HISTORY IN NEW JERSEY AS TWO TEAMS WALK-OFF
Empire State vs New Jersey
The New Jersey Jackals (13-18) defeat the Empire State Greys (0-32) by a score of 16-9 on Tuesday night.
Due to various rain delays, the game didn't begin until 9:10pm. After the sun had already set, the stands cleared, and hours of waiting, the game finally began.
Leonardo Rodriguez started for the Jackals, unfortunately walking his first three batters, and tossing away a little tapper in front of the plate for a two run error. But with the bases loaded, he managed to close out the inning, allowing no more hits and striking out all three batters.
The momentum grew exponentially for the Jackals, to an almost absurd extent. Rodriguez struck out two more batters and allowed no hits in the top of the second inning, allowing the Jackals safe passage into the bottom of the second. From here, the Jackals began to play out of their minds. Trevor Abrams began by batting in Marte in the bottom of the second, getting the Jackals on the board. That was only the tip of the iceberg however, with Josh Rehwaldt slamming a three run homer shortly after, batting in both Abrams and Wylie. Dalton Combs, not to be bested, hit a grand slam not one out later, batting in Chirino, Simone, and Isaacs. The Greys swapped pitching duties to Ernesto Huizar, however it was to no avail.
Rehwaldt managed to bat in both Marte and Wylie almost instantly after the swap, getting to 10 runs in the inning. Jason Agresti clubbed a three run homer, batting in Rehwaldt and Abrams. Todd Isaacs, clearly wanting to leave his mark on the inning, hit yet another home run, with no runners on base. Understandably, Ernesto Huizar was hustled off the mound with the replacement being Johsson Arias. The inning was finally, mercifully, closed out, with a score of 14-2.
The game continued to go in the Jackals favor, with Justin Wylie batting a solo home run in the bottom of the third. The Greys struck back however, with Jose Mercado batting in John Benevolent, scoring them their third run of the game, and taking the score to 15-3. After 4 impressive innings, Rodriguez was finally swapped out for Angelo Baez. This immediately proved to be a great decision, with Baez securing all three outs in the top of the fifth with strikeouts.
The game quietly moved along, with no runs being scored from the top of the fifth to the top of the sixth. At the bottom of the sixth however, Todd Isaacs managed to bat in Rehwalt, scoring the Jackals their 16th run of the game, and further securing their lead. Dillon Peiffer then stepped in for Baez, relieving him after two innings. Even with a fresh pitcher however, the Greys refused to go down without a fight. Holloman-Scott ran in both Decker and Woosley in the top of the 7th, taking the score to 16-5.
Zach Ghettys came in to replace the Grey's pitcher, Johsson Arias, in the bottom of the 7th. While the Jackals managed to get 2 hits, no runs were scored. He also achieved 2 strikeouts. Meanwhile, the Jackals brought in Juan Perez to relieve Dillon Peiffer at the top of the 8th. Despite this, Christian Naccari managed to bat in Liam McArthur all the way from first. Shortly after, Woosley batted in Naccari, followed by Tyler Hill batting in Will Decker, and Holloman-Scott making a sacrifice play to bat in Trey Woosley, bringing the score to 16-9.
Trying to keep the momentum going into the top of the 9th, the Greys brought in number 9, Andres Rodriguez, to pitch. He allowed one hit, but also had one strikeout. Countering, the Jackals brought in Hanzel Rodriguez to close out the game. He managed to allow zero hits, and finish the game with a final score of 16-9. Angelo Baez gets the win for the Jackals while Jordan Powell gets the loss for the Greys. The Greys also now have the longest losing streak in the history of professional baseball, with an 0-32 record.
Trois-Rivières vs Tri-City
The Trois-Rivières Aigles (14-16) vs Tri-City ValleyCats (15-17) game was postponed due to rain and will be made up as a doubleheader on June 22nd with the first game starting at 3:30 p.m.
Sussex County vs Ottawa
The Sussex County Miners defeated the Ottawa Titans by a score of 6-5 on Tuesday night.
