WASHINGTON RUNS AWAY WITH SERIES-EVENING VICTORY
AVON, Ohio (August 9) – Washington got the fortune of a six-run frame in the seventh inning of tonight's middle game in Avon, Ohio, and used it to pull away from the Crushers and take the game to even the series, 12-4. There was a catch to the frame, or, lack thereof, as the Crushers made four errors in the frame and Washington only boasted one hit in the seventh. That didn't matter in the end, as Washington did enough around it anyway.
The Wild Things scored the first run of the game in the first on Wes Darvill's second homer of the season. The Wild Things added to it with a three-run third. Two of those runs were unearned after an error. Wagner Lagrange doubled home a pair and then Tristan Peterson snapped a hitless string to plate a run with a ground ball through the middle, making it 4-0.
Lake Erie would erase that deficit in the next two turns at the dish, all by the work of Josh Rego. He hit a three-run homer in the fourth and singled home a run in the fifth.
Washington took the lead back immediately in the sixth on an RBI double by Robert Chayka. Then the flood gates opened in the seventh. The Wild Things had the aforementioned six-run frame with one hit, an RBI single by Chayka, and also got RBI from Scotty Dubrule and Anthony Brocato. In total, Lake Erie made four of its six errors in the inning, and the game was busted wide open at 11-4.
Things quieted on the Lake Erie side with the bullpen in for Washington after the starter Justin Showalter pitched five innings of four-run ball. He got the win. Kyle White, Matt Dallas and Stephen Knapp combined to throw the final four frames scoreless in the series-evening victory.
In the ninth, Tomas Sanchez stepped in for Anthony Brocato as a pinch hitter and homered to left for his first pro hit and home run with one swing in what was his second game as a Wild Thing, extending the lead to the final of 12-4.
The rubber game of the series is slated for tomorrow. Chayka, Peterson, Lagrange and Darvill each had two hits in tonight's win. Tomorrow, Dariel Fregio goes for Washington. The reigning Frontier League Pitcher of the Week will be opposed by righty Yasel Santana for the Crushers.
POMONA, NY - A day after the Tri-City ValleyCats (46-28) were defeated 12-6, they gave the New York Boulders (40-31) a taste of their own medicine with a 12-4 win on Wednesday at Clover Stadium.
Tri-City wasted no time to put pressure on New York's starter Andy Hammond. Cito Culver and Oscar Campos led off the game with back-to-back singles. Ian Walters worked a walk to load the bases. Juan Kelly delivered a very rare sacrifice fly double play, which drove in two runs to give the ValleyCats a 2-0 lead as Walters was cut down 7-4-6 while trying to advance to second base.
Tri-City tacked on a run in the second. Lamar Briggs singled, and went to second on a wild pitch. Pavin Parks plated Briggs with a single to pull the ValleyCats ahead, 3-0.
Tri-City flexed its muscles in the third. Campos walked, and Walters moved him to third with a double. Aaron Altherr then belted his fourth homer in as many games. Two batters later, Jakob Goldfarb cranked a solo homer to extend the ValleyCats lead to 7-0. It was Altherr's 13th long ball, and Goldfarb's 11th round-tripper of the season.
The Boulders got on the board in the bottom of the third. Pat Kivlehan homered off Brac Warren to cut the deficit to 7-1.
Tri-City responded in the fourth. Parks singled before Culver laid down a bunt. During the bunt attempt, Hammond threw the ball away which allowed the 'Cats to put runners at second and third. Campos laced an RBI double, and Culver stopped at third. Walters and Altherr followed suit with a pair of RBI groundouts to put the ValleyCats on top, 10-1.
Tri-City placed a runner at every square base against Mitchell Senger in the seventh. Kelly and Goldfarb singled before Briggs walked to load the bases. Tanner Smith ripped a two-run single to provide the ValleyCats with a 12-1 advantage.
New York retaliated in the bottom of the seventh. Coleman Huntley issued a single to Gabriel Garcia, and a walk to Jimmy Costin to begin the frame. The two baserunners moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch. Matt McDermott picked up an RBI groundout, and David Vinsky knocked in a run with a single to make it a 12-3 game.
The Boulders showed some life in the ninth. Blake Workman hit Garcia with a pitch. Garcia went to second on defensive indifference, and went to third on a groundout. McDermott then brought in Garcia with an RBI groundout to trim the deficit to 12-4. The earned run snapped a 17-inning scoreless streak from Workman, the second most from a ValleyCat this season behind Elijah Gill's 19.2-inning scoreless streak from June 1-18. Workman proceeded to strike out Vinsky to seal the victory.
Warren (2-3) earned his first win in his second game as a starter after beginning his professional career with 56 appearances out of the bullpen. He hurled six frames, yielding one run on four hits, walking two, and striking out six.
Hammond (4-1) received the loss. He tossed six innings, giving up 10 runs, nine earned on 10 hits, walking two, and striking out three.
Tri City will go for the series win over New York in the rubber game tomorrow, Thursday, August 10. First pitch is scheduled for 7 PM.
Augusta, NJ - An eight-run top of the first inning helped the Ottawa Titans (39-34) to an 8-4 victory over the Sussex County Miners (39-33) on Wednesday night, winning their fifth in a row.
