TITANS LOOPSTOK WINS IT WITH WALK OFF GRAND SLAM
Ottawa, ON - In his Ottawa Titans (7-12) debut, Sicnarf Loopstok's tenth inning walk-off grand slam completed the comeback, as the Titans defeated the Quebec Capitales (7-11) by a score of 7-3 on Friday.
The Titans got off to a tremendous start against Pete Tago (ND, 0-0), scoring the game's opening run after a sacrifice fly from AJ Wright in the first.
TJ White would put the Capitales in front 2-1 with a two-run blast to left in the top of the third.
The Capitales would extend their lead in the fourth with Bryan Leef's opposite-field single scoring Kyle Crowl, who had reached on an error to begin the frame.
Damon Casetta-Stubbs (ND, 0-2) would pick up a quality start on Friday, going six innings, allowing three runs (two earned), on five hits, walking two, and striking out five.
Down by two, the Titans had a great opportunity in the fifth, loading the bases, and chasing Tago from the game. The Capitales went to the bullpen and brought in Chas Cywin, who got Jamey Smart to fly out to end the threat.
Down to their final three outs, the Titans were finally able to solve Cywin, who had retired the first ten he faced out of the bullpen. Following a pair of hits, the Titans managed to tie the game at three.
Trevor Clifton (win, 1-1), would come up huge over two innings of work, as in the tenth, the right-hander struck out Marc-Antoine Lebreux and TJ White to strand the potential go-ahead run at third.
In the bottom half, the Titans loaded the bases with one out against Canadian Michael Brettell (loss, 1-1), setting the stage for Loopstok. The veteran hammered the first offering he saw to left to complete the comeback with a walk-off grand slam, to cap off a 3-for-5 debut.
WASHINGTON, Pa. (June 2) – The Washington Wild Things took game one of their weekend series against the Lake Erie Crushers by a score of 6-2. Starting pitcher Spencer Johnston got the win in this one as he made batters whiff left and right as he struck out a career-high nine in seven strong innings. He allowed two earned runs on three hits.
The Crushers scored first after Jack Harris hit a home run to center field to give them the early lead, 1-0. After the Wild Things got runners on first and second base on back-to-back hits, Andrew Czech hit a two-run single to right center to give the Wild Things a 2-1 lead after one.
In the top of the third the Crushers tied things up at 2-2 on an RBI double by Jarrod Watkins. The Wild Things broke the tie after Melvin Novoa barreled the ball and launched a home run off the scoreboard. The Wild Things would take a one-run lead at 3-2.
The Wild Things extended their lead when Scotty Dubrule hit a sacrifice fly to left field and tack on another one, which made it 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth.
After seven good innings of work by Johnston, Christian James and Lukas Young came in relief of Johnston and pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
The Wild Things would crack things open on a Tristan Peterson two-run shot over the left-center field fence to make it a 6-2 game going into the top of the ninth.
Crestwood, IL (June 2, 2023) – The Gateway Grizzlies trailed 1-0 for most of the game on Friday night against the Windy City ThunderBolts, but rallied to score two runs in the top of the eighth, then held that lead for a 2-1 victory at Ozinga Field, winning their ninth consecutive contest.
The game was a pitcher's duel between Henry Omana for Windy City and Joey Gonzalez (3-1) for the Grizzlies. Omana was perfect through three innings, and did not give up a hit until the fifth in pitching six shutout frames with nine strikeouts.
Gonzalez, meanwhile, allowed the game's first run in the bottom of the second when the ThunderBolts got back-to-back leadoff singles and a successful sacrifice bunt before Paul Coumoulos scored Dan Robinson with an RBI groundout to shortstop for a 1-0 lead. The Grizzlies starter would settle into a big-time groove in the middle frames, however, finishing seven-plus innings and striking out six while retiring 11 batters in a row at one point to keep it a 1-0 game.
In the top of the eighth, Gateway's offense finally broke through- Peter Zimmermann singled with one out and Andrew Penner drew a walk from Windy City reliever Derrick Edington (0-1). Jairus Richards then hit a ball back to the mound with both runners in motion, and Edington's throw to second base to try and turn a double play was low for an error, allowing Zimmermann to come home with the tying run.
D.J. Stewart then hit a fly ball to center field that Bren Spillane lost in the lights for a base hit, loading the bases for Willie Estrada, who lifted the eventual game-winning sacrifice fly to right field for a 2-1 Gateway lead. The ThunderBolts got the tying run on base in both the eighth and ninth innings on hit batters, but Alec Whaley and Colton Easterwood held the fort, with the latter striking out two in recording his first save as the Grizzlies took the opener of the abbreviated two-game series.
