MYERS, BRAHMS GUIDE OTTERS PAST SLAMMERS
The Evansville Otters scored five runs in the fourth and four runs in the fifth to dominate the Joliet Slammers Saturday night, 10-1. Noah Myers had two hits and three walks on his way to three runs while Parker Brahms worked seven and two-third dominant innings from the mound. Brahms struck out seven, allowing just three hits and a run. He retired 13 Slammers in a row over the stretch from the 3rd to the 8th inning. Joliet scored their only run in the eighth. Evansville put the game away early with a big fourth inning. Ethan Skender and George Callil led off with base hits. With Skender at third, Bryan Rosario executed a squeeze play perfectly, scoring the first run of the inning. The Otters unnerved the Slammers from there as Joliet committed three errors over two plays, scoring two more runs. Myers scored the fourth run of the inning on a fielders' choice groundout and Jomar Reyes capped the inning with an RBI double. The bats continued their tear in the fifth inning as Skender led off with another base hit before two batters were hit by pitches. A sacrifice fly scored a run, Myers knocked an RBI single to left and Dakota Phillips hit a two-RBI double to highlight the four run inning. Myers scored the first run of the game, leading off the contest with a single and eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly. Phillips led the Otters with three RBIs. Jomar Reyes moved his team-long on-base streak to 22 games. Skender scored a run for the 10th consecutive game, a new Otters' season high. Evansville scored double digit runs for the sixth time this year. The Otters have also recorded double-digit hits in five consecutive games - a season best.
On a night where runs were tough to come by, the Lake Erie bullpen put in a lot of work, covering 5.1 innings and allowed just a run, but it wasn't enough as the Crushers dropped a 3-1 decision to the New York Boulders on Saturday night at Mercy Health Stadium. The loss for the Crushers (18-26) was their fifth in their last six games at home, while the victory for the Boulders (24-18) was their third in five games against Lake Erie this season. Pitching once again reigned supreme. While the Crusher pitching staff only allowed three runs on eight hits, New York's starting pitcher July Sosa (3-1) stole the show. Sosa went the distance, tossing a complete game and allowed just a run on nine hits while striking out nine batters to secure the win. Lake Erie received another outstanding effort from their bullpen, as the combination of Thomas Bruss, Sam Frontino, Ean Walda and Trevor Kuncl combined to toss 5.1 innings and allowed just a run on three hits. The Crushers fired the first shot, scoring their lone run of the contest in the bottom of the second. Drue Galassi started the inning with a single, and advanced to third on a two base throwing error by Sosa. With two out in the inning, Jackson Pritchard reached on an infield single to score Galassi. The lead didn't last long, as the Boulders responded quickly with a pair of runs in the top of the third. Pat Kivlehan reached on a one out single and he came around to score on Gabriel Garcia's RBI double to the gap in right center. David Vinsky brought Garcia home later in the inning with two outs on a RBI double to left. New York added a big insurance run in the top of the sixth inning. The Boulders had a pair of runners thrown out at home plate in the inning, but they scratched one across on Kivlehan's RBI single to left. Lake Erie hit safely nine times on the night, and despite the loss, out-hit the Boulders, 9-8. Seven out of Lake Erie's starting nine reached safely at least once, and six Crushers recorded at least one hit. Pritchard, Todd Isaacs Jr. and Kemuel Thomas-Rivera paced the Crushers with two hits each. Thomas-Rivera has now hit safely in six straight games while Isaacs extended his on base streak to six games. Sosa picked up the win for the Boulders, marking the third time in Lake Erie's last nine home games that an opposing pitcher has gone the distance against them. Matt Mulhearn (2-3) took the loss after allowing a pair of runs on five hits over 3.2 innings of work with four strikeouts.
