SCHAUMBURG’S EXTRA INNING WIN HIGHLIGHTS THURSDAY’S ACTION
Down to the final strike, Brett Milazzo blooped a double to tie the game and 2021 Frontier League Champion Schaumburg Boomers went on to score four runs in the 10th to tally a 5-1 win and steal a road series victory over the New York Boulders. Opening the 10th with a runner at second, Alec Craig singled home the go-ahead run. With two outs William Salas singled home Craig and Matt Bottcher finished the scoring with a two-run triple. Darrell Thompson finished out the game by working two innings and striking out five to earn the win. The Boomers had just four hits entering the ninth but finished with 10. Bottcher notched three and Chase Dawson two.
At Bosse Field, the Evansville Otters put up their second shutout performance of the season Thursday night, as they defeated Empire State 6-0 to complete a series sweep. The offense got started early in the first inning for the Otters, as both left fielder J. R. Davis and third basemen Dakota Phillips picked up back-to-back RBIs. The 2-0 lead didn't remain there for long as the Otters added a third run in the second inning from an RBI single from second basemen Gary Mattis. First basemen Steven Sensley found the hit column for the first time this year with three separate hits in the ballgame. His middle hit came in the fourth inning, a one-out double. After moving to third on a dropped third strike strikeout, Sensley came home to score on a wild pitch from Luis Pacheco, giving the Otters a 4-0 advantage. On the mound for Evansville, Tim Holdgrafer struck out 13 batters, while surrendering just two walks and three hits. His 13 strikeouts marked a new professional career-high.
Gateway completed their season-opening six-game homestand with a 5-1 record after defeating Trois-Rivières in a game shortened to five innings by rain. In the bottom of the first inning, Andrew Penner was hit by a pitch and later came around to score on a Peter Zimmermann RBI groundout to give the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead. One inning later, Gateway capitalized on three walks, as Abdiel Diaz hit an RBI double for a 2-0 lead, and four batters later, Zimmermann connected on a two-run double to expand the lead to 4-0. Diaz went back up to bat in the bottom of the third inning and hit an RBI single to make it a 5-0 Gateway advantage. Trois-Rivières got their bats going in the top of the fourth inning, when Carlos Martinez launched a two-run home run to cut the Grizzlies' lead to 5-2. Reigning Pitcher of the Week Brendan Feldmann (2-0) pitched all five innings and allowed two runs while striking out seven for the win.
The Ottawa Titans' bats woke up early for their morning game at Windy City as the Titans used 20 hits to defeat the ThunderBolts 13-3. Base hits by three of the first four Ottawa batters led to a first inning run. The hot hitting continued to the second inning, with the Titans scoring four more times off RBI hits from Rodrigo Orozco, AJ Wright, and Brendon Dadson. In the ballgame, the Titans set a new franchise record with 20 hits on Thursday. While six Titans had multiple-hit performances, AJ Wright once again led the charge by notching another four hits. It was the second time this season Wright recorded four hits in a game. Also, the Titans' offence picked up eight doubles in the double-digit victory. Tyler Jandron picked up his second win of the season, allowing only one unearned run and three hits in six innings of work.
In Joliet, Québec also got off to a strong start with four of the first five Capitales reaching base for a 2-0 lead. A Justin Gomez double in the second helped the Slammers cut the lead in half. The Capitales extended their lead with a run in the fifth then three more on four hits in the sixth inning, highlighted by a two-run double from Jeffry Parra. Singles by Lane Baremore and Kyle Jacobson in the bottom of the seventh closed the gap, but Joliet could not muster any further offense. Jonathan Lacroix recorded four hits for Québec and Michael Austin picked up his first win of the 2022 season by holding the Slammers to one run over six innings while striking out six batters.
The Tri-City ValleyCats recorded 14 hits in defeating Lake Erie 10-6 at Tri-City. After a two-run home run from the Crushers' Bryant Flete in the top of the 1st, the ValleyCats answered with two runs of their own, with back to back RBI doubles from Willy Garcia and Pavin Parks off of Crushers starter Julio Vivas. The Crushers starter would then surrender a towering drive off the bat of Denis Phipps who hit his first of two homers in the bottom half of the fifth inning.
The home half of the sixth inning proved costly for the visiting Crushers, as rookie reliever Jason Alvarez surrendered four runs on three hits including a homer from recently acquired catcher Jonah Girand. Denis Phipps would add two RBI's to his season total with an RBI single as Jesus Lujano and Zunica scored following a passed ball earlier in the at-bat that plated Brantley Bell. Phipps would finish the game with four RBI's in the game.
Thursday's final game was another offensive explosion as the Washington Wild Things used 20 hits to end their four-game losing streak and defeat Sussex County 18-7. Washington jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the first and two more in the second, highlighted by Andrew Czeck's bases loaded double in the first and a RBI double by Scotty Dubrule in the second. The Miners responded with four third inning runs. After a walk to Mikey Reynolds with one out, Justin Washington singled then Martin Figueroa hit a book-rule double to center to plate the first run for the Miners. Ariel Sandoval singled home two more then scored on an RBI double by Cito Culver. Washington's Nick Ward hit two home runs and drive in six, both tying Wild Thing records. L.G. Castillo, Czeck, Ian Walters, and Landon Barnes joined Ward with three hits in the game.
Mother Nature picked up the win in the other scheduled contact, where Florence could only get into the fourth inning at home against New Jersey before heavy storms made finishing the game unrealistic.
New series start on Friday night, highlighted by Schaumburg Boomers receiving their championship rings prior to their contest with Trois-Rivières. The New Jersey Jackals open their 25th season as they welcome Gateway to Yogi Berra Stadium. Joliet and Windy City also make their first road trips of the season, with the Slammers at New York and the ThunderBolts in Tri-City. In the West Division, Washington hosts Empire State, Sussex County visits Lake Erie, Ottawa travels to Florence, and Evansville manager Andy McCauley faces his former player Pat Scalabrini when Québec stops by Bosse Field.
