Avery Tuck's two-run home run with two outs in the seventh inning was the difference in the Barrie Baycats' 5-3 road win over the Welland Jackfish in Game 1 of their quarter-final, Thursday night.
After Barrie's Royce Ando tied the game with an RBI single one batter earlier, Tuck hit a 3-2 pitch over the fence to chase Welland starter Jake Harford (0-1), who went 6.2 innings and allowed five runs on nine hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
Ando finished with three hits and three RBI, while Jake Wilson and Tyler Plumpton each had two hits and scored. Ryan Rijo singled twice.
Andrew Grieder (1-0) earned the win for the Baycats, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits over six innings. He walked three and struck out five.
For Welland, Brandon Nicholson, Dane Tofteland and Dennis Dei Baning each had two hits and combined to score three times. Nolan Pettipiece and Matt Hilderbrandt drove in the other Jackfish runs.
In other action, the Toronto Maple Leafs wasted little time getting the jump on the Hamilton Cardinals in their first-round series, scoring early and often in a 21-6 win Thursday night at Christie Pits. The No. 2 seed Leafs scored twice in the first inning and put the game away with nine runs in the second.
Meanwhile in Kitchener, the Brantford Red Sox scored three times in the seventh to break a 7-7 tie and then hung on for a 10-8 win over the Panthers in Game 1 of its first-round series Thursday night at Jack Couch Park.
2021 PLAYOFF SCHEDULE (All series are best-of-three)
SERIES 'A' - TORONTO (2) VS. HAMILTON (7)
Toronto leads series 1-0
GAME 1: Toronto 21, Hamilton 6
GAME 2: Friday, Sept. 10, at Hamilton, 7:30 p.m.
GAME 3: Sunday, Sept. 12, at Toronto, 2 p.m. (if necessary)
SERIES 'B' - KITCHENER (3) VS. BRANTFORD (6)
Brantford leads series 1-0
GAME 1: Brantford 10, Kitchener 8
GAME 2: Saturday, Sept. 11, at Brantford, 7:30 p.m.
GAME 3: Sunday, Sept. 12, at Kitchener, 2 p.m. (if necessary)
SERIES 'C' - WELLAND (4) VS. BARRIE (5)
Barrie leads series 1-0
GAME 1: Barrie 5, Welland 3
GAME 2: Saturday, Sept. 11, at Barrie, 4:05 p.m.
GAME 3: Sunday, Sept. 12, at Welland, 4:05 p.m. (if necessary)
