OTTERS ATTACK EARLY
Evansville, Ind. – The Evansville Otters scored in the first four innings and mounted 13 hits to roll past the Gateway Grizzlies 8-2 Tuesday night at Bosse Field. Noah Myers hit his fourth home run in the last five games with a leadoff solo blast in the first inning. The Otters added two more runs in the second inning as Jomar Reyes had a base hit and Ethan Skender a double with both coming around to score. Evansville made it a five-run lead in the 3rd inning as Myers notched a leadoff base hit and came home on a Kona Quiggle double. Quiggle then scored on a sacrifice fly. Situational hitting proved key as the Otters did not strand a run in the first three innings. Gateway hit a solo home run in the fourth, but the Otters matched the run in the bottom half courtesy of an Aaron Beck leadoff double and George Callil RBI knock. A Bryan Rosario two-RBI double in the sixth put the finishing touches on the victory. Zach Smith earned the win from the mound, tossing five innings and allowing just one earned run. He struck out five and was helped by the Otters' defense that turned two inning ending double plays. All nine Otters recorded hits as Evansville plated runs in five of eight innings. Reyes advanced his team long on-base streak to 19 games. Quiggle and Callil both saw their hit streaks move to eight games. Beck recorded his third multi-hit game in his last four games. Evansville has hit a home run in a season best five straight games. The Otters have plated at least eight runs in their last four games.
The ThunderBolts set season highs in hits and runs as they scored in five separate innings on their way to a 10-4 victory over the Joliet Slammers at Ozinga Field Tuesday night.Joliet (19-21) struck first, getting a solo home run in the top of the first from Matthew Warkentin, his 12th of the year and the first allowed by Garrett Christman this season. In the bottom of the second, the ThunderBolts (16-24) took over. Dan Robinson hit a two-run double that gave the Bolts their first lead and they added two more runs in the frame courtesy of a Troy Viola, RBI base hit. The Slammers threatened to make a game of it, putting a two-spot on the board in the top of the fourth but Christman settled down and did not allow another run over seven innings total. Single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth helped Windy City slowly pull away. Jake Boone's RBI single made it 5-3, one of three hit of the day for Boone, who also had an RBI double in the sixth. Matt Morgan's solo homer also put a run on the board. Viola hit a three-run home run in the seventh innings to give the Bolts a double digit scoring total for the first time this year and put the game away. Christman (3-2) struck out four and allowed no walks over seven innings in earning the win. Justin Ferrell (1-3) gave up six runs in 4.2 innings and took the loss.
The Tri-City ValleyCats (23-17) took the series opener 16-9 over the Schaumburg Boomers (24-15) thanks to a plethora of free passes, and four homers at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on Tuesday. Schaumburg opened the scoring in the first. Chase Dawson and Brett Milazzo had back-to-back hits off Dwayne Marshall. The two baserunners advanced on a groundout from Blake Berry. Dawson scored on a straight steal of home to give the Boomers a 1-0 lead. Tri-City responded in the bottom of the first. Cito Culver walked, and Jakob Goldfarb cranked a two-run tater off Jackson Hickert. Carson McCusker and Aaron Altherr were each issued a free pass. Both baserunners moved up ninety feet on a walk. Parks went to first on a walk before Cale Jones came through with a two-run single to pull the ValleyCats ahead, 4-1. Schaumburg picked up a run in the second. Quintin Selma singled, and Kyle Fitzgerald walked to lead off the frame. Alec Craig hit into a 4-6-3 double play, and Fitzgerald went to third. Will Prater singled in a run to cut the deficit to 4-2. Tri-City extended its lead back to four in the home half of the second. Culver singled, and Hallmark worked a walk. Zach Biermann brought both runners in with a double to make it a 6-2 game. The Boomers scored seven unanswered runs in the third to go on top, 9-6. The offensive outburst was highlighted by a two-run double from Blake Grant-Parks, and a Gaige Howard two-run single. Marshall was handed a no-decision. He pitched 2.2 innings, yielding nine runs on nine hits, walking two, and striking out three. Tri-City clawed back in the bottom of the third. Jones reached on an error, and Ian Walters followed suit with his first homer in a ValleyCats uniform to trim the deficit to 9-8. McCusker tied up the game