OTTERS MOUNT COMEBACK BEAT BOOMERS IN TIEBREAKER
Evansville, Ind. – The Evansville Otters mounted a two-out ninth inning rally and won the game in a sudden death tiebreaker 5-5 over the Schaumburg Boomers Friday night at Bosse Field. The Otters were down to their last out in the ninth inning when Austin Bost bashed a solo home run over the left field wall to trim the deficit to one. Bryan Rosario followed with a base hit and stole second base. Noah Myers walked and then both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Another wild pitch reached the backstop and scored Rosario, tying the ballgame. The walk off run was stranded at third base. Jake Polancic entered on the mound for Evansville in the 10th inning and struck out the first two batters. Schaumburg's Will Prater went 12 pitches with Polancic before blooping a ball down the left field line, scoring the Boomers' Commissioner's Runner. The bottom of the 10th put Kona Quiggle as the Commissioners' Runner at second base. He advanced to third base on a balk. Jeffrey Baez drove home Quiggle on a sacrifice fly to right field. Evansville elected to pitch in the sudden death tiebreaker, bringing Polancic back to the mound. The Commissioner's Runner started at first base and advanced to second base on a bunt. Polancic then struck out the next two batters to win the game for the Otters. Schaumburg scored three runs in the first two innings while Evansville scored one apiece in the first two innings. Myers notched a leadoff hit for Evansville in the first and Baez drove him home. The Otters hit three straight singles in the second inning and a run scored before the final out of a Boomers' triple play. Tim Holdgrafer pitched a quality start for Evansville, allowing three runs over six innings - his 10th quality outing of the year. Rosario extended his on-base streak to 19 games while Bost notched two hits, the first hits of his pro career.
PATERSON, NJ - The Tri-City ValleyCats (44-26) dropped the series opener 5-1 to the New Jersey Jackals (44-25) on Friday at Hinchliffe Stadium. Tri-City broke the deadlock in the fifth. John Baker issued a walk to Aaron Altherr. Ian Walters singled, and Altherr went to third after Lamar Briggs hit into a 6-3 double play. Tanner Smith picked up an RBI single to give the ValleyCats a 1-0 lead. New Jersey retaliated in the bottom of the fifth. Dan Beebe walked Josh Rehwaldt, who stole second, and came around on a two-run homer from Alfredo Marte to put the Jackals ahead, 2-1. New Jersey added to its lead in the seventh. Kevin Rolon doubled off Coleman Huntley. Ti'Quan Forbes flew out to right field, and Rolon advanced to third. Martin Figueroa was intentionally walked. Keon Barnum collected an RBI infield single, and Figueroa moved to second. James Nelson walked to load the bases. Rehwaldt doubled in a pair of runs to provide the Jackals with a 5-1 advantage. Tri-City had its biggest opportunity to strike in the ninth. Oscar Campos greeted Dazon Cole with a single. Altherr walked, and Briggs worked a one-out free pass to put a runner at every square base. Cole proceeded to strike out Smith, and he induced a groundout from Pavin Parks to end the game. Baker (4-1) earned the win. He threw seven innings, giving up one run on five hits, walking two, and striking out 10. Beebe (5-2) was handed the loss. He hurled six frames, allowing two runs on three hits, walking two, and striking out 11. His 11 punchouts were the most by a ValleyCat in a game this season.
POMONA, NY — The New York Boulders showcased their spirit and determination in a thrilling matchup against the Trois-Rivieres Aigles, but ultimately came up short in a 7-4 final Friday. Despite facing an early lead from the opposing team, the Boulders fought back with determination. The Aigles gained an early advantage in the top of the first inning with a bases loaded walk by as Brendon Dadson, followed by Luke Fitton's sacrifice fly to center field. The Aigles added a trio of insurance runs on a three-run homer by Dalton Combs. The Boulders responded in the bottom of the third inning with a solo home run by David Vinsky to narrow the gap. New York continued to chip away at the deficit in the same inning, as Thomas Walraven's fielder's choice brought home Chris Kwitzer. Matt McDermott launched a solo home run to right field in the bottom of the fourth inning, further closing the gap. The Boulders' relentless pursuit continued in the bottom of the sixth inning, with Kwitzer's RBI triple pulling the hosts within one run. Despite the Boulders' efforts, the Aigles continued to showcase their offensive capabilities. Combs homered for the second time in the game, driving in two runs in the seventh inning. Though the Boulders faced a tough home loss, their performance on the field exemplified their fighting spirit and competitive drive. Fans were treated to a captivating display of baseball talent as the Boulders mounted a relentless comeback attempt.
