CRUSHERS TAKE DOWN Y'ALLS
FLORENCE, KY - The Lake Erie Crushers snagged a Game 1 win versus the Florence Y'alls, as the club put on an offensive clinic scoring eight times on a season-high 16 knocks.
The Crushers (30-46) jumped on the Y'alls (32-44) early and never looked back. They put together another complete game of baseball for the second night in a row and have something to build on.
Collin Mathews got the scoring going for Lake Erie in the second inning. It was a two-out two-RBI double that scored Jarrod Watkins and Kenen Irizarry. Mathews was moving to third base on the throw home in an attempt to gun down Irizarry, but Ed Johnson airmailed it to the plate and the ball sailed into the Y'alls dugout. Mathews came home to score, and it was 3-0 Lake Erie.
The Crushers tacked on another pair in the fifth inning. After back-to-back singles to start the offense off, Scout Knotts drove in a run on an RBI knock. Two batters later Hector Roa hit a missile to dead center which came along with Lake Erie's second run.
The Y'alls got one back on a Mattews homer in the bottom of the frame. It would mark the last hit that the southpaw starter Jonaiker Villalobos would allow tonight. In the bottom of the eighth Florence got one more - but with runners and second and third Brayden Bonner recorded the final out to limit the damage.
The offense had one more pile of runs to drop onto Florence in the ninth inning. Jiandido Tromp led off with his third big fly of the year on a missile to left-center field. Later, with Zach Racusin on third, Roa drove in his second run of the night on a single to right-center field. The next batter, Watkins, doubled to score Roa and mark the Crushers' final run of the night.
Sam Curtis gave up one run on an RBI single, but shut the door on the Y'alls to secure the Lake Erie win in the bottom of the ninth.
Villalobos (2-3) tallied his second victory of the season after going 6.0 innings allowing just a run on two hits. He walked four and struck out as many. Trevor Kuncl, Brayden Bonner and Curtis all held their own out of the bullpen. Kuncl threw a scoreless seventh while racking up two punchouts.
The loss was handed to Evan Brabrand (3-9). Despite pitching 7.0 innings the right-hander allowed five runs (four earned) on 10 hits while surrendering two walks and striking out five.
The Crushers got multi-hit performances out of Tromp, Racusin, Knotts, Roa, Watkins and Irizarry. The club beat their previous season's best 14 hits, a marker they hit twice and last set on July 26 against the Evansville Otters, by adding two more tonight.
Lake Erie will be back in action tomorrow in an attempt to do something they haven't done all season long - win a series on the road. The first pitch is at 6:36 PM ET.
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — A pair of big innings helped the Schaumburg Boomers bust out of a six-game skid in a 12-4 win over the Windy City ThunderBolts before a capacity crowd in the opener of a weekend series at Wintrust Field.
Windy City grabbed the lead in the top of the first on a two-out solo homer from Bren Spillane. The Boomers answered in the bottom of the frame, evening the game on a two-out RBI single from Gaige Howard. Windy City plated three runs in the top of the third to open a 4-1 edge, two of which came on the second homer of the game for Spillane. The Boomers again had an answer though, scoring four times to nab a 5-4 advantage. Howard doubled home two while Blake Berry evened the game with a sacrifice fly before a two-out single from Kyle Fitzgerald handed the Boomers the lead.
The Boomers broke the game open by plating seven runs in the fifth with two outs on just three hits, taking advantage of five walks in the frame. Blake Grant-Parks came through with a two-run single with two outs to open the scoring in the inning. Chase Dawson doubled home two, Howard followed with a two-run single and another tally crossed on a wild pitch.
Luis Perez was the beneficiary of the run support, working seven innings and allowing four runs on four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Cristian Lopez finished the game by retiring the final six Windy City hitters. The Boomers finished with 11 hits and matched a season high with 11 hits. Howard drove home five and stole a pair of bases while finishing with three hits. Dawson and Grant-Parks both finished with three hits as well. Alec Craig walked four times.
The Boomers (43-32) host the ThunderBolts again on Saturday night at 6:00 pm. Saturday night will be Back to School Night featuring postgame Fireworks. The first 1,000 fans receive a Boomers Backpack thanks to Harper College. RHP Hunter Hoopes (2-1, 4.29) is slated to face RHP Logan Schmitt (4-3, 5.13).
Augusta Township, NJ—The Empire State Greys (14-61) defeated the Sussex County Miners (40-34) 7-6 in the first leg of today's doubleheader.
Empire State got off to a blazing start in the top of the 1st. Jaylen Smith and Manny Garcia were both hit by Mark Moclair (L, 3-6) pitches. With Josh Sears at the dish, the duo pulled off a double steal to give the Greys RBI leader a prime opportunity. The slugging first baseman delivered with a blast to straight away centerfield to give Empire State an early 3-0 lead. In the bottom half of the frame, the Miners were able to scratch one back. Juan Santana drove in a run with a sac fly, which was the only earned run given up by Garrett Sutton tonight (W, 2-3).
