STRONG PITCHING, 7-RUN SEVENTH PACE EMPIRE STATE TO VICTORY

Empire State vs Tri-City 

Empire State starting pitcher Johsson Arias held Tri-City to only one hit over five shutout innings as the Greys rebounded from a walk-off loss on Friday night with a 9-3 victory over the ValleyCats at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on Saturday. 

56 of Arias' 89 pitches were fastballs, with a top velocity of 95.5 mph and average of 92.5. 

Empire State jumped out early.  A first inning, two-out single by Jordan Holloman-Scott was immediately followed by an RBI double to right center by Trey Woosley.  The Greys recorded two more hits in the second and two in the third, starting with a leadoff single by Robbie Carling.  Holloman-Scott singled Carling to second, who then advanced to third when Woosley hit into a fielder's choice.  With two outs, Carling came home after Woosley was caught in a rundown. 

After Tri-City plated a run in the bottom of the 6th, Empire State responded with a seven-run 7thinning.  Jose Mercado led off the inning with a single to left and then stole second base along him to score on double to left field by Liam McArthur.  Carling then singled in McArthur for the second run in the inning.  Will Decker later drove in two runs with a single, giving the Greys six runs before their first out.  13 batters came to the plate for Empire State, with Carling both scoring and driving in a run. 

Jason Pineda tossed a perfect 8th inning before Luis Pacheco finished the game for Empire State. 

The Greys look for the series win on Sunday afternoon, a 5:05 PM Eastern start.  

New Jersey vs Quebec 

Miguel Cienfuegos shined for the Quebec Capitales where he went six innings in his start against the New Jersey Jackals where they beat the Jackals 12-0 at Stade Canac on Saturday night. 

The Capitales started their scoring in the first inning with a sacrifice fly by Johnathan Lacroix to drive in Blake Berry.  

Quebec would continue in the third when Lacroix would hit a two run home run followed by a home run by Josh McAdams to make it 5-0.  

The Capitales would score six runs in the fourth inning with the help from Lacroix, Jeffry Parra, and a second home run of the game for McAdams. 

Quebec would score their last run in the sixth inning with McAdams grounding into a double play to score the 12th run to make the score 12-0 and would lead them to their win over New Jersey.  

Miguel Cienfuegos would get the win for Quebec. While Hayden Shenefield got charged with the loss. 

New York vs Ottawa

Alex Mack pitched into the eighth inning and Gian Martellini knocked in a pair of runs as the visiting New York Boulders snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Ottawa Titans on Saturday night at Ottawa Stadium in the capitol of Canada.

Mack went 7 2/3 innings and allowed only one run on just four hits to pick up the win, his third of the season against no losses. Mack walked three and struck out eight. 

Mack was relieved in the eighth with a runner on first and two outs by Ryan Munoz, who got Ottawa's Jake Sanford to fly out to David Vinsky in left to end the inning.

Munoz then closed out the win by tossing a scoreless ninth inning.

The Boulders went ahead with a run in the second. Giovanni Garbella and Gian Martellini singled to open the inning before Francisco Del Valle was struck out by Titans' starter Tyler Jandron.

Gabriel Garcia followed with a grounder to short that was thrown wildly into right-center field by Ottawa shortstop Taylor Wright, the error allowing Garbella to score and give New York a 1-0 lead.

The Boulders padded their advantage with two runs in the third, both coming on a Martellini double.

Two innings later, Austin Dennis hit a solo home run, his second long ball of the season, to increase the New York lead to 4-0.

A Jackie Urbaez RBI single brought Ottawa to within 4-1; but a Garbella sacrifice fly in the seventh got that run back for the Boulders and pushed their advantage up to 5-1.

Martellini and Dennis each had two hits for New York in the victory.

Jandron was tagged with the loss for Ottawa. The lefthander went 6 1/3 innings and surrendered five runs (three earned) on seven hits. He walked two and struck out six as he fell to 4-2 on the year.

