SUDDEN DEATH BASEBALL IS BACK WITH A WALK OFF WIN FOR THE ROAD TEAM!
Sussex County vs Windy City
The Windy City ThunderBolts (5-6) defeated the Sussex County Miners (7-5) 8-6 on Wednesday morning.
ThunderBolts Bren Spillane homered two times in the win, and Kenny Mathew's had his best outting of the year. Sussex County scored the first run of the game on a solo home run by City Culver in the top of the second inning. That would be the only lead Sussex County had in the game.
The game was tied in the bottom of the second when Dan Robinson walked and Nikola Vasic hit an RBI triple. Spillane put the 'Bolts ahead for good with his first of two homers in the fourth inning. Manny Garcia would hit the second home run in the inning. Jake Boone hit an RBI ground out and Jace Mercer scored a run on a single at the end of the inning making it 6-1. Spillane would hit one more home run in the seventh inning to make it 8-1.
"Kenny Mathews did a great job setting the tone getting through that first inning," "Bolts head coach Brain Smith said. "it's strange how important the first inning is to this club."
Sussex County wouldn't leave without making it close in the last innings. The Miners scored one in the eighth and then loaded the bases in the ninth. Martin Figueroa walked to score a run and Mikey Reynolds hit a 2 RBI double. An error would make it 8-6 but Justin Miller secured the win and his first save of the season.
Sussex County made it close in the late innings. After scoring one in the eighth, they loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth. Martin Figueroa walked to score a run and Mikey Reynolds doubled home two more. An error made the score 8-6 but Justin Miller got Carson McCurdy to line out, securing his first save of the season.
New York vs Lake Erie
The New York Boulders (5-7) defeated the Lake Erie Crushers (5-6) in extra innings 3-2.
The New York Boulders rallied with a run in the ninth to tie the game and then won it with two more in the next inning as they downed the host Lake Erie Crushers, 3-2, in 10 innings on Wednesday at Mercy Health Stadium in Avon, OH.
Tied at 1-1 in the top of the 10th inning, the Boulders' Gerson Molina, who started the frame on second base as per the International Tiebreaker rule, moved over to third on a groundout to second base by Steven Figueroa. Molina then scored when Lake Erie reliever Ean Walda tossed a wild pitch.
The Boulders added a much-needed insurance run against Walda when Jake MacKenzie walked and stole second before David Vinsky bounced out to third. Tucker Nathans was intentionally walked, but Gabriel Garcia made the strategy backfire when he bounced a single to center that scored MacKenzie with the run that made it 3-1.
Jarrod Watkins' two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth cut the Crushers' deficit to one run, but New York closer Leo Pineda got a game-ending fly ball to left field off the bat of Jared Mang.
The Crushers opened the scoring in the second inning on a chaotic sequence that began with New York starter Robby Rowland striking out Kokko Figueiredo with two outs and runners on first and second. The third strike was mishandled by Boulders' catcher Al Reda, who made the throw to first base for the apparent third out of the frame, however, the toss was misplayed by first baseman Chris Kwitzer.
Meanwhile, Jarrod Watkins, who was the runner on second, noticed that no one was covering home plate. Watkins scooted home with the game's first run.
New York tied it in the ninth. After being shutout the previous night and going scoreless for the first eight innings on this day, Nathans led off the top of the ninth with a solo home run to right-center off Crushers' closer Sam Curtis.
The home run was Nathans' fourth of the season.
The Boulders would put runners on first and second with one out after Nathans' homer, but Curtis would escape unscathed by getting a fly out from Chris Kwitzer and a groundout by Gerson Molina.
Pineda, who pitched the ninth and 10th innings, got the win for New York, his first of the year against no losses.
Meanwhile, Walda took the loss in his first decision of the season.
Both starting pitchers were outstanding on this day. New York's Robby Rowland went 7 1/3 innings and allowed an unearned run on five hits while walking five and striking out four. Meanwhile, Lake Erie's Julio Vivas tossed seven shutout innings and allowed two hits while walking two and striking out seven.
Florence vs Trois-Rivières
The Trois-Rivières Aigles (5-6) defeated the Florence Y'alls (3-7) on Wednesday 6-5.
An unlikely hero, Martinez had only recorded three prior base hits for the Aigles. His single through the right side of the infield brought home Canice Ejoh, who led off the inning with a double, and proved to be the winning run.
Florence scored a pair of runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, and another in the eighth. However, Trois-Rivieres had the answers for the second straight night. The Y'alls have not held a lead after an inning so far in the series, despite leading in both contests.
Ray Zuberer belted his first home run of the season to deep right field in the fifth inning. Zuberer, Axel Johnson, Casey Combs, and Anthony Brocato each picked up multiple hits for the Y'alls, who outhit the Aigles for the second straight night.
Y'alls pitching, despite the loss, was once again effective. Skylar Janisse, making his Florence debut, pitched 4.2 innings and allowed four runs. Keegan Wright, who the club signed earlier in the day, went 3.1 innings in relief, but surrendered the go-ahead run.
This is the fourth consecutive one-run game the Y'alls have played, losing three of the four. For the tenth time in ten games this season, Florence allowed the first run of the night. Despite this, the team has come back to either tie or take the lead at some point in eight of the ten games.
Schaumburg vs Empire State
The Schaumburg Boomers (7-4) defeated the Empire State Greys (0-11) Wednesday night, 14-3.
The Greys scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the second to lead for the second straight game before the Boomers responded with three in the bottom of the inning.