The Tri-City ValleyCats (26-18) won their second consecutive one-run victory over the New Jersey Jackals (27-15) by a score of 7-6 on Saturday at Hinchliffe Stadium. It was their first road series win against an intra-divisional rival during the 2023 campaign. Jakob Goldfarb continues to make his bid for Frontier League Player of the Week honors as he opened the game with a leadoff homer off Nick Belzer. It was Goldfarb's eighth long ball of the season. Tri-City went yard again in the second. Ian Walters singled, and Robbie Merced went deep with a two-run jack. Merced's third homer of the year pulled the ValleyCats ahead, 3-0, and it was his second tater in the last three games. New Jersey erupted in the third. Phillip Ervin hit a solo shot off Dan Beebe. Afterward, James Nelson and Keon Barnum picked up back-to-back singles. Josh Rehwaldt drove in a run with a knock, and Rusber Estrada loaded the bases with a single. Alfredo Marte drove in two with a base hit to give the Jackals a 4-3 advantage. Tri-City tied the game, 4-4, in the fourth as Jaxon Hallmark doubled, and Walters brought him in with a single. New Jersey responded in the bottom of the fourth. Ti'Quan Forbes had a double, and came around on a single from Ervin. Then, Ervin swiped second, and crossed the plate on a single from Barnum to put the Jackals on top, 6-4. Beebe was handed a no-decision. He tossed four frames, allowing six runs on 10 hits, walking three, and striking out four. Goldfarb helped manufacture a run in the fifth. He walked, stole second for his 14th bag of the season, and advanced to third on an error from Estrada. Cito Culver then had an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 6-5. Hallmark began the sixth with his second double of the evening. Walters moved Hallmark over to third with a groundout to the right side of the infield. Hallmark then came around on a wild pitch to knot the game at 6-6. Belzer also received a no-decision. He pitched six innings, giving up six runs on nine hits, walking two, and striking out five. Tri-City retook the lead in the seventh off Yuichi Shiota. Pavin Parks and Aaron Altherr had two consecutive two-out singles. Afterward, Zach Biermann had a go-ahead single to drive in Parks, and give the ValleyCats a 7-6 lead. Brac Warren (1-2) earned the win with his longest outing of the 2023 campaign. He hurled three shutout frames, yielding two hits, walking one, and striking out a season-high seven batters. Warren extended his scoreless streak to 10.1 innings. Brendan Bell worked around two walks (one intentional) in the eighth to toss a scoreless frame. Parks then came into pitch for the first time since June 9, 2023 in Gateway. He retired the side in order in the ninth, striking out two to record his first save of the year. Shiota (0-4) was handed the loss. He went 0.2 innings, giving up a run on three hits.
The Florence Y'alls (21-23), presented by Towne Properties, could not keep pace offensively with the Windy City Thunderbolts (19-25) in an 11-5 defeat at Ozinga Field on Saturday. The Thunderbolts clinched the series with the win, marking the second straight series that Windy City has beaten Florence. Florence struck first in the top of the second when first baseman Harrison DiNicola was hit by a pitch and stole second. With two outs, shortstop Jeremiah Burks hit a ground ball to third that Windy City third baseman Junior Martina misplayed, allowing DiNicola to score from second and the Y'alls to take a 1-0 lead. Handed a 1-0 lead, Y'alls ERA leader Nate Florence struggled to find a groove in the bottom of the second inning. The Thunderbolts plated four runs on four hits and two Florence errors. Windy City left fielder Paul Coumoulos drove in two with a single. Four batters later, right fielder Will Riley hit a ground ball past Y'alls second baseman Tristan Garcia, who was charged with an error that scored an unearned run. After two innings, Windy City led 4-1. The Y'alls scored two more in the fourth after back-to-back singles set up catcher Zade Richardson, who brought home third baseman Brian Fuentes from third with a sacrifice fly. Two batters later, Jeremiah Burks drove in another run with an RBI single to make it 4-3 Thunderbolts. The Y'alls would lose its grip on the momentum in the bottom of the fourth when Windy City plated three more runs. Will Riley drove in a pair with a single before Junior Martina doubled in the third and final run of the inning. Windy City led 7-3 after four and never looked back. The Y'alls scored two in the eighth when catcher Zade Richardson hit a two-run home run – his second homer of the series – but Florence would not score again in an 11-5 defeat.