The Titans got on the board first with a double off of A.J Wright followed up by a double from Tyrus Greene to make the score 3-0.
The Miners finally got on the board in the fourth inning with a single from David Maberry to make the score 3-1.
The Titans would add another run in the bottom of the fourth.
The Miners would unload in the seventh where they would score four runs to make the score 5-4.
Martin Figueroa would score on a wild pitch in the eighth to make the score 6-4.
The Titans would attempt the comeback in the ninth by scoring one run off a Jacob Sanford single to make it 6-5 but would ultimately not be enough to pull off the win.
Billy Layne Jr. would get the win for the Miners and Robert Klinchock got the save while Evan Grills got the loss.
New York vs Quebec
The Quebec Capitales (24-9) defeat the New York Boulders (18-16) by a score of 5-1 on Tuesday night.
Quebec starting pitcher Michael Austin and a trio of relievers limited the visiting Boulders to just four hits as the Capitales downed New York, 5-1, on Tuesday at Stade Canac in Quebec City.
The loss snapped New York's five-game winning streak.
T.J. White's ninth home run of the season, a two-run shot in the seventh inning, gave the Capitales a 5-1 lead and sealed the victory for Quebec.
The Capitales scored twice in the second inning to grab a quick lead – the first run coming on a Pedro Gonzalez double, the second via a David Glaude single.
They extended their advantage to 3-0 in the fifth inning. White drew a two-out walk off Boulders' starter Josh Loeschorn before Kyle Crowl lined a base hit to right field that New York's Francisco Del Valle lost in the early evening sky, the ball bounding past him and rolling to the wall. White scored to make it 3-0 while Crowl raced around to third, where he was stranded by Loeschorn.
The Boulders finally broke through against Austin in the seventh. With one out, Giovanni Garbella doubled, then, one out later, Austin Dennis drew a walk. Gian Martellini singled to left to score Garbella and send Dennis to second.
Austin was relieved by Marshall Shill, who induced a grounder back to the pitcher from Gabriel Garcia to end the threat.
Nick Horvath pitched a perfect eighth and Samuel Adames did likewise in the ninth to close out the victory for the Capitales.
Austin allowed only four hits over 6 2/3 innings of work. He walked one and struck out six as he improved to 4-1 on the year with the win.
Meanwhile, Loeschorn gave the Boulders a quality starter, going six full innings and surrendering three runs – two earned – on six hits, while walking two and striking out three as he took the loss in his first decision of the season.
Evansville vs Florence
The Florence Y'alls (14-18) defeated the Evansville Otters (21-12) by a score of 6-5 Tuesday night in a walkoff win.
For seven innings, Parker Brahms, the Evansville Otters' starting pitcher, looked unbeatable. Aside from a Ray Zuberer solo home run, he was. Then the eighth inning came along, and the tides turned.
The Florence Y'alls scored the final five runs of the game, capped by an Axel Johnson walk-off single, to top the first-place Otters 6-5 at Thomas More Stadium on Tuesday.
Brahms, who struck out 13 batters and walked none, faltered for the first time in the eighth. Florence got three baserunners off him, forcing the Otters to make a move. However, a combination of Jake Polancic and Augie Gallardo could not stop the comeback. Anthony Brocato drove in Joe Lytle on a sacrifice fly to tie it at 5-5.
In the ninth, Ian Bibiloni walked against Gallardo, then promptly stole second. Johnson's single through the right side scored him from second, and the Y'alls celebrated their first walk-off victory of the 2022 season.
The turning point might not have been Brahms' fatigue, though. Manager Brian White and assistant coach Taylor Bryant were both ejected for arguing balls and strikes after the sixth inning.
Florence's record moves to 14-18 with this win, a continuation of a dominant stretch for the team. Dating back to last Saturday, the Y'alls have won seven of their last eight games. Florence passes Lake Erie to take seventh place in the west division in the process.
Windy City vs Joliet
The Windy City Thunderbolts (15-17) defeated the Joliet Slammers (18-17) by a score of 9-4 Tuesday night.
