MINERS SQUEAK IN THE PLAYOFFS, CATS JUST MISS OUT
TROIS-RIVIÈRES, QUÉBEC, CANADA - The Tri-City ValleyCats (55-40) won their second straight slugfest over the Trois-Rivières Aigles (38-57) at Stade Quillorama, this time by a score of 11-9 on Sunday. The ValleyCats earned their 55th win in their final regular season game of the year, which set a team record for the most wins in a single-season in their 21-season history. Despite the 'Cats finishing with the same record as the Sussex County Miners, the latter won the season series 7-2, and thus won the tiebreaker to clinch the second wild card spot in the Frontier League East Division for a postseason berth.
Tri-City flexed its muscles in the first. Jakob Goldfarb and Aaron Altherr hit back-to-back solo homers off Braeden Allemann. It was Goldfarb's 18th long ball of the year, and he is now tied for fourth place on the ValleyCats' all-time single season home run list. Meanwhile, Altherr joined Brantley Bell (24, 2022), Brad Zunica (26, 2022), and Denis Phipps (33, 2022; 21, 2022) as the fourth player with the 'Cats to record a 20-plus homer campaign.
Trois-Rivières got on the board in the bottom of the first. Tyler Wilber, and Steve Brown singled off Garrison Bryant. Brendon Dadson hit an RBI double to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Tri-City extended its lead in the third. Cito Culver singled, and Tanner Smith replaced him at first after reaching on a fielder's choice. Goldfarb singled Smith to second, and Altherr doubled in a run to provide the ValleyCats with a 3-1 lead.
Trois-Rivières brought the game within one in the fourth. Bryan Leef hit a solo homer for the second consecutive day to make it a 3-2 affair.
Wilber walked in the fifth, and Dalton Combs singled him to second. Brown was hit by a pitch, which loaded the bases. Dadson looped a two-run double to put the Aigles on top, 4-3. Tyler Jeans kept it a one-run game by striking out the next two batters to strand a pair of runners on base.
Bryant received a no-decision. He tossed 4.1 innings, yielding four runs on seven hits, walking four, and striking out two.
Oscar Campos tied the game with a solo shot in the sixth. Jaxon Hallmark hit a single back to Allemann, and proceeded to steal second. His 33rd stolen base of the year set a single-season record for the most thefts in the ValleyCats' 21-season history. Robbie Merced was then hit by a pitch. Culver plated Hallmark with a single; Culver and Merced went to second and third, respectively, on the throw. Smith lifted a sac fly to make it a 6-4 contest.
The Aigles tacked on a run in the bottom of the sixth. Lolo Williams launched a solo homer off Coleman Huntley to trim the deficit to 6-5.
Tri-City opened the floodgates in the seventh. Altherr belted his second long ball of the day, this time against Frankie Giuliano. It was his 21st round-tripper of the 2023 campaign, and fourth multi-homer effort of the season. He also surpassed Bell with his 70th RBI of the year for the third-most in a single season from a ValleyCat. Juan Kelly singled, and Campos moved him to third with a single. Campos advanced to second on a wild pitch. Hallmark poked a two-run single, and went to second on an error from Combs. Merced greeted Brendan Bell with a double. Culver knocked in Merced with a single to give the 'Cats an 11-5 lead.
Brown singled off Aaron Ernst in the bottom of the seventh. Chris Fernandez pinch-ran for Brown, and Dadson walked. Ricardo Sanchez singled to put a runner at every square base. All three runners moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch. Austin Markmann brought in two with a single to make it an 11-8 game.
Wilber and Combs singled in the eighth. Fernandez reached on a fielder's choice, and Wilber was sent to third. Dadson lifted a sac fly to cut the deficit to 11-9. Fernandez stole second, and Leef was hit by a pitch. Leef and Fernandez advanced to second and third on a wild pitch before Veliz induced a flyout from Sanchez to keep the lead intact.