The Ottawa Titans (21-23) won their fourth in a row, taking down the Quebec Capitales (23-21) 4-2 on Saturday. With rain in the Nation's Capital, the contest was pushed back by nearly two hours, but it did not slow down the offence who got on top first. With two away in the bottom of the first against Stephen Chamblee (loss, 2-5), Jackie Urbaez came in to score all the way from first on Sicnarf Loopstok's RBI double to the gap in left-centre field. The all-Canadian matchup would stay a one-run game until the Capitales took the lead in the fifth. Jordan Siket tied the game with an RBI groundout, scoring a Justin Gideon leadoff single. Next, Marc-Antoine Lebreux chopped a Grant Larson (win, 4-5) offering up the middle to score one, putting the visitors ahead 2-1. After retiring eleven in a row from the end of the first through the start of the fifth, the Titans got a pair on base courtesy of two walks against Chamblee. As the lineup turned around for the third time, Jackie Urbaez blasted his fourth home run of the season to put the Titans in front for good with a three-run shot. Grant Larson would toss his seventh quality start of the season by going six innings, allowing two runs on six hits, walking three, and striking out a trio. Gleyvin Pineda, Erasmo Pinales, and Trevor Clifton (save, 2) tossed a combined three shutout innings out of the bullpen to preserve the win.
A late surge by the Washington offense snapped a two-game losing streak as the Wild Things took game two of a three-game series against the Schaumburg Boomers Saturday with a 6-3 victory. The top of the first was rough for the Wild Things as Schaumburg scored two on two RBI infield hits, forcing them to climb out of an early hole. Washington had a chance to score with runners on first and second in the first, but they were stranded after an unusual double play. After a scoreless second inning, the Boomers got back onto the board after an RBI single from Alec Craig. This gave Schaumburg a 3-0 lead. Stephen Knapp got pulled after 5.1 innings. In that span he gave up three runs on eight hits and was relieved by Ray Pacella. The game became a pitcher's duel between Perez and the Wild Things' pitchers. After the third, there were three-straight innings of scoreless baseball. In the bottom of the seventh, the Wild Things finally got on the board after an error by Gaige Howard that allowed Robert Chayka to score and Abraham Sequera to reach second base. This cut the lead to 3-1 for the Boomers. The Wild Things decided to put in Will Solomon for the top of the eighth after Pacella went 1.2 innings. Pacella did not give up a run in relief. For Schaumburg, Perez went seven strong innings and gave up zero earned runs with eight strikeouts. The Boomers put in Dylan Stutsman in relief. The Wild Things got to Stutsman early and made Schaumburg go back to the bullpen after a bases loaded walk to Tommy Caufield cut the Boomers lead to 3-2. The next pitch by Kristian Scott was hit up the middle for a single by Chayka, which gave the Wild Things a 4-3 lead, their first of the day. The scoring did not stop there, as Anthony Brocato drove in two runs with an RBI single, making the score 6-3 in favor of Washington. Closing pitcher Lukas Young shut down the Boomers lineup to earn the save, his fourth of the season.
The Gateway Grizzlies finally resumed action after back-to-back rainouts, and resumed their impressive offensive season by putting up 15 runs, seven of which were driven in by Peter Zimmermann, in a 15-6 win over the Trois-Rivieres Aigles on Saturday night at Grizzlies Ballpark. It was the Aigles who struck first right away against Collin Sullivan (6-2) when L.P. Pelletier hit the right-hander's first pitch of the game over the center field fence for a solo home run to make it 1-0 Trois-Rivieres. But after a bunt single leading off the bottom of the first by Gabe Holt, one of his career-high five hits on the day, Jairus Richards responded with a two-run home run off Jacob Kush (1-1) that put the Grizzlies ahead to stay at 2-1. Clint Freeman's two-out RBI single that same inning made the score 3-1. After Trois-Rivieres got a run back on yet another first-pitch solo home run in the second inning by Brendon Dadson, Gateway took the reins of the contest with one of their patented big innings, batting around and using five walks and one hit batter to score eight runs on only three hits in the bottom of the third, with Zimmermann's grand slam punctuating the frame after RBIs by Richards, Eric Rivera, and D.J. Stewart. With the score 11-2, Trois-Rivieres got three runs back on a bases-clearing double by Juan Kelly in the fourth, but the Grizzlies answered in the fifth with three runs of their own on a two-run homer by Zimmermann, his second of the game, along with an RBI single by Rivera, building their lead out to 14-5. Both teams would add runs in the eighth for the final margin, with Zimmermann reaching on an RBI infield single for his seventh and final run batted in on the day. His 3-for-5 effort overall was one of four three-plus hit performances by the top four hitters in the Grizzlies' batting order, as Holt finished 5-for-6 at the top of the lineup, while Richards and Andrew Penner each went 3-for-5 as well as Gateway amassed 18 hits as an offense.
