VALLEYCATS EXPLODE FOR EIGHT RUNS IN GAME ONE, WIN NAIL BITER IN GAME 2
OTTAWA, CANADA - The Tri-City ValleyCats (34-22) are now a perfect 6-0 in doubleheaders during the 2023 campaign after winning 8-2 and 3-2 against the Ottawa Titans (27-29) on Wednesday at Ottawa Stadium.
Tri-City opened the scoring in game one. Jaxon Hallmark and Lamar Briggs hit back-to-back singles off Brooks Walton to lead off the second. Pavin Parks laced an RBI double, and Briggs moved to third. Cito Culver reached on a fielder's choice, and Briggs came around to provide the ValleyCats with a 2-0 lead.
Tri-City doubled its lead in the third. Jakob Goldfarb walked, and in the first game back for Oscar Campos after playing with the 'Cats in 2018 and 2021, the nine-year minor leaguer cranked a two-run homer to make it a 4-0 game.
Ottawa cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the third. Austin Davis doubled off Dwayne Marshall. Davis advanced to third on a Jackie Urbaez flyout. Jason Dicochea plated Davis with a ground-rule double. Jamey Smart picked up an RBI single to make it a 4-2 affair.
Marshall received a no-decision. He tossed three frames, yielding two runs on five hits, walking one, and striking out two.
Tri-City tacked on an insurance run in the fifth. Ian Walters ripped a solo home run off Chris Burica. His fifth long ball of the season put the ValleyCats on top, 5-2.
Tri-City blew the game open in the seventh. Aaron Altherr doubled off Andrew Roach. Walters brought in Altherr with a single. Hallmark was hit by a pitch, and Briggs doubled in a pair to extend the ValleyCats lead to 8-2.
Blake Workman (1-0) earned his first win in independent ball. He hurled two scoreless frames, allowing one hit, walking none, and striking out three.
Walton (1-1) received the loss. He lasted 3.2 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits, walking one, and striking out three.
Coleman Huntley recorded his first save in indy ball after going two shutout frames, walking one, and striking out one.
Tri-City jumped to an early lead in the nightcap. Cito Culver and Goldfarb singled off Alec Thomas in the first. Goldfarb stole second, and Culver scored on an error from Sicnarf Loopstok. Campos drilled his second two-run blast of the day to pull the ValleyCats ahead, 3-0.
Ottawa got on the board in the fourth. Garrison Bryant hit Smart with a pitch. Dichochea then singled before Loopstok hit into a 6-4-3 double play, and Smart went to third. Taylor Wright had an RBI single to trim the deficit to 3-1.
Bryant also received a no-decision. He pitched 3.2 innings, allowing one run on three hits, walking one, and striking out three.
The Titans inched closer in the fifth. Greg Veliz hit Broc Mortenson with a pitch. Mortenson stole second, and Davis walked. Urbaez moved a runner over again on a flyout as Mortenson went to third. Afterward, Mortenson scored on a balk. Veliz preserved the lead by inducing an inning-ending popout from Smart.
Elliot Carney worked his way in and out of trouble in the sixth. Dicochea greeted Carney with a double, and Loopstok walked. Carney struck out Taylor Wright before AJ Wright reached on a 6-4 fielder's choice. With runners on the corners and two outs, Carney left the frame unscathed after David Mendham flew out to center.
Parks pitched a scoreless seventh inning, and registered his second save of the year. He allowed one hit, walked none, and struck out one.
Veliz (4-1) earned the win. He threw 1.1 innings, yielding a run on no hits, walking one, and striking out one.
Thomas (0-1) was handed the loss. He went five frames, giving up three runs on five hits, walking none, and striking out three.
Tri City will try to collect its third sweep of the year, and second on the road tomorrow, July 20. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM in Ottawa.
Evansville, IN - The Lake Erie Crushers put a number on the Evansville Otters, outscoring their divisional opponent 14-9.
The Crushers (24-32) offense took off scoring their most runs in a single game all season. The Otters (31-24) jumped ahead early but blew a big lead and couldn't recover after the damage done by the men in purple.
