THUNDERBOLTS SHUT OUT EVANSVILLE
CRESTWOOD, IL – The ThunderBolts put four runs on the board in the first inning and cruised to a series-opening 8-0 win over the Evansville Otters at Ozinga Field Tuesday night. Bren Spillane's two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning started the scoring for the ThunderBolts (31-41) and, after two walks and a single loaded the bases, Matt Morgan doubled the lead with a two-run base hit.The Bolts added to the lead in the fourth as Paul Coumoulos walked and Junior Martina singled. Spillane followed, reaching on an error that scored Coumoulos. Martina came home on a Peyton Isaacson groundout to make it 6-0. A Micah Yonamine two-run single in the bottom of the sixth scored Isaacson and Martina and capped the scoring for Windy City. Evansville (40-32) couldn't muster any offense against Bolts starter Garrett Christman, who wasn't threatened in his six innings. He allowed only five hits and no walks and got the Otters to hit into a double play twice to escape any pressure. The ThunderBolts bullpen came on for the final three innings and kept the Evansville offense at bay as the Bolts snapped a three-game skid with the win. Christman added to his team lead, picking up his seventh win of the year. Zach Smith (5-6) allowed six runs (four earned) over five innings and took the loss.
Sauget, IL (August 8, 2023) – The Gateway Grizzlies got six strong innings from Collin Sullivan and outstanding relief pitching as well, holding the Florence Y'alls to a single run on five hits en route to a 5-1 win at Grizzlies Ballpark on Tuesday night, snapping the visitors' five-game win streak in the process. Sullivan (9-3) allowed a run in the first inning when Brian Fuentes hit an RBI double off the top of the right-center field wall to score Brennan Price from first base and give Florence a 1-0 lead. But that would be the only run he allowed on the night in winning his Frontier League-leading ninth game of the season, striking out seven and walking two. Offensively, D.J. Stewart smacked a go-ahead, two-run home run out to right-center field to put the Grizzlies ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the second. Jake McMahill (2-5) would settle in from there, retiring 10 batters in a row at one point, but Gateway got to him in his final inning once again for insurance on the lead. Kyle Gaedele hit a solo home run leading off the bottom of the seventh, and two batters later, after Stewart singled and stole second base, Alex Hernandez came through with an RBI single to make it a 4-1 Grizzlies lead. Gateway would score their final run on a two-out error by Florence reliever Aaron Rund in the bottom of the eighth, while on the mound, Trevor Tietz, Alec Whaley, and Brian Eichhorn held the fort. With the win as well as losses by Washington, Evansville, and Schaumburg on the night, the Grizzlies lowered their magic number to clinch their first playoff spot in 11 years down to 12, while also increasing their lead atop the West Division to three games and improving their record at home this season to 28-9.
Augusta, NJ - The Ottawa Titans (38-34) cashed in early, defeating the Sussex County Miners (39-32) by a final of 10-4 on Tuesday night, winning their fourth in a row. Two-batters in, Jason Dicochea launched his 14th homer of the year off Tyler Thornton (loss, 5-2) to open the scoring with a one-out solo blast. Later, Joey Terdoslavich laced a two-run double off the fence in centre, extending the lead to 3-0 after a half inning. Grant Larson (win, 6-7) ran into trouble in the early going, allowing the first two to reach in the bottom of the first. With runners at second and third, Juan Santana's grounder to short was thrown away by Jason Dicochea, seeing a run score. Gavin Stupienski followed suit with a two-run single the opposite way to tie the game. The Titans didn't let the tie game phase them, adding three more in the second and a trio in the third to knock Thornton out of the game. AJ Wright, Evan Berkey, and Jamey Smart connected to drive-in runs, while Jason Dicochea brought in two, seeing the lead extend to 9-3. Larson cruised through seven innings of four-run ball after allowing a leadoff solo shot in the seventh. At one point, the southpaw retired 13 of a possible 15 to keep the Titans in full control. Larson tossed his eighth quality start of the season by allowing two earned runs on six hits, striking out seven. Gleyvin Pineda and Andrew Roach tossed two combined shutout innings to preserve the victory. Evan Berkey stayed hot, recording a three-hit night. Over his last four games, he is 8-for-16 with two doubles, a homer, and seven RBI.
