ANOTHER NIGHT OF EXCITING FRONTIER LEAGUE BASEBALL
The Ottawa Titans (1-0) put together an offensive clinic on Opening Day, taking down the Empire State Greys (0-1) 17-7 on Friday. Following back-to-back singles to open the night, Jamey Smart would bounce a one-out base hit through the left side of the infield to put the Titans on the board in the bottom of the first. In the fourth, the Titans' bats would erupt for nine runs on just two hits against Jose Suero and Daulton Leiker. AJ Wright cashed in with a solo homer and Jackie Urbaez delivered a grand slam, adding to the run-fest. Jackie Urbaez finished the night going 4-for-6 with five RBI and AJ Wright reached base in all five plate appearances. The offence registered 14 hits in the victory.
The Washington Wild Things used four pitchers to silence the bats of the Evansville Otters in the 2023 season opener Friday at Bosse Field in Evansville. In a rematch of the 2018 season opener, Washington scored seven times but, unlike that 2018 contest, which ended 7-4, didn't allow a run tonight, taking the game 7-0. In all, Washington collected nine hits versus five for the Otters. Loukinen earned the victory in relief, his first as a pro and in his Wild Things' debut. Tim Holdgrafer suffered the loss for the Otters after allowing six runs (five earned) in four innings.
The Gateway Grizzlies again enjoyed a stellar day at the plate offensively, using a late big inning to reach 21 hits as a club as well as double-digit runs for the second game in a row in beating the Florence Y'alls 11-2 to clinch the series at Thomas More Stadium and improve to 2-0 on the young season. It was Holt again leading the charge from the leadoff spot, going 5-for-5 and setting a new career-best in hits for a single game. Freeman and Stewart had three hits apiece and combined for seven RBIs in the game, with Diaz also setting a new career-high with four hits in the contest. On the mound, Sullivan and Trevor Tietz also combined to hold Florence off the board in the final four innings of the game.
The Tri-City ValleyCats took home the matchup with the Trois-Rivières Aigles 11-4 on Opening Night at Joseph L. Bruno stadium presented by the Rensselaer County Department of Health. Hallmark led off the bottom of the fourth with a single and stole second. Broughton moved his teammate to third on a fielder's choice and after an errant throw from Juan Kelly, Hallmark came around to score. Broughton moved to second on the play, stole third, and was driven on a Goldfarb sac fly. A single from Altherr, followed by a walk from Biermann, and an error from another error from Kelly loaded the bases. Parks lifted a pop up against Mason McAlister, which dropped on the infield and plated two runs to pull Tri-City ahead 9-1. Marshall (1-0) earned the win. He tossed five innings of two-run ball, walking four and striking out four. McKenney, Greg Veliz, Brac Warren, and Reymin Guduan did not give up an earned run in the final four innings and yielded just one hit.
Junior Martina's three-run homer in the second inning set the tone for the ThunderBolts on Thursday as they cruised to an Opening Night 8-3 win over the Schaumburg Boomers at Ozinga Field.After Martina's first homer in a ThunderBolts uniform, Windy City wasted little time in expanding their lead. Bren Spillane took the first pitch of the third inning over the wall to make it 4-0. The Bolts weren't threatened early in the game as Henry Omaña kept the Boomers off balance. Omaña didn't allow a run over the first four innings but Schaumburg got on the board in the fifth on Drue Galassi's solo home run. They tightened it further in the sixth inning. A Kyle Fitzgerald RBI double and an error made the score 4-3 but Adrien Reese escaped more damage, getting an inning-ending double play. The Bolts pulled away from there. RBI singles for Jake Boone and Jordan Hovey extended the lead to 7-3 and, when a wild pitch scored Martina in the eighth, the final score was set.
AVON, Ohio — The Lake Erie Crushers scored 10 times on 13 hits at MercyHealth Stadium on Friday evening and came away with a 10-6 victory over the Quebec Capitales in their 2023 season opener. The victory for Crushers (1-0) was their first in a home opener since 2019, and the loss for the defending Frontier League Champion Quebec Capitales (0-1) was their third in four games against the Crushers in the all-time series. The Crushers took the lead again in the bottom of the fourth when Dadson belted a RBI single to center to score Isaacs. Lake Erie then added three big insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull away. Dadson started the inning with a single to center and Harris drove him home on a RBI double to gap in left center. John Tucillo reached on an errant throw from the shortstop, Kyle Crowl, which allowed Harris to score and Lawlor brought in the final run of the game with a RBI single.