In the 3rd, the Miners were able to tie up the game. The two runs came across on an Oraj Anu ground out and Juan Santana's second sac fly of the game. This was the last time the Miners were able to get to Garrett Sutton. The righty had arguably his best start of the season going 5 strong innings, allowing just 1 earned run, allowing 6 hits, and striking out 5.
With 2 outs, the Greys were able to put up a crooked number in the top of the 5th. Once again, Josh Sears delivered with two runners on base. This time he drove an RBI single to give Empire State the lead, which they would not give up the rest of the game. The clutch two-out hits continued. J.R. DiSarcina doubled in a run and Walner Espinal delivered an RBI single of his own to make it a 6-3 ball game.
The Miners would not go down easily. Gavin Stupienski hit a home run to right field and with two outs Edwin Mateo had an RBI single to cut the deficit to 6-5.
In the top of the 7th, Jordan Scott added what turned out to be a much-needed insurance run. The switch hitter singled home Manny Garcia, who came across for the third time, to stretch the Greys' lead to 7-5.
Nate Holt was given the opportunity to close out the game in the 7th. The righty got into trouble giving up a pair of singles to start the bottom half of the inning. However, he showed his poise and got Jason Agresti to ground into a double play. A run came across in the process, but it did not make a difference in the outcome of the game as Holt struck out the final batter and earned his first professional save.
Empire State will take on the Miners at 6:05 EST tomorrow night in game three of the four-game series.
Sauget, IL (August 11, 2023) – The Gateway Grizzlies lost a 2-0 early lead on Friday night against the Joliet Slammers, and trailed 3-2 at the seventh-inning stretch, but scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh and four more in the bottom of the eighth to pull away in an 8-3 victory at Grizzlies Ballpark, lowering their "magic number" to clinch a spot in the playoffs to nine and breaking the visitors' six-game win streak.
Gateway was able to grab the early lead against Ryan O'Reilly (1-4) on a two-run home run to right field by Jairus Richards in the bottom of the third inning. Joliet would respond on Matthew Warkentin's solo shot to right field to get within 2-1, though Lukas Veinbergs would hold the advantage on the scoreboard for the next couple of frames.
In the sixth, Christian Fedko tied it with another solo home run at 2-2, and Matt McGarry would follow in the top of the seventh with a leadoff solo shot to give the Slammers their first lead at 3-2. In the bottom half, Gateway would mount a comeback. Cole Barr led off the frame with a double, and Andrew Penner then scored Barr on a ground ball to first baseman Zach Biermann, who threw wide to O'Reilly covering first base for a two-base error that tied the game at 3-3. Two batters later, D.J. Stewart put the Grizzlies up 4-3 with an RBI single.
The Slammers nearly responded in the top of the eighth, getting the tying run to third and lead run to second with no outs, but Alec Whaley struck out G.J. Hill and Lane Baremore, then got Tyler Depreta-Johnson to ground out to Barr at third base to keep the slim lead. The Grizzlies' offense then plated four insurance runs in the bottom half to forge the final margin, with Barr collecting a two-run single and Stewart adding a two-run double off Chadler Brierley.
Having lowered their magic number to single digits for their first playoff appearance since 2012, the Grizzlies will look to clinch another series against Joliet in the middle game of the series on Saturday, August 12, at 6:45 p.m. CT. It will be Star Wars Night at Grizzlies Ballpark, with Parker Johnson starting on the mound against Joliet's Turner Larkins.
EVANSVILLE, In. (August 11) – Washington's six runs in the first five innings were enough as the Wild Things knocked off the Evansville Otters at Bosse Field. The Wild Things held on to win 8-6 despite Evansville putting the tying run on base in the eighth and bringing it to the plate in the ninth as Lukas Young worked a four-out save.
The scoring started in the first for the second-straight night for Washington. In the top half, Wagner Lagrange doubled home Anthony Brocato to draw first blood in the series opener. In the bottom half, Evansville scored on a sacrifice fly by Jeffrey Baez, evening the game early.
The Wild Things plated two in the third to take the lead they'd never give up again in the win on a two-run homer by Andrew Czech. It was an opposite-field homer for Czech's 17th of the season. Washington added a run in the fourth on an RBI single by Anthony Brocato.
In the bottom of the fourth, Evansville cut it to 4-2 with an RBI single by Kona Quiggle. Washington got that and one extra right back in the fifth on an RBI single by Tristan Peterson and a sac fly by JC Santini.
Evansville scored singular runs in the sixth and eighth innings before Santini plated two more with a two-run knock in the ninth, making it 8-4.
The Otters plated a run on an RBI double by Quiggle in the ninth and got the tying run to the plate again, but only got one more on a wild pitch, bringing the game to its final of 8-6.
Kobe Foster received the win after finishing his night an out shy of his seventh quality start. He's 4-5 now. The save for Young was his 11th. The game also saw Matt Dallas and Justin Goossen-Brown toss with the former logging 1.1 scoreless.
The middle game of the huge series for Washington's playoff hopes is set for tomorrow at 7:35/6:35 p.m. CT at Bosse Field. Hayden Shenefield goes for Washington while Braden Scott works for Evansville.
