TITANS DEMOLISH VALLEYCATS IN WEEKEND SERIES OPENER - FRONTIER DAILY ROUNDUP

WRITTEN BY: MIKE GUISTOLISE

OTTAWA DISMANTLES TRI-CITY TO BEGIN ROAD TRIP

TROY, NY - The Ottawa Titans overmatched the Tri-City ValleyCats in a 14-0 shutout at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on Friday night.

The Titans (50-37) and ValleyCats (48-38) are currently set to meet each other in the first round of the Frontier League Playoffs, with this series serving as a potential preview. Tri-City surrendered the first run of the game in the fourth inning off a wild pitch. RF Brendan O'Donnell knocked in two in the fifth to make it 3-0 and kickstarted a four-run inning. After another wild pitch scored a run in the sixth, O'Donnell stayed hot with another two-run base hit to make it 8-0. The Titans got four more runs in the seventh, including a three-run home run from O'Donnell to bring his game total to seven. 2B Michael Fuhrman put the finishing touches on the score with a two-run bomb in the ninth, putting the Titans up by two touchdowns. LHP Tyler Jandron earned the win after tossing seven shutout innings for Ottawa. RHP Arlo Marynczak took the loss for Tri-City.

The series will continue on Saturday at 6:30 PM EDT.

BOULDERS SNEAK PAST CAPITALES 

PONOMA, NY - The New York Boulders grabbed a significant 4-3 win against the Québec Capitales at Clover Stadium on Friday.

The Boulders (47-41) got one step closer to the playoff picture in the Frontier League East Division after taking down the division champion Capitales (59-29). 3B Thomas Walraven gave New York an early 1-0 lead in the first with a sacrifice fly. After a three-run surge in the fourth put Québec ahead 3-1, C Joe DeLuca cut the deficit in half with an RBI single in the bottom half. DH Christian Ficca and RF Chris Kwitzer then drove in runs in consecutive plate appearances in the seventh to take the lead at 4-3. LHP Garrett Coe was spectacular out of the bullpen for New York, tossing 5.2 hitless innings and striking out seven to earn the win. RHP Austin Marozas took the loss for the Capitales after giving up the lead in the seventh.

The Boulders and Capitales will match up for the middle game of their series on Saturday at 6:30 PM EDT.

WILD THINGS TAKE DOWN CRUSHERS BEHIND CAREER NIGHT FROM KIRBY

AVON, OH - The Washington Wild Things defeated the Lake Erie Crushers 4-2 to kick off the series at Wild Things Park on Friday night.

RHP Zach Kirby was outstanding for the Wild Things (61-26), fanning a career-high 11 batters while only allowing four hits across six innings. DH Tyreque Reed continued his latest power surge with a two-run blast to begin the scoring for Washington in the first inning. Lake Erie (47-40) evened the score with two RBI base hits in the fifth. 1B Andrew Czech then retook the lead for the Wild Things with an RBI double down the right field line in the sixth. CF Caleb McNeely then added insurance with some historical flare in the ninth, cracking his 20th home run of the season to extend Washington's lead to two. McNeely became the first player in Wild Things franchise history to record a 20 home run/20 stolen base season. Kirby earned the win after RHP Gyeongju Kim secured the save, his 24th, with a scoreless ninth. LHP Darien Ragins took the loss, despite a career-high in strikeouts with eight.

The Wild Things and Crushers will continue their series on Saturday at 7:05 PM EDT.

ARMBRUESTER SILENCES JOLIET

JOLIET, IL - The Windy City ThunderBolts came out on top of a 1-0 pitchers' duel with the Joliet Slammers on Friday night at Duly Health & Care Field.

The ThunderBolts (35-54) were carried to victory by RHP Will Armbruester, who threw eight scoreless innings in his likely second-to-last start of the season. The two sides were locked in a scoreless stalemate until the seventh inning when 3B Emmanuel Sanchez crushed a solo home run over the wall in left field. Armbruester carried his shutout into the ninth and was then relieved by RHP Tyler LaPorte after surrendering a leadoff walk. The Slammers (35-53) were beneficiaries of a Windy City error in the ninth, which set up the tying run at third with only one out. Unfortunately for Joliet, they were unable to score and took the loss while only compiling two total hits. Armbruester earned the win, his fourth of the season while LaPorte picked up the save. RHP Dwayne Marshall took the loss.