The Windy City ThunderBolts used a pair of three-run innings late in the game to run away from the Joliet Slammers in a 9-4 win on Tuesday night. The 4-5-6 hitters in the Bolts lineup kickstarted the three-run rallies.
The Slammers took a 1-0 lead in the second on Phillip Steering's RBI double. The Bolts grabbed their first lead on Josh Sandoval's two-run double. Then, Joliet retaliated, regaining the lead on Luke Mangieri and Phillip Steering RBI singles. In the fourth, Brynn Martinez tied the game, 3-3, on an RBI groundout.
In the sixth, the middle of the order took over. Cleanup hitter Brian Fuentes began the inning with a double. He scored the tying run when five-hole hitter Jairus Richards drove a single through the right side. Next, six-hole hitter Jake Boone cracked a two-run homer to make it 6-3 Bolts.
Carson Maxwell brought Joliet within a run with a solo homer in the sixth.
The Fuentes-Richards-Boone trio went back to work in the eighth inning, collecting three straight hits, leading to three more runs.
On the mound, Bryan Ketchie (2-2) earned the win for the Bolts, throwing five innings of three-run ball. Turner Larkins (2-1) took the loss for Joliet, allowing eight runs in 7.1 innings.
Schaumburg vs Gateway
The Gateway Grizzlies (16-18) defeated the Schaumburg Boomers (15-17) by a score of 5-2 Tuesday night.
The Gateway Grizzlies scored runs in three straight innings to come back from an early deficit on Tuesday night against the Schaumburg Boomers, backing solid pitching in a 5-2 victory at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.
Schaumburg got the scoring started quickly in the top of the first inning off Grizzlies starter Clint Freeman when William Salas hit a solo home run to make it 1-0. The score remained that way until the bottom of the third inning, when Abdiel Diaz led off with a single and was brought home by Andrew Penner on a two-run home run, his second of the season, to make it 2-1 in favor of the Grizzlies.
Schaumburg then responded in the top of the fourth inning when the Boomers scored an unearned run with two outs to tie the ballgame at 2-2. But Gateway quickly got back on track offensively in the bottom of the frame when Diaz notched an RBI single and Alex Hernandez successfully put down a safety squeeze bunt to score Jay Prather to expand the Grizzlies lead to 4-2. In the next inning, Trevor Achenbach led off with a single and later scored on an RBI single by Freeman to make it a 5-2 Grizzlies lead.
Meanwhile, on the mound, Justin Ferrell (1-0) followed Freeman with three innings of relief and only an unearned run allowed. He would earn the win when Sam Gardner, John Murphy, and Reed Hayes each tossed a scoreless inning in relief to shut the door on the ballgame.
Lake Erie vs Washington
The Washington Wild Things (22-12) defeated the Lake Erie Crushers (14-20) by a score of 5-4 Tuesday night in a walkoff win.
The Washington Wild Things returned home to face off against the Lake Erie Crushers in their first meeting of the regular season. Washington was able to come back and beat the Crushers 5-4 in game one of the three-game homestand. It was heroics from Scotty Dubrule in the ninth after Washington entered the frame down 4-2 that did the trick.
Tom Hart got the nod to start for the Wild Things and struck out three in six innings pitched and gave up one run.
The series opener crawled to a slow start, remaining scoreless until the top of the fourth when Washington pitcher Tom Hart walked in a Crushers' run, making it 1-0.
Cole Brannen shifted the momentum quickly with his first homer of the year, a two-run shot, making it 2-1 Wild Things in the bottom of the fifth.
Lake Erie brought the game back to even with a homer in the top of the seventh. A mishandled ball in center field scored two more for the Crushers in the top of the ninth, making it 4-2.
The Wild Things would not go down without a fight however, and with an error bringing in a runner off a Brannen sac bunt, the Crushers lead was tightened to one run in the ninth with the bases juiced. Scotty Dubrule was the hero for Washington and lined a ball into left-center, bringing in the tying and winning runs and securing the ninth-inning thriller of a win, 5-4.