Troy, NY—The Empire State Greys (13-55) have defeated the Tri-City ValleyCats (44-25) 10-1 behind Jaylen Smith's huge night and a whole team effort. Empire State got off to a hot start off ValleyCats starter Brac Warren (L, 1-3) in the top of the 1st. Following a pair of singles by Jaylen Smith and Manny Garcia, Josh Sears did what he does best. The designated hitter hit his team-leading 12th home run of the season putting the Greys up 3-0. The Greys got to Warren once again in the top of the 3rd. Following Jaylen Smith's second single of the night, Manny Garcia came to the plate. Garcia drove a deep fly ball over the fence in left-center field for a 2-run blast to increase Empire State's lead to 5-0. In the 5th, the ValleyCats were able to get on the board against Ryan Sandberg (W, 2-5). Lamar Briggs led off the inning with a walk and during Pavin Parks' at-bat stole second. With two outs, Cito Culver singled to center field to cut the deficit to 5-1. Culver's single was the only blemish on an otherwise great start by Ryan Sandberg. Sandberg went 5 1/3 allowing just 1 run on 5 hits, 3 walks, and striking out 5. The rest of the game was all Empire State. In the 7th, the Greys hit collectively for the cycle. Jordan Scott led off the inning with a double and was immediately tripled in by Jaylen Smith. Manny Garcia then drove in Jaylen for the second time this game with a double to left. Luis Atiles had the biggest with of the inning with a 2 out 2 run home run to left center. Walner Espinal promptly completed the team cycle with an infield single. In the 8th, Jaylen Smith continued his fantastic game at the dish adding another insurance run to give the Greys a 10-1 lead. Nate Holt, Tanner Propst, and Tyler Bryant helped secure the Greys' win by allowing no runs and just one hit out of the bullpen as a group. Tyler Bryant was the most dominant of the bunch as the righty struck out 6 batters in his 2 innings of work.
FLORENCE, KY – The Florence Y'alls (29-41), presented by Towne Properties, used strong pitching and late offense to cruise past the Windy City Thunderbolts (30-39) by a score of 9-1 at Thomas More Stadium on Friday. Maintaining a recent trend, the Y'alls saw pitching dominate the early portion of the series opener. After a scoreless first two innings, Florence broke through offensively in the third. After a two-out infield single off the bat of left fielder Lane Hoover and a walk to designated hitter Brennan Price, third baseman Brian Fuentes lined a two-run double into right center to plate both runs and give the Y'alls a 2-0 lead. Armed with a multi-run lead, Y'alls rookie righthander Ryan Watson (7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) settled into a groove. Windy City scored its only run off of Watson in the top of the fifth inning. Shortstop Troy Viola doubled to lead off the inning before moving to third on a groundout. Third baseman Junior Martina knocked in Viola with an RBI single, but the Thunderbolts would not tally another hit against Watson in the game. Florence led 2-1 heading into the seventh inning against Windy City starter Taylor Sugg (6.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 2 K), who pitched effectively through six innings. The 'Bolts lifted Sugg in the seventh after back-to-back one out walks, and the Y'alls immediately teed off on Windy City righthander Justin Miller. The first five hitters to face Miller reached in the seventh as the Y'alls rallied for a six-run frame. First baseman Zade Richardson, right fielder Hank Zeisler, and shortstop Ed Johnson all tallied RBIs in the inning. Johnson's bases-clearing double capped the rally, and the Y'alls exited the inning leading 8-1.
WASHINGTON, Pa. (August 4) – The Washington Wild Things shutout the Gateway Grizzlies in the first game of their weekend series by a score of 3-0, using a brilliant start from Dariel Fregio in the win. Fregio was lights out tonight for the Wild Things pitching eight full, shutout innings. He allowed only three hits and two walks while striking out six. The Wild Things got on the board first in the third inning of this one with runs off an RBI single by Scotty Dubrule and an RBI groundout by Andrew Czech. Then Washington would get another off a leadoff home run by Robert Chayka to start the fourth inning. Their lead would be 3-0 going into the fifth. Neither team scored the rest of the game and Lukas Young closed out the ninth striking out one.
Ottawa, ON - Down to their final out in the tenth, Joey Terdoslavich's game-winning RBI single helped the Ottawa Titans (35-34) to a 2-1 win in extras over the Empire State Greys (13-56) on Friday. Damon Casetta-Stubbs (ND, 4-3) continued his dominance with seven innings of one-run ball, tossing his team-leading eighth quality start of the season. The righty allowed seven hits and struck out seven but ended up not factoring in the decision in the series opener. Casetta-Stubbs has now pitched to a 1.64 ERA in his last nine outings, spanning 55 innings. In the third, the Titans recorded three consecutive singles against left-hander Joe LaFiora (ND, 0-4) to load the bases. LaFiora got AJ Wright to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, allowing Jake Sanford to score the opening run to put the Titans ahead. The three hits in the third were all the Titans recorded through the first nine and two-thirds of the game, as LaFiora retired 17 of the final 18 batters he faced. Jake Sanford's walk in the fifth was all that stood aboard for the Titans the rest of the way against the Greys' starter. Back-to-back singles from Manny Garcia and Josh Sears stood at the corners with none out against Casetta-Stubbs in the fourth, as the Greys threatened. Two batters later, Luis Atiles' single to centre plated Manny Garcia to tie up the score. Two spectacular defensive plays from Sicnarf Loopstok in the eighth and tenth innings helped the Titans get the game to extra innings. With Augie Gallardo on the mound and a runner in scoring position, Jaylen Smith's bunt in the eighth rolled in front of home in the attempt of a sacrifice but Loopstok's throw managed to nail Jordan Scott for an out. Gallardo went on to throw up a zero in his lone inning of work. In the tenth, the start-up runner JR DiScarcina was thrown out at third on another sacrifice bunt attempt to allow Erasmo Pinales (win, 3-1) to go on to toss a pair of scoreless frames. With two outs in the tenth, Jason Dicochea stood at third as the potential winning run with two outs, as Nick Trabacchi (loss, 0-4) surrendered the game-winning RBI single off the bat of Joey Terdoslavich. The former big leaguer snapped a 0-for-10 with the base hit to put the Titans back in the win column.