Sussex County bs Trois-Rivières

The Trois-Rivières Aigles put up 17 runs to defeat the Sussex County Miners by a score of 17-13 at Stade Quillorama. 

The Miners would get on the scoreboard first in the first inning with a sacrifice fly from Kevin Rolon. 

The Aigles would walk in a run by walking Cito Culver to make it 2-0.

The Miners would score three runs in the third inning to make it 5-0. 

Trois-Rivières would score in the bottom of the third from a Joe Campagna homerun. 

The Miners would add another run in the third. 

The Aigles would inch closer in the fifth by scoring four runs to make it 6-5. 

Sussex County would score four more runs in the top of the sixth to try and keep the lead. 

However, in the bottom sixth, Trois-Rivières would gain the lead for the first time in the game when they took a 12-10 lead. 

The Miners would get ahead again in the top of the seventh by scoring three runs to make the score 13-12. 

Steve Brown would tie the game in the seventh with a single followed by a Carlos Martinez home run to put the Aigles ahead and make the score 16-13. 

The Aigles would score the last run in the bottom of the eighth off a home by Campagna to make the final and winning score 17-13. 

James Bradwell would get the win for Trois-Rivières while James Mulry would get the loss. 

Gateway vs Florence

The Gateway Grizzlies were down 3-2 in a back-and-forth game against the Florence Y'alls Saturday night, but scored three runs in the eighth to come back for a 5-3 victory at Thomas More Stadium, evening the weekend set on the road.  

The first five innings were well-pitched, as starters Steven Ridings and Grant Hockin were on their games. Hockin broke first in the second inning when Trevor Achenbachled off with a solo home run to left-center field to make it 1-0 Grizzlies. Clint Freemanwould double that lead with a solo homer of his own in the top of the fifth to 2-0. 

Florence then used a leadoff hit batter and double to eventually tie the game, with one runner coming home from third base on a ground ball to Freeman at first base, and Alberti Chavez singling in the tying run to make it 2-2. Florence had runners at second and third base with just one out later in the inning, but John Murphy struck out two to keep it tied at 2-2.  

It remained tied until the bottom of the seventh, when Ray Zuberer III connected on a solo home run off Sam Gardner (4-1), making the score 3-2 Y'alls. But with one out in the top of the eighth, the Grizzlies pounced. Andrew Penner doubled and Jay Prather walked against Evan Brabrand (2-3), with the runners moving to third and second base, respectively, thanks to a wild pitch. Jose Rosario then came up clutch with a single to center field to tie the game at 3-3, and another wild pitch gave Gateway the lead back at 4-3. Achenbach then capped the rally with an infield single up the first base line to score Rosario and make it 5-3.  

Gateway's bullpen then shut the door from there, with Gardner and Nick Kennedycombining for a scoreless eighth inning before Reed Hayes converted his fourth consecutive save opportunity with a flawless ninth as the Grizzlies got back to .500 on the season at 19-19. 

The Grizzlies will now go for the series victory in a rubber game on Sunday, June 26, at 12:07 p.m. CT. Freeman will start the game on the mound for the Grizzlies. 

Evansville vs Lake Erie

The Lake Erie Crushers scored 12 times on 12 hits at Mercy Health Stadium on Saturday night and came away with a 12-3 win over the Evansville Otters.  

The win for the Crushers (16-22) gives them a series victory at home for the first time since May 29, while the loss for the Otters (22-15) was their fourth in their last five games. 

Lake Erie struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Austin White and Kenen Irizarry started the inning with back-to-back base hits and Jake Gitter brought White home on a RBI groundout. 

Evansville responded in the top of the second inning. Justin Felix smashed a two-run homer to center field, his sixth of the season and Evansville's fourth homer of the series. 

The lead didn't last long, as Lake Erie sent all nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the third and scored five times on just three hits to regain the lead. Irizarry drove in the first run of the frame on a RBI single to left to score Sean Cheely, who walked to start the inning. Gitter walked with the bases loaded to score White before Connor Owings brought Irizarry home on a sacrifice fly. Newly acquired catcher Casey Combs capped the big inning with a two run triple that went down the line in right and into the right field corner. 