Windy City and Joliet will face off for game two of their series on Saturday at 6:05 PM CDT.

SCHAUMBURG WINS ANOTHER, NARROWS GAP IN WEST

FLORENCE, KY - The Schaumburg Boomers came out on the winning end of a 14-8 slugfest with the Florence Y'alls at Thomas More Stadium on Friday. 

The Boomers (45-42) got the best possible results for their late-season playoff push, grabbing the win against Florence (41-45) while Lake Erie took a loss. 1B Anthony Calarco gave Schaumburg a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single; the Boomers doubled their lead later in the inning as result of a Florence error. A wild pitch in the second pushed the Boomers' lead to 3-0 in the second. The Y'alls got right back into the game with a game-tying three-run homer in the fourth. The Boomers then retook the lead after a bases-loaded walk and hit-by-pitch in the fifth, grabbing another after another Florence error. LF Andrew Sojka then blew the game open with a two-out grand slam, making it 10-3. The Y'alls scored twice in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 10-5, but an RBI double from 2B Alec Craig pushed the lead back out to 11-5. Florence slugged their way back into the game, cutting their deficit down to three in the seventh. Calarco put the Boomers back up by four with a leadoff homer in the ninth. Sojka followed shortly afterward with a two-run single to put the Boomers back up by six. LHP Antonio Frias earned the win for Schaumburg while RHP Dylan Stutsman picked up his fourth save of the season. RHP Carter Poiry took the loss for Florence.

The Boomers, now 1.5 games back from the final playoff spot in the Frontier League West Division, will look to continue their winning streak on Saturday. First pitch will be at 6:36 PM EDT.

PARKS LEADS OTTERS PAST GATEWAY

EVANSVILLE, IN - The Evansville Otters took down the Gateway Grizzlies 6-4 on Friday night to open the series at Bosse Field.

The Otters (41-48) got a big win behind two-way player Pavin Parks' huge three-run home run in the sixth inning. The Grizzlies (54-33) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third with a two-run home run. LF Randy Bednar drove Evansville's first run in the fourth with an RBI fielder's choice. The Otters then gave up a run on a wild pitch in the fifth. Parks blasted his go-ahead three-run bomb in the sixth to give the Otters their first lead at 4-3. C Justin Felix was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded later in the inning to drive in an insurance run. The Grizzlies trimmed their deficit down to one after a run scored as result of a double play in the eighth, but the Otters used a sacrifice fly in the bottom half to put the game out of reach. LHP Braden Scott earned the win for Evansville while Parks came on in the ninth to earn the save, his seventh of the season. RHP Deylen Miley took the loss for Gateway. The win (and Joliet's loss) ties Evansville manager Andy McCauley for most managerial wins all-time in Frontier League history.

The Otters and Grizzlies will continue their series in southern Illinois on Saturday. First pitch is at 6:35 PM CDT.

KNOCKOUTS CRUSH MINERS IN TWIN-BILLING

BROCKTON, MA - The New England Knockouts swept the Sussex County Miners in a makeup doubleheader at Campanelli Stadium on Friday night.

The first game was a continuation of the Knockouts' (34-52) and Miners' (30-58) series from last weekend in Augusta. The first game picked up in the second inning, with New England leading 5-0. Sussex County got its first run on an RBI single in the bottom of the second, but the Knockouts picked up where they left off in the third with RBI base hits from 3B Luis Atiles and 1B Jack-Thomas Wold. The Miners got the two runs back in the third, but the Knockouts continued to pile on, grabbing another run in the fourth and capping the scoring at 11-3 in the sixth with a solo homer from C John Cristino and a two-run triple from SS JR DiSarcina. LHP Joe Kemlage earned the win for New England while RHP Jimmy Boyce took the loss.

In the second game, the Knockouts continued to dominate behind RHP Michael Quigley. A bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and a fielder's choice gave New England a 2-0 in the first inning. Wold then blasted a two-run homer in the third to double the Knockouts' lead up to four. Cristino immediately followed with a solo shot to make it 5-0. Wold blasted another solo homer in the fifth to extend his team's lead up to six. DH Jalen Garcia later singled home a run to make it 7-0, where the score would stand for the remainder of the contest. Quigley grabbed the win after five shutout innings while RHP Tyler Thornton took the loss for Sussex County.

The series in New England will continue on Saturday at 6:30 PM EDT.