The first-place Grizzlies will look to run their win streak to 10 games and sweep their road trip on Saturday night, June 3, at 6:05 p.m. CT when they take on the ThunderBolts in the series finale. Lukas Veinbergs will start against Windy City right-hander Cole Bellair before Gateway returns to Sauget next week.
TROIS-RIVIERES, Quebec — The Schaumburg Boomers recorded double-digit hits for the fourth consecutive game, streaking to a series opening shutout over the Trois-Rivieres Aigles by a 9-0 shutout in the first shutout of the season.
Schaumburg jumped ahead with a single run in the top of the third. Chase Dawson tallied an RBI single to drive home Gaige Howard. Dawson, who became the team's all-time leader in total bases yesterday, was at it again in the fifth with a three-run double. The Boomers left no doubt in the eighth by tacking on five, two of which came on an RBI single from Alec Craig.
Jackson Hickert enjoyed the run support, working six blank innings and allowing just one hit to tally his first career victory. Cristian Lopez spun the seventh and Kristian Scott pitched the final two frames. Dawson reached base five times with four hits and a walk, and finished with four RBIs. Dawson owns 13 hits in the first four games of the Canada trip and also has put together a 14-game hitting streak. Quentin Selma and Craig also posted two hits. Howard drew three walks and scored three times and has reached in all 18 games this year.
Troy, NY—The Empire State Greys (6-12) defeated the Tri-City ValleyCats (9-10) 9-3 behind an efficient Andres Rodriguez start and team-wide power surge.
After two scoreless innings by both sides, it appeared offense would be hard to come by. Luis Atiles broke the scoreless tie in the third hitting a solo shot off of ValleyCats starter Garrison Bryant (L, 1-2), his first of the year.
The Atiles home run jolted the rest of the Greys' offense, and they exploded the next three innings. In the 4th Jordan Scott led off the inning with a solo shot to right field and was shortly followed by a Josh Sears 2-run shot to left. Another two runs were scored in the 5th, Luis Atiles scored on a wild pitch, and Josue Herrera delivered with an RBI single. Luis Atiles delivered for the second time this evening with an RBI single in the 6th, giving the Greys a 7-0 lead heading into the bottom of the inning.
Carson McCusker broke the scoreless tie in the bottom half of the inning. Swinging on a 3-0 pitch, McCusker hit a two-run shot to left center field. McCusker's home run was the only blemish on a stellar Andres Rodriguez (W, 1-1) outing.
Rodriguez was brilliant and most importantly efficient. The righty threw seven innings on just 77 pitches. Even though Rodriguez was mainly pitching to contact, he still had swing-and-miss stuff and amassed three strikeouts in the process.
Empire State's offense did not let up after the McCusker home run. In the top of the 7th, Josue Herrera drove in his second RBI of the night with an RBI single. After a long Josh Sears single to deep right center, Cristopher Cespedes doubled down the right field line driving in Herrera and increased the Greys' lead to 9-2.
In the 8th, McCusker provided the remainder of the ValleyCats offense with an RBI double off of Nick Trabacchi making the score 9-3. That score would hold up the rest of the night. Tanner Propst took the mound in the 9th and set the 'Cats down 1-2-3.
The Greys will take on the ValleyCats in game two tomorrow evening at 7:05 and look to take the series.
FLORENCE, KY – The Florence Y'alls (11-8), presented by Towne Properties, put together a convincing 13-2 victory over the New Jersey Jackals (8-10) in their first matchup with an Eastern Division opponent in 2023.
Unlike their previous three games versus Washington, Florence got off to a quick start on offense. After New Jersey scored in the first inning on a Josh Rehwaldt RBI single, the Y'alls scored two in the bottom of the second when center fielder Cole Brannen singled in third baseman Brian Fuentes and shortstop Jeremiah Burks. After two, the Y'alls led 2-1.
Florence took control of the game in the bottom of the fourth. The Y'alls scored five runs on five hits and a New Jersey error. Burks doubled in Fuentes before Brannen singled in Burks for the first two runs. New Jersey righthander Dazon Cole then entered and loaded the bases for first baseman Brennan Price, who cleared the bases with a three-RBI double. After four innings, Florence led 7-1.
The Jackals plated another run in the seventh when center fielder Austin White tripled and shortstop TiQuan Forbes singled him in, but New Jersey would not come any closer. The Y'alls rallied again in the seventh, bringing nine hitters to the plate in a three-run outburst. Right fielder Ray Zuberer doubled in two runs and Brian Fuentes smacked a solo home run to left-center field to cap the scoring at 10-2. New Jersey did not threaten again, and the Y'alls tacked on three more runs in the eighth en route to a 13-2 win. Righthander Jestin Jones pitched the final four innings of the game in relief.
The win marks Florence's first victory over New Jersey since August 21st, 2021. Game 2 against New Jersey is set for Saturday, June 3rd at Thomas More Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:36 PM ET.
