning grand slam home run to give the Baycats a 6-5 lead.

Cardinals starter Zackary Gonzalez took the loss, tossing six innings while giving up six earned runs on eight hits and three base on balls, while striking out three batters along the way.

HAMILTON - 5-8-0

BARRIE - 8-11-3

Game four of this semi-final series against takes place Tuesday evening in Hamilton.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

QUOTES FROM THE GAME...

"I was looking for a fastball," said Infante regarding his grand slam. "I knew their guy was throwing a lot of fastballs so I was just looking for one to hit. And I got it."

"It felt good," said Infante about his go-ahead slam. "As soon as I hit it I knew it was gone, and then I was running to first and jumping, and (Glenn) Jackson was doing the same thing, so it was a good feeling."

"It's always a great feeling man," said Jackson regarding Infante's slam. "Moments like that is literally what you play baseball for. For an old man like me, I live for that. I was happy it was Branfy, though I keep telling him that he keeps stealing all my damn RBI," joked Jackson. "But man, when he's swinging in the zone and hitting fastballs, he's a dangerous hitter."

"The way I take it is that we all grind together," said Jackson regarding the bottom of the Baycats lineup doing most of the offensive damage in this series. "Every portion is going to be hot here and there, so this is the way it is for now, but tomorrow could be another day. That's the way I look at it."

"Give Hamilton a lot of respect man," said Jackson. "You give them one or two top-end starters, and maybe it's a bit different. Pitching makes a difference in this league. To get a guy like Frankie (Garces), you might only need three runs, so you gotta get an import. You either win or you lose. That's the way I look at the import rule. You either win or you lose. Thank God for Branfy."