Evansville scored seven times in the bottom of the second inning. They had seven knocks, including two home runs and a triple, which boosted them over Lake Erie to begin the scoring.
The Crushers struck back with a vengeance over the next three frames. They did all their damage within nine outs, ultimately leading to the win.
In the top of the third inning, the Crushers tallied five hits including a trio of doubles from Jarrod Watkins, Jack Harris, and Zach Racusin. In the next frame, a walk from Todd Isaacs Jr. followed by a pair of singles from Kenen Irizarry and Racusin brought home four more men.
The Crushers piled on another quartet in the fourth. Watkins hit a two-RBI single through the middle of the hole. Racusin walked later with two outs to score another and a passed ball then brought home Watkins, making it a 14-7 game.
An attempt at a comeback was short-lived in the bottom of the seventh inning when a pair of Otters scored on a walk and a single. But the pitching staff was able to hold things down and preserve the lead.
Jonaiker Villalobos (1-2) was the Crushers starter who went 5.0 innings allowing seven runs on nine hits. He earned his first win of the 2023 season.
Alexis Rivero slammed the door in the ninth inning, tossing a scoreless frame and evening up the series at one apiece. Taking the loss was James Krick (1-1) who gave up the lead in the fourth frame.
Lake Erie will compete in a rubber match tomorrow in an attempt to earn their first series win on the road during the 2023 season. The first pitch is at 6:35 PM CTD.
WASHINGTON, Pa. (July 19) – The Washington Wild Things came back from a five-run deficit to defeat the Trois-Rivieres Aigles 7-6 in 10 innings to secure the series victory on a walk-off wild pitch that scored Jack Cone. Anthony Brocato's ninth-inning, game-tying, two-run home run was the key play that boosted Washington late.
The Aigles took an early lead in the first inning when Steve Brown hit an RBI single which scored Dalton Combs from second base.
Washington made some noise in the second inning after starting pitcher Osman Gutierrez hit two batters. However, no runs came across. The next inning, Trois-Rivieres put three runs on the board. This came on a three-run double from Brown that made it 4-0 Aigles. The Wild Things got out of the inning after Brendon Dadson struck out and Santini threw out Brown as he tried to steal third.
After a scoreless fourth, Rodrigo Orozco hit a home run to right field which gave Trois-Rivieres a 5-0 lead in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the inning, the Wild Things were finally able to get on the board after a two-run RBI single from Robert Chayka. The scoring did not stop there for Washington as Scotty Dubrule hit a two-run double. This cut the lead to one for the Aigles.
Zach Kirby got pulled after the fifth inning after a somewhat rocky debut for Washington, giving up five earned runs and six hits. He was relieved by Arrison Perez, who gave up an earned run in just 0.2 innings pitched. This led to Stephen Knapp entering the game to get the final out of the sixth.
Trois-Rivieres pulled starting pitcher Gutierrez after 5.1 innings. In that span, he gave up four runs on five hits. They brought in Frankie Giuliano in relief. In the seventh inning, Justin Goossen-Brown came in for Knapp. Knapp did not give up a run in 0.1 innings of work. Tyler Cornett came in for Giuliano and made quick work of the Wild Things, giving up just one single in the inning.
The Wild Things pulled pitcher Goossen-Brown after two scoreless innings pitched and replaced him with Lukas Young in the ninth.
Washington tied the game in the bottom of the ninth when Abraham Sequera doubled and Brocato hit the crucial two-run home run. Cornett was pulled after a Dubrule infield hit. The Aigles got out of the inning when Dubrule got thrown out at third after a Wagner Lagrange single.
Young shut down the Trois-Rivieres lineup in the top of the 10th. With one out and two runners on, pitcher Rob Klinchock threw a wild pitch. This scored Jack Cone from third, who pinch ran for Wagner Lagrange. The play boosted Washington to victory.
The Wild Things will look to complete the series sweep tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. It is a Thirsty Thursday at Wild Things Park. All fans 21 and older can receive $1 Coors Light drafts from the beer wagon and it's also 90s Night presented by Dave and Busters.
Crestwood, IL—The Empire State Greys (11-44) have defeated the Windy City Thunderbolts (24-31) 5-2 behind a great showing by the pitching staff.