Owings came through for the Crushers again as he blasted a solo homer to center in the fifth inning, his seventh of the season. Lake Erie added another run in the seventh when Combs drew a bases loaded walk to score Jackson Valera. 

Evansville plated their final run in the top of the eighth inning, when Jeffery Baez belted a solo homer to left. 

Lake Erie removed all doubt in the eighth, when they scored four more runs. Valera singled in the first two runs of the inning before Owings belted a two run double down the line in right field to score Valera and Irizarry. 

Jay Alvarez (2-2) picked up the win for the Crushers after allowing just a pair of runs on three hits over five innings of work and struck out seven. Steve Pastora (0-1) took the loss after surrendering six runs on five hits over two and two-thirds innings of work. 

Four Crushers hit safely multiple times on the night. The top of the order combined to go 7-for-13 with eight runs scored. Irizarry led the way with his second straight three hit performance, going 3-for-4. White hit safely twice on the night, going 2-for-5 with three runs scored. Valera went 2-for-4 with a trio of runs scored and drove in two runs. Owings had another huge night, going 2-for-4 and drove in four runs. The multi-hit game for Owings was his seventh in his last 11 games, and he's driven in 12 runs during that stretch as well. 

The Crushers will finish their three game series with the Evansville Otters at Mercy Health Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Matt Mulhearn (0-1, 7.00) will get the start for the Crushers and the Otters will counter with righty Parker Brahms (3-1, 2.82). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 PM. 

Joliet vs Schaumburg 

The Schaumburg Boomers scored in four different innings and came up with several big hits to break through for a 6-2 win over the Joliet Slammers at Wintrust Field on Saturday night.

The Boomers scored in the first inning for the 15th time this year and opened the scoring for the 20th time when Matt Bottcher roped a two-run single in the bottom of the first to plate Clint Hardy and Alec Craig. Joliet scored a pair of runs in the second to tie the game. Thomas DeBonville put the Boomers ahead for good with an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to drive home Brett Milazzo. William Salas connected on a two-run homer in the fifth to push the lead to 5-2 and Bottcher padded the lead with an RBI single in the eighth.

Aaron Glickstein threw five innings in a spot start to grab the win, striking out four. Kristian Scott logged a pair of scoreless frames while Jake Joyce worked the eighth and Darrell Thompson struck out the side for the fifth time this season in the ninth. The offense tallied 11 hits and all nine members of the lineup reached base. Bottcher drove home three and notched two hits. Dawson, Salas and Milazzo also tallied two hits. Bottcher, the league's leader in average, reached base four times and owns 16 multi-hit games this year.

Washington vs Windy City 

The ThunderBolts used three home runs to help overcome a three-run deficit and snare the middle game of a weekend series over the Washington Wild Things 7-5 at Ozinga Field Saturday night. 

For the second consecutive ballgame, Washington (25-13) was able to open a big early lead. They scored once in the first and added three more in the second with Wagner Lagrange picking up RBI hits in both innings.

Peyton Isaacson put the ThunderBolts (17-19) on the board with a solo homer in the bottom of the second band Dan Robinson did the same in the third to cut the lead in half but Washington responded. In the top of the fourth, Lagrange brought in another run to make it 5-2.

The game turned for good in the bottom of the fourth. Jake Boone hit a two-run home run, cutting the deficit to one. The next inning, Robinson singled home the tying run.

The score remained tied at five until the bottom of the eighth. That's when Robinson hit a leadoff double and advanced to third on a Jairus Richards single. Brian Fuentes came up with the big hit, an RBI single that brought home Robinson. Later that inning, with the bases loaded, Boone was hit by a pitch to provide an insurance score. 

Garrett Christman started for the Bolts and settled in after a rough start, lasting six innings. Justin Miller (3-2) pitched two scoreless frames for the win and Layne Schnitz-Paxton twirled a shutout ninth for his sixth save.

Kenny Pierson allowed two runs out of the Wild Things bullpen and took the loss.