GRIZZLIES EVEN SERIES IN WASHINGTON WITH POWER
Washington, PA (August 5, 2023) – The Gateway Grizzlies got home runs from Willie Estrada and Alex Hernandez to take an early lead, then used outstanding pitching by Lukas Veinbergs and three relievers to beat the Washington Wild Things 5-2 at Wild Things Park, evening their weekend series and lowering their magic number for a playoff spot to 14. In the second inning against Wild Things ace Kobe Foster (3-5), Andrew Penner singled to bring up Estrada, who crushed a two-run bomb to left-center field to put the Grizzlies ahead 2-0. Two batters later, Foster tried to get an 0-2 fastball by Hernandez, and the Grizzlies' catcher mashed his third home run of the season to left field to make it 3-0. Veinbergs (7-3) took it from there, and ended up tossing six innings of two-run ball to earn his second win of the road trip, striking out seven and walking only one in his first game back at Wild Things Park since nearly no-hitting Washington almost exactly one year ago. Offensively, the Grizzlies added insurance runs on a two-out RBI double in the sixth inning by D.J. Stewart, taking a 4-1 lead at the time, and after the Wild Things responded with a run of their own in the bottom half, Cole Brannen lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to complete the scoring. The Grizzlies' bullpen also was strong late in relief of Veinbergs, with Nate Garkow and Alec Whaleysetting up Trevor Tietz, who nailed down the save with a scoreless ninth inning.
Ottawa, ON - Up 9-0 headed to the ninth, the Ottawa Titans (36-34) allowed nine runs, but managed to take down the Empire State Greys (13-57) 10-9 in Sudden Death on Saturday. Zac Westcott (ND, 5-5) took the hill for the 17th time and got the side in order on strikes to open up the first. By striking out Jaylen Smith to start the ball game, Westcott joined Gunner Kines and Aaron Ledbetter as the third pitcher in Frontier League history to eclipse 500 career strikeouts. The offence rolled for three runs over the first three innings. Jamey Smart and Evan Berkey connected with RBIs before an error scored another to make it 3-0. In the fifth, Evan Berkey's first professional homer highlighted a four-run inning, as the Titans pulled ahead further. A two-run single from AJ Wright in the sixth made it 9-0. Westcott worked into the ninth for the second-straight outing, seeing a scoreless streak reach 18.1 innings. Josh Sears put the Greys on the board with a two-run homer to knock Westcott out of the game. The right-hander went eight-plus and allowed two runs on eight hits and struck out four. As Westcott left in line for the win, newcomer Conner Richardson allowed six consecutive singles, leading to six runs. Gleyvin Pineda allowed a run of his own, as the Greys climbed all the way back to tie the contest at nine. The tenth inning solved nothing, as Grant Larson and Tyler Bryant each did not allow the start-up runner to cross the dish. Electing to defend in Sudden Death, Nick MacDonald (win, 4-2) held the Greys off the board, helping the Titans exhale to a victory. In the win, Jamey Smart, AJ Wright, Evan Berkey, and Sicnarf Loopstok each recorded three hits. Jake Sanford recorded his first multi-hit contest since returning to the club.
Evansville, Ind. – The Evansville Otters scored six unanswered runs to rally from a four-run deficit and beat the Schaumburg Boomers 6-4 Saturday night at Bosse Field. The Otters completed their third four-run comeback led by three hits by Ethan Skender. The Otters' shortstop totaled three RBIs and hit the go-ahead solo home run in the seventh inning. Evansville scored four runs in the fifth inning to erase a 4-0 deficit. Austin Bost led off the inning with a base hit and Noah Myers reached on a bunt single. Skender then doubled to right, scoring both runners to cut the lead in half. Jeffrey Baez grounded into a fielder's choice in which the Boomers made two throwing errors, scoring Skender and sending Baez all the way around the bases to score the tying run. Skender launched the go-ahead solo homer to left in the seventh inning and a Josh Broughton hit added an insurance run in the eighth inning. The Otters' bullpen shutdown the Boomers bats, allowing just one baserunner over the last four innings. James Krick pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts and Jon Beymer tossed two perfect innings to earn his second save of the season. Schaumburg plated two runs in the first inning on a two-run homer. The Boomers added a run on an RBI double in the third. A wild pitch scored the last Boomers' run in the fifth giving them a 4-0 lead. Justin Watland started on the mound, scattering seven hits over five innings with six strikeouts. Skender moved his on-base streak to 12 games while Broughton, Phillips and Justin Felix all recorded two-hit days.
