DUBRULE’S INFIELD HIT IN 10TH WINS MIDDLE GAME FOR WILD THINGS
AVON, Ohio (August 26) – Washington, in extras, took the second game of the weekend series in Avon with a single by Scotty Dubrule in the 10th to plate the winner, making it 6-5. It's Washington's third-consecutive victory.
Washington started the scoring in the second but a 1-0 lead earned with a Robert Chayka RBI single didn't last long. Over the next two frames, Lake Erie chased Washington starter Dariel Fregio from the game with five runs on nine hits and led 5-1 after three.
The Wild Things fought back over the next several innings to tie the game. In the fourth, Melvin Novoa notched the first two RBI of his night with a single back up the middle to plate Anthony Brocato and Scotty Dubrule, who had both singled. In the sixth, Novoa got his third RBI of the game on a groundout and Clowers bunted home a run to tie things up at 5-5.
Zach Kirby worked two scoreless frames as did Arrison Perez for the Wild Things out of the bullpen. Just one runner reached against that duo to start the night for Washington's relievers. Matt Dallas worked a scoreless eighth inning, sending the game to the ninth at 5-5. Neither team scored in that frame with Justin Goossen-Brown working the bottom half for Washington.
In the 10th, international tie-breaker rule runner Andrew Czech was bunted to third by Anthony Brocato, who ended the night with three hits and a sacrficie that set up an infield single by Scotty Dubrule to give Washington the 6-5 lead that went down as the final. Goossen-Brown also worked the home 10th, allowing the tie-breaker runner to get to third but not score.
The three-game win streak is Washington's first since the All-Star Break and gets them three games shy of .500, ensuring they'll be mathematically alive for the postseason still through the night. The Wild Things will have a chance to sweep the Crushers tomorrow, as tonight's win guarantees a season-series win over Lake Erie.
Washington is set to play its final road game of the 2023 season tomorrow at 2:05 p.m. at Mercy Health Stadium against the Crushers. The Wild Things return home Tuesday for the first of a six-game homestand to round out the campaign.
Ottawa, ON - In his home debut, Bryan Peña (win, 4-3) gave the Ottawa Titans (46-43) six and two-thirds fantastic innings to defeat the Empire State Greys (16-73) by a 4-2 final on Saturday.
The transition to the nation's capital started well for Peña, who got the first out of the opening frame on a fly ball to left. Next, JR DiSarcina reached on an E5 to stand in scoring position on the two-base error. Two batters later, Josh Sears put the Greys in front with an RBI double off the right-field wall to score DiSarcina. The unearned run against was the lone tally the Greys recorded off the Titans' southpaw.
Wes Albert (loss, 0-2) pitched out of trouble in the first two innings, seeing the Titans leave a combined five on base.
That was until the fourth, when runners stood at the corners for Jamey Smart, who drilled a go-ahead two-run double off the fence in right to plate two.
In the fifth, Taylor Wright's double to the track in centre off lefty Michael Barker scored one, putting the Titans ahead 3-1.
The Titans added one more for good measure with a solo homer to start the seventh from Jake Sanford. The tape measure shot from the Canadian was his first homer back with the Titans and went an estimated 424 feet off the light pole in right.
Peña exited after getting a double play ball in the seventh. The lefty allowed just one run (unearned) on two hits, walked one, and struck out six for the win. At one point, Peña retired ten in a row and 15 of a possible 16.
Chris Burica allowed a run on a trio of hits across an inning and two-thirds of relief before Erasmo Piñales (save, 5) rolled a double play in the ninth to finish off the victory.
In the win, Jamey Smart recorded his second-straight three-hit game, going 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and a walk. AJ Wright, Jake Sanford, and Talyor Wright each registered multi-hit performances.
The Ottawa Titans continue their final homestand of the 2023 regular season, with the series finale with the Empire State Greys on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. from Ottawa Stadium.
CRESTWOOD, IL – Behind 6.1 shutout innings from Javier Reynoso, the ThunderBolts captured their second straight decision from the Joliet Slammers, 2-0 at Ozinga Field Saturday night.
The ThunderBolts (38-50) got the only run that they would need in the bottom of the second inning. Peyton Isaacson led off the frame with a single that extended his hitting streak to 12 games. He stood at third base with two outs when Will Riley doubled him in to put the Bolts ahead 1-0.
They added an insurance run in the sixth when Paul Coumoulos hit a leadoff double and later scored on an Isaacson sacrifice fly.
The Slammers (42-47) threatened numerous times but Reynoso was able to quell two early scoring chances with double plays. In the sixth, his last full inning on the mound, he struck out Tommy Stevenson with two on base. Joliet put two on base with one out in the seventh, chasing Reynoso from the game but Justin Miller came out of the bullpen and got a double play on his first pitch to escape the frame.
Miller and Derrick Edington combined to pitch 2.2 hitless innings to complete the shutout. For Edington, it was the fourth save of the year.
Reynoso (4-1) struck out four and allowed six hits in earning the win. Cam Aufderheide (3-9) pitched well for Joliet, allowing two runs on five hits over seven innings but he took the loss.
The ThunderBolts will go for the sweep in their final JULIE Family Sunday at Ozinga Field. The game will feature face painting from Marvelous Faces and an animal show from Big Run Wolf Ranch. Afterwards, fans are invited on the field to play catch and get autographs from the ThunderBolts. On the field, Taylor Sugg (4-7, 5.44) will oppose Joliet's Cole Cook (10-2, 2.34).