with a solo homer in the fourth. Altherr singled before Parks and Jones walked to load the bases. Afterward, Walters reached on a go-ahead infield single, driving in his third run of the game. Culver then had an RBI walk to give Tri-City an 11-9 lead. The ValleyCats continued taking advantage of the free passes in the fifth. Hallmark led off with a single, and swiped second. Biermann was hit by a pitch. Altherr then walked. Parks and Jones each walked to bring in a run, and pull Tri-City ahead, 13-9. The 'Cats tacked on a run in the sixth. Jake Joyce issued a walk to Goldfarb, who then stole second, and moved to third on an error from Grant-Parks. Hallmark collected his second hit of the day with an RBI single to provide Tri-City with a 14-9 advantage. Hallmark had his third hit of the game to begin the eighth. He swiped second, for his 20th stolen base of the year. McCusker then belted a two-run blast off Fitzgerald to make it a 16-9 affair. It was McCusker's second multi-homer game of the 2023 campaign, and he now has 17 long balls this year. Brac Warren, Aaron Ernst, Coleman Huntley, Greg Veliz, and Reymin Guduan combined for 6.1 innings of scoreless baseball. Huntley (1-0) earned the win. He threw two innings, giving up no hits, walking two, and striking out three. Hickert (3-2) received the loss. He went two innings, allowing six runs on four hits, walking five, and striking out none. Overall, every position player from both clubs reached base safely. Including hit by pitches, there were 27 free passes. Both clubs combined to throw 425 pitches.
Returning home to open a six-game homestand, the Ottawa Titans (17-23) were doubled-up 4-2 by the Sussex County Miners (25-14) on Tuesday.Following a 51-minute rain delay that pushed back the start of the contest, the Titans started off hot by capitalizing in the bottom half of the first. Sicnarf Loopstok's deep fly ball to right-centre was caught on a terrific sliding grab by Jawuan Harris on the warning track but it managed to score Jackie Urbaez to open the scoring. Making his second start of the season, Chris Burica (loss, 2-2) surrendered a pair of one-out doubles in the top of the second inning, as Willie Escala plated Will Zimmerman to tie the game. After getting two outs on two pitches in the third, Gavin Stupienski's solo blast made it 2-1, before Juan Santana's double scored Oraj Anu before the inning came to a close. Burica tossed three innings and allowed three runs on six hits, striking out one in the loss. The Titans made it a one-run game with Jamey Smart's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third against Griffin Baker (win, 4-2), cutting the deficit to 3-2. Baker went six and allowed two runs on six hits, striking out three in the victory. Brooks Walton tossed five innings in relief in the series opener, only allowing one run as Oraj Anu put the Miners ahead 4-2 with a leadoff solo homer in the sixth. Walton allowed just four hits out of the bullpen and struck out a pair. In the loss, Jackie Urbaez went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and scored both the Titans' runs.
The Florence Y'alls (21-19), presented by Towne Properties, used a dominant start and early offense to topple the Trois-Rivières Aigles (13-26) 5-2 in their series opener on Tuesday. The Y'alls started quickly on offense against Trois-Rivières starter Ray Weber. First baseman Craig Massey walked to lead off the game before right fielder Ray Zuberer hit a two-run home run to put the Y'alls up 2-0 two batters into the game. Designated hitter Brennan Price then doubled, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on third baseman Brian Fuentes' sacrifice fly. After one inning, Florence led 3-0. The Y'alls tacked on another run in the second when center fielder Cole Brannen singled, stole second, then scored on Craig Massey's RBI single. Florence tacked on its final run in the third when second baseman Harrison DiNicola hit a home run to make it 5-0. Florence would need no further offense behind righthander Edgar Martinez (8.0 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K), who turned in a sensational start. The Y'alls righthander posted his sixth consecutive quality start and pitched no-hit baseball into the seventh inning. Trois-Rivières loaded the bases in the seventh on a pair of walks and a dropped third strike before catcher Victor Cerny broke up the no-hitter with a two-out, two-RBI single. Martinez returned to the mound for the eighth to finish his outing before righthander Brian McKenna entered in the ninth to pitch a scoreless frame, earn his first save of the season, and polish off a one-hitter over the Aigles.
