MINERS DOMINATE BOULDERS, EXTEND EAST DIVISON LEAD
Pomona, NY - After a frustrating evening on Saturday night, the Sussex County Miners bounced back in a resounding way on Sunday afternoon at Clover Stadium. Griffin Baker earned his first career shutout in a masterful one-hit performance, and the Miners plated fourteen runs on twelve hits and a record eight hit batsmen en route to the 14-0 final scoreline against the New York Boulders.
The game-long story was Baker, who was in control all afternoon long. He was matching July Sosa of the Boulders batter for batter until Sosa ran into trouble in the fourth inning. Then, once the Miners offense started pushing runs across, Baker just kept motoring along on a NASCAR-related theme in Pomona, only getting in a bit of trouble with a pair of walks in the fourth inning as the Miners built their lead around six innings of hitless ball. Even the large gaps in time between trips to the mound didn't affect Baker, as he has struck out seven batters through the first six innings.
Baker's bid for history ended in the seventh, when Jimmy Costin led the inning off with a single to right field. But that did little to deter Baker, as he set the next three batters down in the seventh, then induced a double play after a walk to cruise through the eighth, and set the Boulders down in order in the ninth, with a strikeout to punctuate a career day. The final stat line for Griffin was no runs, one hit, three walks, and nine strikeouts.
As for the offense, they got multiple hit performances from Gavin Stupienski, whose three hits and three runs scored led Sussex County. He was one of seven Miners who were hit by pitches a total of eight times in the game, setting a Miners record - and possibly a Frontier League record in the process. Jason Agresti also scored three times, and was hit by pitches twice in a one-for-four afternoon. Juan Santana and Willie Escala also had two hits and two runs batted in each. Edwin Mateo and Will Zimmerman scored two runs each, and Jawuan Harris and Abraham Mow had three runs batted in each. As for the hit by pitches, Agresti (twice), Mateo, Zimmerman, Stupienski, Harris, Mow, and Escala were the Miners that were hit by Boulders pitches on the afternoon.
The Miners will now head to Avon, OH to start a three-game series against the Lake Erie Crushers, with all three games scheduled for 7:05 first pitches.
Washington, PA - The Lake Erie Crushers defeated the Washington Wild Things in their series finale to avoid back-to-back sweeps and get one step closer to a .500 record. The Crushers (9-12) fell behind early to the Wild Things (10-11) but were able to mount a comeback and earn the win.
Washington jumped on Lake Erie early and set the tone by scoring four in the bottom half of the first inning. All the damage came with two outs, and a pair of home runs given up by Crushers' starter Kyle Seebach made the situation bleak.
However, Lake Erie fought their way back and got on the board in the top of the third frame after a Santiago Chirino fielder's choice, scoring Sean Cheely.
The Crushers took their first lead of the night in the fifth, putting together four runs on five hits. Cheely and Kenen Irizarry led off the inning with a pair of doubles that scored Cheely. The next two batters flew out, and then the Grapes put together a rally.
Gabe Snyder scored Irizarry off an RBI knock. Jack Harris then doubled into the left-center field gap, scoring Snyder. Finally, Jiandido Tromp followed suit and hit a ground-rule double to score Harris, giving the Crushers a 5-4 lead.
That would be all Lake Erie needed, but the offense gave the bullpen extra room for error after tallying one more in the seventh frame. Todd Isaccs Jr. led off with a double to left field and moved to third base on a fielder's choice from Snyder. He then scored on a wild pitch making it a 6-4 game.
The bullpen came in and was dominant. After Seebach lasted just 4.0 innings on four runs, five hits, three walks and as many punchouts, five more arms came in and got the job done. They all pitched scoreless frames.
Brayden Bonner picked up the win after entering play in the fifth inning. Trevor Kuncl came in for the sixth and struck out two. Darrien Ragins struck out one in the seventh, and Perry Bewley came in for 0.2 innings of scoreless baseball in the eighth.
Alexis Rivero was called up to close the eighth, and he continued his success into the ninth by slamming the door on the Wild Things to pick up his first save of the season.
Three Crushers had multi-hit games, including Isaacs Jr. who went 2-for-5 with a run and Cheely putting together two hits and a pair of runs scored. Irizarry was the offensive player of the game, as he went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Chirino, Harris, Snyder and Tromp also tallied RBIs on the night.
The Crushers have the day off tomorrow before heading back to the shores of Lake Erie to take on the Sussex County Miners. The Crushers will have another tough series ahead of them as the Miners lead the East Division of the Frontier League.
Still, The Grapes will look to bounce back and earn their first series win since taking Game 2 against the Florence Y'alls on May 20. The first pitch of the Tuesday nightcap will begin at 7:05 PM ET.
TROY, NY - The Tri-City ValleyCats (11-10) won the rubber game 7-2 against the Empire State Greys (6-14) on Sunday at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium. Tri-City now is 4-0 in series at home, and finished the homestand with a 4-2 record.
Jaxon Hallmark greeted Miguel Rondon with a leadoff homer. Jakob Goldfarb walked, and Carson McCusker doubled before both baserunners came around on a two-bagger from Zach Biermann to put Tri-City on top, 3-0.
The Greys got on the board in the fourth. Josue Hererra had an infield single off Dwayne Marshall, and Josh Spears drove him in with a double to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The ValleyCats blew the game open in the bottom of the fourth. Pavin Parks hit a single off Wilber Perez. Two batters later, Hallmark cranked his second homer of the game, and his third of the season to pull Tri-City ahead, 5-1. Hallmark joins Cito Culver, Trey Hair, and Biermann as the only ValleyCats players with a multi-homer game this year.