After a slow start by both clubs, Empire State struck first plating 3 runs in the top of the 3rd. With two outs, Quentin Holmes started the Greys rally by reaching on an error and was immediately moved over to third on a Jaylen Smith single to left center. Following Smith's steal of second base, Manny Garcia was tasked with breaking up the tied ballgame. Garcia delivered with a single to left field, but chaos ensued on the play. What would've been a 2-run single, turned into a 3-run little league home run due to an error by the left fielder.
Empire State struck again off Windy City starter Kenny Matthews in the 4th and 5th. In the 4th, J.R. DiSarcina hit a lead-off triple to center field and was then promptly driven in by a Luis Atiles double down the third base line. Joah Sears delivered the big hit in the 5th with a 2 out RBI ground-rule double to right field making it a 5-0 ballgame.
Windy City did the rest of the scoring for the remainder of the game, but it was not enough. The Thunderbolts got their first run of the game in the bottom of the 5th on a Troy Viola home run. In the 6th, Windy City got their second and final run of the game on a Bren Spillane solo shot off Greys starter Garrett Sutton (W, 1-2). Sutton got into trouble in the bottom of the 6th, but Clarke Davenport was able to bail him out by inducing a 6-4 line out double play.
The Greys' bullpen combination of Ryan Sandberg, Tyler Bryant, and Nick Trabacchi were dominant for the last three innings. The trio allowed just two base runners across the final third of the game. Nick Trabacchi shut the door in the bottom of the 9th and earned his first save of the season.
Michael Barker and the Greys will look to take the series in Windy City tomorrow morning at 10:30 CTE in another matinee matchup.
POMONA, NY — There's a first time for everything, and for the Gateway Grizzlies, that includes losing a series thanks to the New York Boulders.
The Boulders shut-out the first-place Grizzlies, 5-0, at Clover Stadium on Wednesday to secure the series win — and Gateway's first series loss of the season.
Giovanni Garbella's perfectly placed single through the left side drove in two runs in the bottom of the 4th inning, propelling the Boulders to an early lead. Chris Kwitzer connected for a solo home run to right field an inning later, setting the crowd alight with excitement. New York tacked on crucial insurance runs in the seventh inning on a two-run single by David Vinsky to center field.
Dawson Lane turned in a spectacular outing on the mound, allowing just three hits and one walk on a 5 1/3 innings of work. The right-hander struck out four batters to secure his fifth win of the season. Aaron Dona closed the door with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn his first save of the season. The St. Thomas Aquinas College product has not allowed an earned run in his last 15 innings of work.
Five Grizzlies had one hit in the loss. Zac Ryan took the loss on the mound after allowing three earned runs over 4 1/3 innings.
JOLIET, Ill. — The Schaumburg Boomers doubled up the Joliet Slammers 4-2 on Wednesday morning to break a three-game losing skid, the longest streak of the year.
The Boomers plated three runs in the top of the second to take control early against Joliet starter Ryan O'Reilly who was signed before the game. Blake Berry led off with a double and moved to third on a one-out infield single from Kyle Fitzgerald. Will Prater put the Boomers on the board with a bloop single into right-center. Alec Craig extended the lead to 3-0 with a bunt single that scored two runs. Berry homered with one away in the third, his first of the year, to make the score 1-0.
Luis Perez did the rest on the mound, striking out eight in six innings of work to grab his third win of the season. Joliet plated a pair of runs in the sixth but Cristian Lopez came in and worked the final three frames to tally his first professional save, striking out a pair. The offense finished with nine hits. Berry and Fitzgerald both posted a pair.
The Boomers (32-22) cap the series with Joliet on Thursday night at 6:35 pm with the rubber game. The team will return home on July 21 to open a six-game homestand with a t-shirt giveaway and postgame fireworks. The first 1,000 fans receive a Boomers Feel the Boom T-shirt thanks to US Waterproofing, Blink Tees, and isolved. Visit boomersbaseball.com to secure your tickets to a game in the second part of the season before summer is gone or call 847-461-3695 to ensure you don't miss out on the fun.