Facing right-hander Jack Dellinger (loss, 1-2), the Titans sent 12 to the plate and tallied eight runs on seven hits. Jamey Smart and Sicnarf Loopstok each knocked in one to put the Titans up five batters in. Later, Jake Sanford drove home two with a single to centre to extend the lead. With the bases juiced once again, Taylor Wright walked in a run before AJ Wright's sac fly finished off the scoring.
Damon Casetta-Stubbs (win, 5-3) took an inning to settle in, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits. Oraj Anu and Gavin Stupienski got the Miners on the board to end a wild first.
After the first, Casetta-Stubbs did not allow another run and earned his ninth quality start of the season. The right-hander has allowed just three runs over his last 25 innings. Casetta-Stubbs retired 16 of the last 18 he faced to win his fifth contest of the season.
Matt Stil and Robbie Hitt combined to allow just two hits over a pair of shutout innings.
The Miners tacked on two runs in the late innings, adding one off Nick MacDonald in the seventh and an unearned run off newcomer Connor Kelly in the eighth.
In the win, Jake Sanford went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI. Jason Dicochea and Jamey Smart also recorded multi-hit performances, each going 2-for-5. With their fifth win in a row, the Titans tie a season-long win streak set in mid-June.
CRESTWOOD, IL – The Windy City ThunderBolts captured their sixth straight home win Wednesday evening at Ozinga Field, defeating the Evansville Otters 11-8.
Windy City (32-41) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first via a Bren Spillane RBI single. Spillane knocked in his second run of the night in the bottom of the third, giving the Bolts a 2-0 advantage.
Following a Jake Boone sacrifice fly, Dan Robinson drove a single up the middle for a 4-0 lead. Jonathan Waite hit a double down the third base line, driving in two more Bolts runs for a 6-0 lead.
Micah Yonamine blasted a three-run home run In the bottom of the fourth, putting Windy City ahead 9-0.
Following an error and another sacrifice fly by Spillane, the Bolts carried an 11-0 lead heading into the sixth inning.
Noah Myers homered for Evansville (40-33) in the sixth inning, becoming their first base runner of the night, and the Ethan Skender hit an RBI groundout for an 11-2 deficit.
Following three walks by Bolts pitcher Aaron Husson in the eighth inning, Jeffery Baez singled, driving in a run to make it 11-3. Dakota Phillips then hit a grand slam, tallying a six-run eighth by Evansville that pulled them within three runs.
With two runners on and two out in the top of the ninth inning, Daiveyon Whittle struck out Phillips, his third strikeout of the inning to help the Bolts capture a thrilling 11-8 win.
ThunderBolts starting pitcher Javier Reynoso (3-1) did not allow a hit over the first five innings and pitched six innings total for the win, surrendering three hits and two earned runs while walking none and striking out four.
Windy City seeks a series sweep against the Otters Thursday night at 6:35 CDT at Ozinga Field.
Sauget, IL (August 9, 2023) – The Gateway Grizzlies trailed 5-0 before they took a single at-bat on Wednesday night against the Florence Y'alls, then 7-2 in the bottom of the fifth before scoring the final 12 runs of the contest, 11 of which came with two outs, in an incredible, 14-7 victory at Grizzlies Ballpark that lowered their magic number for a playoff spot to 11 and increased their lead atop the Frontier League West Division standings to four games.
The early part of the game was all Florence, as they scored four of their five runs in the top of the first inning with two outs off Joey Gonzalez (9-6). Brennan Price kicked off the scoring by hitting the very first pitch of the ballgame over the left-center field wall, with Harrison Dinicola and Ed Johnson providing two run singles later in the frame.
Gateway used four stolen bases, an RBI groundout by Eric Rivera, and a two-out RBI single by Andrew Penner to get within 5-2 in the bottom of the first, but Florence re-took a four-run lead on Ray Zuberer's sacrifice fly in the top of the second at 6-2. Both Gonzalez and Y'alls starter Carter Spivey settled in, and did not allow another run until the fifth inning, when Hank Zeisler's RBI double made the score 7-2.
The Grizzlies then made their comeback in an incredible bottom of the fifth. With two outs and no one on base, Jairus Richards laid down a bunt single, and Rivera followed with a single. After a double steal, Cole Brannen continued to burn his former team with a two-run double off the glove of Price at first base, and Willie Estrada singled Brannen home to make the score 7-5 Florence. Penner then walked to chase Spivey from the game, and Kyle Gaedele greeted reliever Ross Thompson (1-1) with a go-ahead, three-run home run, vaulting the Grizzlies ahead to stay at 8-7.
Gateway would add two runs in the sixth with two outs on an Estrada two-run single, then three more with two outs in the seventh on a home run by Richards to take a 13-7 lead. In the eighth, after an injury knocked Estrada out of the game, Lukas Veinbergs singled for his first professional hit in his first-ever pro at-bat, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on an RBI double by Penner to complete the scoring.
Five different Grizzlies finished with multiple RBIs in the 14-run, 16-hit effort, with the Grizzlies also stealing eight bases in the contest while only being caught once as they clinched the midweek series with their sixth consecutive win over Florence overall dating back to late June.
Now at a new season-high water mark of 19 games over .500 and 29-9 at home, Gateway will go for the three-game sweep against the Y'alls on Thursday, August 10, at 6:45 p.m. CT, with Carson LaRue getting the start opposite Florence right-hander Ryan Watson on St. Louis Browns Night at Grizzlies Ballpark.