The New York Boulders split Friday's doubleheader with the Ottawa Titans, winning 10-5 and losing 6-5. The doubleheader consisted of two seven-inning games, with the second one finishing in extra innings.
The first game of the twin bill consisted of five Boulders home runs. Gabriel Garcia blasted two homers, while teammates Tucker Nathans, Thomas Walraven and Joe DeLuca each had one long ball.
DeLuca's homer in the second inning got the ball rolling for New York, which scored four runs to take a 6-0 lead and never looked back. The Boulders bats were on fire, as they tallied 15 hits in the contest. Nathans and Garcia each had three hits in the win. Walraven had three RBI on two hits. Austin Dennis and Giovanni Garbella each drove in one run for the Boulders.
Alec Huertas started the early game for New York, allowing three runs in 5 1/3 innings of work and earning himself the win. Ryder Yakel relieved Huertas to finish the game. Taylor Wright pitched two innings of one-run baseball for the Titans and had two hits at the plate, resulting in two RBI. Jamey Smart had three RBI for Ottawa.
The second game of the doubleheader was an extra-innings thriller that featured four lead changes in the nine-inning affair.
The Boulders turned their first triple play in franchise history, but it was upstaged by a pinch-hit walk-off home run in the ninth inning by Ottawa. Michael Fuhrman had three RBI for the Titans.
Jimmy Costin tallied two RBI for the Boulders. David Vinsky, DeLuca and Dennis also knocked in runners for New York.
Ryan Munoz tossed 5 2/3 innings for the Boulders, allowing four hits and four runs. Mitchell Senger closed out the sixth inning cleanly. Dylan Smith came in and pitched two innings, allowing no earned runs.
With the season winding down, New York (42-32) is now in a push for the playoffs. The Boulders currently sit one place behind the final playoff spot in the Frontier League's East Division. New York will continue its series at Ottawa (40-36) on Saturday at 6 p.m. and will return to Clover Stadium on Tuesday.
Ottawa, ON - Opening up a crucial series, the Ottawa Titans (40-36) came out of a doubleheader with the New York Boulders (42-32) with a split, falling 10-5 in game one and winning 6-5 in Sudden Death in game two on Friday night.
Game One - New York 10, Ottawa 5
Five homers powered the Boulders to the series-opening victory as they doubled up the Titans. Joe DeLuca, Thomas Walraven, Tucker Nathans, and a pair of long balls from Gabriel Garcia backed a solid outing from Alec Huertas (win, 2-2) to get the visitors off on the right note.
Taylor Wright (loss, 0-1) started for the second time this season, allowing two runs (one earned) in two innings on the bump. In the fourth, his 9th homer of the season got the Titans on the board with a two-run blast.
Down 7-2 entering the sixth, Jamey Smart left the yard for the first time since the all-star break to get the Titans within four on his eighth homer of the season.
After Wright, Gleyvin Pineda worked just one inning before Kenny Williams worked the final four frames on the hill in game one. The Boulders tacked on three more in the top of the seventh inning against Williams to reach double digits.
Facing Ryder Yakel in the seventh, a one-out walk set up back-to-back doubles from Taylor Wright and Jamey Smart, seeing a pair cross the dish.
Despite some late life, Yakel shut things down by getting the next two to fly out to end the contest.
Game Two - Ottawa 6, New York 5 (Sudden Death)
A back-and-forth emotional nightcap saw the Titans emerge victorious for the fourth time this season in the Sudden Death tiebreaker.
The Boulders connected for a pair of runs on four hits against Chris Burica (ND, 6-2) in the second inning to take the early lead. Jimmy Costin and Austin Dennis put the guests ahead 2-0 after an inning and a half.
Following two quick outs against Ryan Munoz (ND, 4-6), Taylor Wright kicked off a rally with an opposite-field double. After a walk, Evan Berkey put the Titans on the board with an RBI single up the middle. With two on, Michael Fuhrman launched his first professional homer to put the Titans in front 4-2.
Down by two, the Boulders chipped away and added single tallies in the fifth and sixth to tie the score. A homer from David Vinsky to start the fifth followed by Joe DeLuca's single off Nick MacDonald in the sixth tied the game as it plated the last of Chris Burica's responsibility to pull the score level.
The Boulders' rally came after turning their first triple play in franchise history in the fourth. After tying the game in the sixth, a bases-loaded walk to Jimmy Costin with Erasmo Pinales on the bump put the Boulders pack in front in extras.
With the potential tying run at third in the bottom of the eighth against Dylan Smith, AJ Wright tied the game with an RBI single to centre.
Electing to play defence, Augie Gallardo (win, 2-2) saw the potential winning run in Austin Dennis end up 90 feet away at third with one out. The veteran then walked a pair intentionally to set up a force at any base, or a double play. Gallardo didn't need either as he struck out both Gabriel Garcia and Giovanni Garbella to put the Titans back in the win column.
The Ottawa Titans continue their four-game series with the New York Boulders on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. at Ottawa Stadium
