OTTERS CAME IN SWINGING IN FIRST GAME OF SERIES
In their first road contest of the season, the Otters hit five home runs and shut out the New Jersey Jackals 12-0 at Hinchliffe Stadium for their seventh consecutive victory. Jeffrey Baez starred for the Otters hitting two home runs. A two run blast down the left field line capped a three run third inning for Evansville. He followed it up with a solo homer to right in the seventh. The slugger's five on the season put him tied for most homers in the Frontier League. On the mound, the Otters earned their third shutout of the season behind Tim Holdgrafer's six dominant innings. He has not allowed a run over 12 innings of work in his last two starts. Tuesday, he limited the Jackals to five hits and struck out five. Evansville scored in the first inning for the eighth time in ten games this season. Bryan Rosario had a base hit and then stole second and third base before scoring on an error off the bat of Baez. After the three runs in the second inning the Otters would blow it open in the latter innings. Troy Viola had an RBI base hit in the sixth. After Baez's home run in the seventh, Jomar Reyes followed with a moonshot two run home run that cleared Hinchliffe Stadium's high right field wall. Reyes finished with three hits and extended his hit streak to eight games. Evansville capped the scoring with two runs in each of the eighth and ninth innings. Troy Viola hit a solo blast in the eighth. The Purdue grad had his best day at the plate as an Otter with three hits. Rosario added an RBI double and in the ninth Jacob Olson hit a two run blast for the Otters fifth home run of the game. Olson recorded his first multihit day as an Otter. Evansville's bullpen extended their scoreless streak to 30.1 straight scoreless innings dating back to opening day. Leoni De La Cruz and Jon Beymer worked a scoreless seventh and eighth. Tyler Vail made his season debut, closing the game in the ninth. The all-time leader in strikeouts with the Otters is in his sixth season in Evansville.The Otters are the first team to shut out the Jackals this season. With the win, Evansville has the best record in the Frontier League. Now at seven wins in a row, the Otters begin to eye the franchise record which was set in 2008 and matched last season at nine wins.
The Ottawa Titans (4-6) got a quality start from Zac Westcott (win, 2-1) and defeated the East Division-leading Sussex County Miners (6-3) by a 9-6 final on Tuesday, extending their winning streak to two in a row.Westcott and Griffin Baker (loss, 0-1) would go back and forth over the first two innings, shutting out the opposition. The Titans got the bats rolling in the third, scoring four runs on three hits. With the bases loaded and two outs, Jason Dicochea chopped a single into left field, scoring a pair. Next, Gabe Snyder ripped a double to the corner in right field, plating two, extending the lead to 4-0. Following a pair of one-out walks in the fourth, AJ Wright launched his fourth homer of the year to left-centre, making it 7-0. As two more reached, Gabe Snyder lined a triple to right, scoring two, making it 9-0. The run support would be all Westcott would need, as the right-hander surrendered a pair in the sixth, as Oraj Anu and Juan Santana recorded RBI knocks. Westcott would end his day after six, allowing two runs, on seven hits, walking two, and striking out five. Edwin Mateo would attempt to spark a rally against the Titans bullpen with a leadoff homer in the seventh. Nigel Calmes would allow a pair of runs in one-third of an inning, as the Miners cut the deficit to 9-5. Jason Agresti would pull the Miners within three with an RBI single in the ninth. With two on and two out, Nelson Gonzalez managed to finish the ball game, getting the potential tying run in Juan Santana to fly out to right field. In the win, Gabe Snyder would lead the way going 2-for-4 with a double, triple, and four RBI.
The Windy City Thunderbolts (4-5) defeated the Tri-City ValleyCats (4-6) 7-6 Tuesday afternoon at Ozinga Field. The Thunderbolts batted around in the bottom of the second inning, scoring seven runs on six hits and two errors. Among the highlights were an RBI double from Bolts catcher Matt Morgan. Only two Bolts' position players were held hitless in the contest. Windy City starting pitcher Henry Omaña was named Frontier League Pitcher of the week prior to this week's match up against TrI-City. In his first start since claiming the award, Omaña did not disappoint, throwing 6.2 innings, while striking out a career-high 12 and allowing five hits and one earned run for his third win of the year. Tri-City threatened the Bolts' lead in the top off the eighth inning. Eight batters for the ValleyCats took an at bat, scoring five runs on four hits. ValleyCats right-fielder Carson McCusker went 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs batted in, and a double in five at bats. In a dramatic finish entering the eighth inning, Windy City pitcher Daiveyon Whittle struck out Pavin Parks with the tying run at second base. In the top of the ninth inning, Whittle found himself in a similar spot with baserunners at first and second. He again struck out Jaxon Hallmark to end the game and the first consecutive Thunderbolt wins since August 10-11 of 2022.
The New York Boulders pull through with a win against the Joliet Slammers. Bats were hot from the Boulders with 3 homeruns, one from Gabriel Garcia, one from Joe DeLuca and one from Matt McDermott. Pat Kivlehan came in clutch for the Boulders late in the 9th inning where he crushed a double allowing Gio Garbella to score the winning run. Andy Hammond was the winning pitcher with Dawson Lane getting the save.
An early offensive explosion and lockdown pitching helped the Florence Y'alls (5-5) cruise to a series-opening victory over the Washington Wild Things (6-4) on Tuesday. Florence now leads the series 1-0 with a chance to take the three-game set on Wednesday. The game stayed quiet for two innings before Florence began its offensive onslaught. The Y'alls scored four runs in the third inning on back-to-back-to-back singles by first baseman Craig Massey (two-RBI), designated hitter Brennan Price, and second baseman Ray Zuberer. After three innings, Florence led 4-0. The Y'alls turned the trick for a second straight inning with four more in the fourth. Florence loaded the bases before a Massey sacrifice fly scored right fielder Sam Plash from third base. In the very next at-bat, Price belted a three-run home run to left field to make it 8-0. The Y'alls wouldn't need any more, but scored two in the fifth courtesy of three Washington errors. An RBI fielders' choice from left fielder Marcos Castillo drove in the Y'alls' tenth run. In the seventh, a Plash solo home run made it 11-1. Andres Rios' sacrifice fly to drive in Massey from third in the eighth inning proved to be Florence's twelfth and final run. The run support was more than enough for righthander Edgar Martinez, who won his second straight decision with 5.1 innings pitched, four hits, and one earned run allowed. Martinez struck out four in the game. Y'alls newcomer Sam Plash finished with a single, a double, and a home run in his season debut. The Y'alls' bullpen also turned in 3.2 innings of scoreless work.