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — The Schaumburg Boomers were limited to just three hits for a second consecutive contest, suffering a fourth straight defeat by dropping an 8-0 contest at the hands of the Joliet Slammers in the opener of a six-game homestand at Wintrust Field. Joliet plated a pair of runs in the top of the first to grab an early 2-0 lead as the first three batters of the game all collected hits including a pair of doubles. The Slammers added to the lead behind a pair of two-run homers in the fifth and sixth and added single runs in the eighth and ninth to account for the final as starter Ricky Castro allowed just three hits in seven shutout innings. Kokko Figueiredo continued his strong start with the Boomers, reaching base three times with a double and two walks. The leadoff man did not reach for Schaumburg in any of the nine innings and the team stranded eight. Kobey Schlotman left the game in the fourth due to injury but was hit with the loss, Antonio Frias worked five innings of long relief out of the bullpen.
AVON, Ohio — The Lake Erie Crushers snapped a 10 game losing streak on Tuesday night, as they defeated the Washington Wild Things in their final at bat, securing a 2-1 victory in 10 innings at Mercy Health Stadium. The Crushers (28-45) needed just three hits to secure the victory and won in their final at bat for the fourth time this season while the loss for the Wild Things (33-40) was their fifth straight in Avon dating back to the 2022 season. Opportunities to score were few and far between in the early stages of the game as both starting pitchers kept it a scoreless game through four innings. Lake Erie plated the game's first run in the bottom of the fifth. Jarrod Watkins singled to right to start the inning and Josh Rego followed with a base hit to center. John Tuccillo reached on a fielder's choice as he laid a sacrifice bunt down which allowed both base runners to advance. Two batters later, Jiandido Tromp brought Watkins home on a sacrifice fly out to right. Washington tied it up in the top of the seventh. Wagner Lagrange started the inning with a single to center and Andrew Czech followed with a bunt base hit. Robert Chayka's sacrifice bunt moved them both over and Scotty Dubrule drove Lagrange home on a RBI single through the right side. The game remained tied through nine innings, and in the 10th, Perry Bewley (3-0) worked a clean slate to keep the game tied at 1-1. Watkins began the 10th inning on second base with the International Tie-breaker rule in play. After Lukas Young retired Rego on a groundout, Drew Galassi flew out to deep left field. Watkins tagged up from second to third on the play, and Tomas Sanchez's errant throw from left field toward third base ended up going all the way to the backstop, which allowed Watkins to score the game winning run. Angelo Baez turned in one of his finest starts of the season, allowing just a run on five hits and struck out a season high nine batters over seven innings of work. The bullpen combination of Darrien Ragins, Sam Curtis and Bewley tossed three innings of scoreless, no hit relief. Bewley picked up the victory.
POMONA, NY – The New York Boulders' bats were red hot as they beat the Tri-City ValleyCats, 12-6, Tuesday afternoon at Clover Stadium. All-Star outfielder Patrick Kivlehan anchored the offensive onslaught with two home runs and six RBI in the win. The West Nyack native also extended his hit streak to 11 games, raising his season average to .305 in process. New York (40-30) started off hot, scoring three runs in the first inning and two in the second to take a 5-1 lead. The Boulders would ultimately relinquish the lead to Tri-City (45-28) in the fourth inning. The Boulders responded with a vengeance, posting a six-run fifth inning to take a 12-6 lead that would remain for the rest of the game. The Boulders' big fifth inning rally began with a two-run double from Matt McDermott. David Vinsky kept the rally alive with an RBI single, knocking McDermott in. The rally was capped by a towering three-run home run to right field by Kivlehan. New York catcher Joe DeLuca had three hits and homered for the second time in three games. Boulders starter Dawson Lane finished with 3 2/3 innings pitched and six earned runs. Aaron Dona relieved Lane, throwing 5.1 dominant innings of scoreless baseball to earn the win.