POMONA, NY – The New York Boulders battled through an emotional back-and-forth contest against the Tri-City ValleyCats to pull out a crucial 8-6 win Saturday night at Clover Stadium. The victory pulled New York (51-37) back within two games of Tri-City (53-35) for the final playoff spot in the Frontier League East Division standings.
Patrick Kivlehan electrified fans out of the gate with a towering three-run home run in the first inning. Tri-City erased the deficit in the top of the third inning, but New York reclaimed the lead in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run single by David Vinsky.
Former big leaguer Aaron Altherr hit a pair of home runs to pull Tri-City within one run, and former Boulder Cito Culver gave the ValleyCats their first lead in the top of the sixth inning. New York again quickly responded, retaking the lead on a clutch two-run double by Gabriel Garcia. Austin Dennis added an insurance run in the eighth inning on an infield single.
Schaumburg, IL (August 26, 2023) – The Gateway Grizzlies played yet another back-and-forth contest at Wintrust Field against the Schaumburg Boomers on Saturday night, and after coming up one run short in a 7-6 defeat on Friday, recorded a 7-6 win of their own to even the crucial weekend series in front of a Schaumburg-record crowd of 7,914 fans.
The home team got on the board in this one on Chase Dawson's RBI single in the bottom of the first inning, but Gateway responded right away in their half of the second. Clint Freeman led off with a double and Andrew Penner walked, followed by a ground ball by D.J. Stewart to third base that Will Prater threw high to second for an error, scoring Freeman and tying the game at 1-1. Two batters later, Mark Vierling lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to give the Grizzlies a 2-1 lead.
Gateway would expand that lead to 3-1 on an RBI double by Kyle Gaedele in the top of the fourth, but an ugly inning in the bottom half allowed Schaumburg to come all the way back and take the lead again. A leadoff walk was one of three free passes in the inning issued by Joey Gonzalez, and the Grizzlies compounded them with two errors defensively as well, as the home team scored four runs to take a 5-3 lead in front of the raucous crowd.
But again, the Grizzlies showed resiliency. Jairus Richards was hit by the first pitch of the next half-inning by Boomers starter Juan Pichardo, and Eric Rivera walked to put the tying runs on base. Cole Brannen moved the runners on a sacrifice bunt, and Freeman hit a ground ball to Dawson at second base to score Richards and make it 5-4. After a pitching change, Cristian Lopez (5-3) threw a wild pitch to Penner, scoring Rivera to tie up the game.
In the sixth inning, Gateway would take the lead for good. Gaedele led off with a single, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Vierling's RBI double for a 6-5 lead. Later in the inning, Richards singled Vierling home for a 7-5 advantage. After a pair of scoreless frames from Nathanial Tate (1-1), the Boomers would then score in the seventh against Trevor Tietz, but the reliever struck out two batters to hold the lead.
After Brian Eichhorn followed Tietz by striking out the side in a perfect eighth inning, in the ninth, a leadoff error on Vierling, the Grizzlies' fifth of the game, put the tying run on base and brought the winning run to the plate. But Josh Lucas got the next three batters out to nail down the save, as Gateway took the huge victory.
Now three games ahead of the Boomers in the West Division once again, Gateway will look to win the series and increase their lead further in the standings in the rubber game of the set at Wintrust Field on Sunday, August 27, at 1:00 p.m. CT. Carson LaRue will get the ball in the Grizzlies' final road game of the 2023 regular season before the club returns to Sauget to close out their schedule with a seven-game home stand.
Evansville, Ind. – The Evansville Otters scored two go-ahead runs in the eighth inning and held on in the ninth for a 4-3 victory on Saturday night at Bosse Field. The game start was delayed two hours and eight minutes due to wet field conditions before an eventual 8:45 p.m. first pitch. The game concluded at 11:41 PM CT. Tied at two in the bottom of the eighth, Jomar Reyes started off the Otters' charge with a leadoff single. Kona Quiggle followed with a walk. A fielders' choice followed with Reyes out at third and Quiggle replacing him at second base. Bryan Rosario then batted a ball to the left side. The Y'alls second baseman threw the ball under the glove of the first baseman and to the backstop with Quiggle scoring the go-ahead run on the error. George Callil capped the inning by driving in Rosario on his RBI single for what amounted to the game winning run. Florence brought some drama to the ninth inning with a single and an error leading to a run. The game-tying run reached scoring position but Jake Polancic induced a strikeout and flyout to give the Otters the win. Tim Holdgrafer did not factor into the decision but was brilliant from the mound tossing seven shutout innings. He retired the first ten batters of the game. The Evansville ace struck out five batters and allowed just five baserunners, all on singles. Kevin Davis earned his fourth win of the season for recording two outs in the eighth inning. Evansville scored the first runs of the ballgame in the sixth. Two walks and a HBP followed by a Florence infield error led to two runs. The Y'alls tied the game in the eighth with two runs courtesy of a walk and two singles with the runs scoring on a fielders' choice and sacrifice fly. Callil led the Otters with three hits while Reyes notched a two-hit night. Polancic earned his league-leading 17th save of the season. Evansville's magic number to make the 2023 Frontier League playoffs is down to two with the Otters needing a win and Washington loss on Sunday to clinch their playoff spot at Bosse Field. The Otters and Y'alls will face off in the series finale at 12:35 PM CT on Sunday at Bosse Field. The final regular season home game of the season is Warrick County and Little League Day along with a Dog Days of Summer with fans encouraged to bring their dogs and discounted hot dogs. Sunday is the final regular season home game at Bosse Field.