PATERSON, NJ - The Tri-City ValleyCats (45-26) overcame a 5-0 deficit at the hands of the New Jersey Jackals (44-26), and won their first extra-inning game of the season by a score of 8-5 on Saturday at Hinchliffe Stadium. The victory provides the ValleyCats with a half-game lead over the Jackals for first place in the Frontier League East Division. New Jersey utilized the long ball in a big fourth inning. Keon Barnum worked a walk off Dwayne Marshall, and James Nelson was hit by a pitch. Alfredo Marte, Alex Torel, and Rusber Estrada went back-to-back-to-back with three consecutive homers to put the Jackals on top, 5-0. Tri-City chipped away in the fifth. Jakob Goldfarb singled off Dylan Castaneda. Ian Walters walked, and Goldfarb advanced to second. Jaxon Hallmark ripped an RBI single, and Walters moved to third. Cito Culver followed suit with an RBI single to make it a 5-2 affair. The ValleyCats gave the Jackals a taste of their own medicine in the sixth. Goldfarb and Aaron Altherr went back-to-back with a pair of solo home runs to trim the deficit to 5-4. Goldfarb smashed the 100th homer of 2023 campaign for the 'Cats. Tri-City joined New Jersey as the second Frontier League team to reach the century mark this year. Goldfarb became the second player on the 2023 ValleyCats team to be a part of the 10-10 club (10+ homers and 10+ stolen bases). He now has 10 round-trippers and 24 stolen bases, while Culver has 10 long balls and 12 stolen bases. Altherr cranked his 10th big fly, and joined Culver, Goldfarb, and Carson McCusker as four players with the 'Cats to have double digit home runs this season. Tri-City tied up the game 5-5 in the seventh. Yuichi Shiota walked Culver. Lamar Briggs reached on a fielder's choice, and replaced Culver at first base. Juan Kelly reached on a fielder's choice, and after an errant throw on a double play ball to Kevin Rolon, Kelly went to second, and Briggs came around to score. Marshall received a no-decision. He tossed five frames, allowing five runs on six hits, walking five, and striking out six. Castaneda was also handed a no-decision. He threw 5.2 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits, walking two, and striking out seven. Both teams traded zeroes until the top of the 10th. Cody Whitten entered the game, and Kelly was the "ghost runner" on the second base. Kelly swiped third, and scored on an RBI single from Oscar Campos. Altherr collected his first multi-homer game of the year, swatting a two-run jack to pull Tri-City ahead, 8-5. Altherr is the seventh ValleyCat of the 2023 campaign to have a multi-homer effort. Greg Veliz, Tyler Jeans, and Blake Workman combined for five scoreless innings in relief. The latter in Workman (2-0) earned the win. He did not issue a walk or a hit, and struck out two across two frames. Whitten (1-2) was given the loss. He pitched an inning, allowing three runs, two earned on two hits, walking none, and striking out two.
POMONA, NY — The New York Boulders flexed their muscles Saturday night, hitting three home runs in a 7-3 win over the Trois-Rivieres Aigles at Clover Stadium. Tucker Nathans kicked off the launch party with a two-run homer in the first inning. Chris Kwitzer and Patrick Kivlehan each added solo home runs in the third and fifth innings, respectively. Four Boulders — Kivlehan, Kwitzer, Gabriel Garcia, and Matt McDermott — each recorded multiple hits in the win. Kwitzer finished with two RBI, and McDermott also drove in a run for the Boulders. Alec Huertas earned the win for New York after allowing just one earned run in five innings of work. Andy Hammond added three scoreless innings of relief. Zach Schneider closed out the game with a scoreless inning of work to earn his second save of the season. Dalton Combs and Brendon Dadson each homered for Trois-Rivieres in the loss.