Tri-City jumped on Nick Trabacchi in the fifth. Goldfarb led off with a single and went to third on a wild pitch, and an error from Mike Gulino. Afterward, McCusker walked. Biermann drove in Goldfarb with a single. McCusker moved to third after Pat Adams reached on a fielder's choice. McCusker then scored on a wild pitch to extend the 'Cats lead to 7-1
Empire State showed some life in the seventh. Herrera had a double off Brendan Bell, and John Mead plated a run with an RBI single to make it a 7-2 ballgame.
Marshall (3-0) earned the win. He tossed five innings, giving up one run on three hits, walking one, and striking out five.
Rondon (0-2) received the loss. He went two innings, yielding three runs on three hits, walking four, and striking out three.
The ValleyCats return to action on Tuesday, June 6 to begin their second six-game road trip of the season. The first three games will be against the Evansville Otters. First pitch is scheduled for 7:35 EDT at Bosse Field.
ROIS-RIVIERES, Quebec — The Schaumburg Boomers capped a roadswing through Canada with a 5-1 record by virtue of a 5-4 sudden death win over the Trois-Riveres Aigles to sweep the weekend series.
The game was flying along as Aaron Glickstein and Tucker Smith cruised through the middle of the contest. Schaumburg struck first on a two-run homer from Quentin Selma in the sixth inning and made it 3-0 when Travis Holt scored on an error. Trois-Riveres tied the game by scoring a run in the seventh and two in the eighth. Both teams were able to score the international tie-breaker runner in the 10th and Jake Joyce kept the game even by working out of a bases loaded no out situation.
Trois-Rivieres elected to play defense in sudden death and Gaige Howard instantly moved the winning run to third with a single to right. Holt followed with a high-hop single over the drawn in infield to hand the Boomers their first ever sudden death victory and a walk-off on the road. The contest marked just the second ever sudden death game for the Boomers. Sudden death was instituted prior to the 2022 campaign.
Glickstein threw 6.1 innings and allowed just one run. Kristian Scott and Dylan Stutsman worked the game into extras. Joyce ended up earning the win. Howard doubled twice and finished with four hits as the Boomers amassed 12. Schaumburg logged double-digit hits in every game of the trip. Alec Craig and Miles Simington both posted two hits. Craig drove home the go-ahead run in the 10th. The Boomers did not trail in the series.
The Boomers (13-7) will return home on Tuesday night at 6:30pm to begin a three-game series with the Florence Y'Alls. Tuesday night is Elvis Night at Wintrust Field, presented by Friendship Village. Enjoy a night filled with music and themes all about the King of Rock 'n' Roll including impersonators and live music pregame. RHP Luis Perez (2-0, 2.61) is slated to start for the Boomers, making his return from the injured list while Florence counters with RHP Jake McMahill (0-1, 5.30).
FLORENCE, KY – The Florence Y'alls (12-9), presented by Towne Properties, fell behind early and never recovered in a 20-0 blowout defeat to the New Jersey Jackals (9-11) in the third and final game of a three-game series.
Florence starter Mike Kickham ran into immediate trouble in the first inning as the Jackals scored three runs. With the bases loaded and nobody out, right fielder Josh Rehwaldt grounded into an RBI fielder's choice before left fielder Alfredo Marte hit an RBI groundout to short. First baseman Alex Toral then drove in a third run with an RBI double.
The Jackals scored six more in the third to start the rout. 10 Jackals hitters came to the plate against Kickham and Florence righthander Brandon Mason in the top of the third inning. New Jersey scored six runs on four hits and a Y'alls error. Alex Toral drove in two with another double and finished with five RBI on the day.
The Jackals scored one in the fourth, three in the fifth, and four more in the sixth on the strength of long rallies. In three different innings, New Jersey sent nine or more hitters to the plate. Florence ultimately used six pitchers, but could not stem the tide. New Jersey's Josh Rehwaldt finished the game 5-for-6 with two doubles, a home run, and five driven in. Leadoff man and shortstop Ti'Quan Forbes finished 3-for-5 with two walks, and the Jackals put up 20 runs on 22 hits and nine walks.
In the meantime, the Y'alls could not crack the scoreboard against Jackals' righthanded starter Nick Belzer, who pitched a seven-strikeout complete game shutout while allowing nine hits and two walks.
The Y'alls take the series and finish their homestand with a record of 4-2 against Washington and New Jersey. After an off day Monday, Florence travels to face the Schaumburg Boomers in a three-game weekday road set. First pitch for Game 1 in Schaumburg is Tuesday, June 6th at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Joliet, Ill. – The Evansville Otters fell to the Joliet Slammers 1-0 in a pitchers duel Sunday afternoon at Duly Health and Care Field. The one hour, 49 minute game beat was the quickest game in 28 seasons and 2,368 games of Evansville Otters baseball (last record was one hour, 50 minutes in 2003).
Jhon Vargas was a big reason for the rapid pace of play. The righty pitcher held the Slammers to just one run, four hits and one walk in seven innings of work. He needed just one strikeout as he induced Joliet into 14 flyouts. Vargas took the tough luck loss, but improved to a 3.86 ERA and the game qualified as his third quality start in four outings.
Joliet's only run came in the fourth with a leadoff single followed by a double. The lone run then scored on the next batter's sacrifice fly. Evansville's streak of 18 straight games scoring first came to a close as they were shutout for just the second time this season. Slammers' ace Cole Cook threw eighth shutout innings, giving up just four hits. Jake Green led the Otters bats, reaching all three times he came to the plate. After a scheduled Monday off day, Evansville returns home for a six game homestand. They'll open action against the Tri-City ValleyCats Tuesday evening at Bosse Field with a 6:35 PM CT first pitch.
