BARRIE – The Toronto Maple Leafs Intercounty Baseball League season has ended in excruitating fashion.

Brad Bissell tossed a complete-game eight-hitter hitter to win a spectacular pitcher’s duel with Darryl Craig as the Barrie Baycats edged the Leafs 1-0 Friday night in Barrie, winning the best-of-seven series four games to one and ending the Leafs season.

The Baycats clawed out a run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Donovan Latour scored on a throwing error by Toronto third baseman Rob Gillis after a single by Jonathan Baksh and that was it for the offence all night.

The Leafs were shorthanded to the point of having to use pitcher Drew Taylor as designated hitter and were also without starting shortstop Kyle Degrace, Nildo Puertas and the suspended Gamin Teague. Those losses – combined with a great performance from Bissell – was too much for the Leafs to overcome.

“It’s tough to lose a deciding playoff game 1-0,” a dejected Leaf owner Jack Dominico said. “And to lose on a throwing error well that’s really bad.

“But Craig pitched his heart out and I’m proud of these guys for the way they battled. We played pretty well all things considered.

Dominico pointedly took one more shot at IBL Commissioner Jim Rooney, hwoever, after he saluted his players.

“We’re playing with a depleted squad and those suspensions were a big part of what happened in this series,” Dominico said. “I said it before, he should resign. I’m taking nothing away from Barrie, they deserve it, but the suspensions were a killer for us in this series.”

Barrie, the IBL pennant winners with a 26-10 record, advances to the IBL Championship Series against either Brantford or Guelph. They will also have the services of pitcher Paul Spoljaric for the finals, after an appeal committee reduced his suspension to six games, making him eligible for Game 3 of the finals, while Teague’s was acutally increased from 10 to 14 games.

Bissell was tremendous in a clutch game, striking out eight and walking two. Baksh had three of Barrie’s seven hits as Bissell made the lone fifth inning run stand up.

Craig was every bit as good. He also went all the way, allowing seven hits while striking out two and walking one.

Damon Topolie had three hits for the Leafs, including a pair of doubles, and Raul Borjas had a triple but was left stranded at third base as Toronto left nine men on base.