Struggling Panthers look for much-needed bounce-back vs. Barrie
Posted Jul 25, 2026 10:45:03 AM.
Last Updated Jul 25, 2026 10:45:07 AM.
It’s been a season of rollercoaster highs and lows for the Kitchener Panthers, who travel to Barrie Saturday afternoon for a game upon which their Canadian Baseball League playoff hopes could hinge.
After a first week of July that saw the Panthers pick up 3 of 4 wins against top CBL teams, the bottom has fallen out in the rest of the month, with Kitchener losing their last 3 games and 4 of the last 5 overall.
Coming into July, Kitchener had not been held under 5 runs in any game in the 2026 CBL season. However, in the last 3 games, Kitchener has been held to just 5 runs combined, most recently with a 13-1 road loss at Hamilton’s Bernie Arbour Stadium on Friday.
Kitchener all-star Malik Williams has remained in steady form through the 3-game slump, going 5 for 12 at the plate in the past week. But the offense more broadly has struggled, with the Panthers being out-hit in all 3 games of the losing slump.
Neither starter has been announced as of 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning, but the Kitchener starting pitching rotation should be mostly fresh, aside from recent acquisition Dionys Rodriguez, who has started 2 of the Panthers’ last 3 games. Evan Elliott made a relief appearance in Brantford on Saturday, July 19, but has not pitched since, so may get the call to start his 10th game of 2026.
On the other side, Barrie has looked relatively impenetrable through the month of July, aside from two close losses to the now league-leading London Majors. The Baycats are 5-4 through the month of July, with two of those losses coming to the Majors, who have had the number of the defending CBL finalists through all of 2026.
The matchup between Barrie and Kitchener will be the squads’ 3rd matchup of the season, with Barrie leading the head-to-head 2-0 so far this season. The Baycats most recently won 18-7 in a Father’s Day matchup at Jack Couch Park on June 21, and Barrie has outscored Kitchener 24-12 overall in 2026.
The Saturday afternoon matchup begins at 4:08 p.m. at Barrie’s Athletic Kulture Stadium.
Kitchener returns home to Jack Couch Park vs. the Canadian Baseball League’s defending champion Welland Jackfish on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. Tickets to that, and all other Panthers home contests, can be found on the Kitchener Panthers’ website.