Blake Grant-Parks doubled home Matt Bottcher and Brett Milazzo followed with the first triple of the game before scoring on a fielder's choice. Schaumburg scored in four straight frames to seize control of the game. Clint Hardy tripled and scored in the third. Chase Dawson tripled with the bases loaded in the fourth and Braxton Davidson added his sixth homer. Nick Oddo connected on a three-run homer in the fifth.
Blake Stelzer enjoyed the run support, striking out six in eight innings to record his first win with the Boomers in his third start. Stelzer did not allow an earned run and recorded four consecutive strikeouts during a run of six in a row retired from the third through the sixth.
Aaron Glickstein struck out five in two blank frames and Thomas Hart tallied a pair of strikeouts in the ninth as the Boomers fanned 15. Oddo finished with two hits and four RBIs to lead the offense. The Boomers drew 10 walks in the contest.
The previous record for triples in a game was three, set on May 13, 2017, against the Traverse City Beach Bums.
Tri-City vs Washington
The Tri-City ValleyCats (7-3) defeated the Washington Wild Things (6-5) by a score of 2-1 Wednesday night. Olbis Parra took the mound for the 'Cats in his second start after beginning the season in the Tri-City bullpen. Washington got on the board first with a run from Nick Ward in the bottom of the first. The run came in on an RBI single from Wagner Lagrange. Willy Garcia's double to score Brantley Bell in the third accounted for the run for the 'Cats in the regulation innings. After neither team allowed any runs for the next seven innings including the 10th in international tiebreaker format, the game went to sudden death. In the Frontier League this season, games that go to the 11th inning after an international tiebreaker inning. The home manager has the option to defend or hit and the half inning starts with a runner on first and no outs. Washington chose to defend and sent Dan Kubiuk to the hill. After a bloop single by Juan Silverio, and opposite field double by Carson McCusker, Washington walked SS Pavin Parks to load the bases with one out, bringing Jesus Lujano to the plate. Lujano poked one to shortstop and beat out the throw to avoid a game-ending double play, allowing Juan Silverio to score, and Tri-City to even the series.
Joliet vs New Jersey
The Joliet Slammers (6-6) defeated the New Jersey Jackals (4-6) on Wednesday night by a score of 14-6. The Jackals would score first by a homerun off of Trevor Abrams. The Slammers would get ahead in the second inning by a homerun from Carson Maxwell to bring in himself and Luke Mangieri. The Jackals would even it up again by scoring on an error to make the score 2-2. The Jackals would take the lead again in the third with a homerun from Justin Wylie, bringing in himself and Dalton Combs to make it 2-4. Joliet would eventually get ahead again in the fourth. Maxwell singled to drive in Brylie Ware and then Lane Baremore had a sac fly to drive in Mangieri to tie it. Jackals would get the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a ground out by Abrams to bring in Santiago Chirino. Alfredo Marte would then single to drive in Todd Isaacs and make it 4-6. Joliet would then regain the lead in the fifth and never look back, ending the game with scoring a total of 14 runs to beat the Jackals 14-6.
Gateway vs Quebec
The Quebec Capitales (8-3) defeated the Gateway Grizzlies (8-3) by a score of 4-3 on Wednesday night. The game started as a pitcher's duel between Brendan Feldmann and Michael Austin, as it was a scoreless draw through the first four innings with neither team able to muster much offense. In the fifth, with two outs, the Grizzlies broke the ice with four consecutive singles, as Breland Almadova brought in the game's first run to make it 1-0. That lead, however, was short-lived, as Pedro Gonzalez homered on the first pitch of the bottom of the fifth to tie the score. In the next frame, Jeffry Parra cracked a two-run, go-ahead homer to left field, giving Québec a 3-1 lead. The Grizzlies were unable to solve Austin for the rest of his seven-inning stint on the mound, but against the bullpen for the Capitales, they were able to rally against Joel Huertas. In the top of the eighth, Cam Touchette and Trevor Achenbach drew walks off the left-hander for Québec, who also threw two wild pitches in the frame. Jay Prather then drove in Touchette on an RBI single to make it 3-2, and with two outs in the inning, Clint Freeman dumped an RBI single into left field to tie the game at 3-3. The Grizzlies got the potential lead run on base in the top of the ninth, but could not score, and in the bottom of the inning, Jonathan Lacroix singled and stole second base before Gonzalez singled to right field to bring in the winning run for the second night in a row against John Murphy, dealing Gateway back-to-back losses for the first time this season.
Evansville vs Ottawa
The Ottawa Titans (7-4) defeated the Evansville Otters (5-6) by a score of 1-0 on Wednesday night.The game was at a deadlock offensively until the eighth inning, as Evansville starter Brett Adcock and Ottawa starter Tyler Jandron matched each other with zeroes on the scoreboard. Adcock was making his debut in an Otters uniform after his acquisition from the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association last week. Ottawa scored the game's lone run in the bottom half of the eighth when right fielder Jacob Sanford doubled into the gap to drive in AJ Wright. Sanford also had the game-winning RBI in Tuesday's opener. Evansville had another opportunity in the top of the ninth to tie or take the lead with the bases full, but the late push faltered with the bases loaded and a strikeout to end the game. One of Evansville's four hits belonged to second basemen Julius Puryear, his first hit as an Otter. It was the third time in the last four games the Otters have been outhit by an opponent. Tyler Jandron had another solid outing for the Titans, improving his 0.75 ERA even more, allowing no runs on three hits and striking out three.