Parks entered in the ninth, and hit Markmann with a pitch. Williams singled, and Markmann went to second. Parks retired Scantlin on a lineout and Wilber on a flyout before walking Combs. Parks struck out Malik Williams to seal the final victory of the season, and picked up his fourth save of the year.
Jeans (2-1) earned the win. He threw 0.2 perfect innings, striking out two. Allemann (0-5) received the loss. He pitched six frames, giving up six runs on 10 hits, walking one, and striking out four.
Schaumburg, Ill. – The Evansville Otters scored six runs in the seventh inning for a 7-5 win over the Schaumburg Boomers in the final game of the regular season on Sunday afternoon. While Evansville wins the series, the focus now shifts to the Frontier League West Wild Card game on Tuesday in Schaumburg. Three doubles catapulted the Otters' big seven inning. Trailing 5-1 entering the inning, Justin Felix led off by being hit by a pitch. Bryan Rosario followed with a double to right. Noah Myers then launched a two-RBI double off the right field wall to cut the lead in half. Kona Quiggle and Jomar Reyes followed by working back-to-back walks to load the bases. Ethan Skender tied the game with a two-RBI double to left and Gary Mattis hit the go-ahead RBI single. A sacrifice fly scored one more to give the Otters a 7-5 lead. Myers, fresh off being named Frontier League Rookie of the Year, hit a massive home run over the right field wall in the first inning to give Evansville a 1-0 lead. He finished with two runs, two hits and three RBIs. Schaumburg scored two runs in the first inning to take the lead and added another two runs in the fifth. Bryan Rosario stole his 51st base of the season in the eighth inning passing Joe Spiers' 50 bags in 2011 for the most in single-season franchise history. The Otters used six different pitchers on Sunday. Johan Castillo was the only arm to pitch more than an inning. The southpaw tossed three shutout innings with three strikeouts. Jon Beymer earned his third win of the year for completing the sixth inning. James Krick pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his second save of the season. Daiveyon Whittle suffered the loss for Schaumburg allowing the two go-ahead runs in the seventh inning. Evansville completes the regular season 52-43. They are the only team in the Frontier League with at least 50 wins over the last seven seasons. The Otters now move onto the playoffs, facing the Boomers in a winner-take-all wild card game on Tuesday evening at Wintrust Field in Schaumburg. First pitch is slated for 6:30 PM CT. The game can be heard on the Otters Digital Network and simulcast on FloSports.
Sauget, IL (September 3, 2023) – The Gateway Grizzlies came back from an early deficit with the long ball, hitting three home runs and putting up 13 hits offensively in an 8-4 victory over the Lake Erie Crushers at Grizzlies Ballpark, clinching the weekend series and concluding their regular season with a 59-37 overall record.
The Crushers got three straight hits off Parker Johnson to begin the ballgame in the first inning, including an RBI single by Jiandido Tromp to take a 1-0 lead. Josh Rego's RBI groundout made it 2-0, but it also kicked off a streak of 14 batters out of 16 retired by the rookie right-hander, during which the Grizzlies came back.
In the bottom of the third inning, Cole Brannen led off with a walk and Willie Estrada singled against Lake Erie starter Jonaiker Villalobos, and two batters later, Mark Vierling hit his fifth home run of the home stand, a three-run shot to right field that vaulted the Grizzlies in front 3-2. Two innings later against Shane Gustafson (0-1), Andrew Penner hit his first home run since July 25, making the score 4-2 on the solo shot.
Lake Erie then rallied to tie the score against Johnson in the sixth, with Sean Cheely lifting a double with the bases loaded and one out over first base to knot the score at 4-4. But Zac Treece (3-0) got the next two batters out to preserve the tie, and in the bottom of the sixth, Gateway would score four runs to take the lead for good. Vierling blooped a single into center field that got off Cheely's sliding glove attempt to make it 5-4, and was followed by Penner's three-run home run to complete the scoring at 8-4, giving the all-star his first career multi-homer game.
The Grizzlies now turn their attention to the playoffs. As West Division champions, they have earned a bye into the best-of-three Frontier League Division Series, which will begin on the road on Thursday, September 7, against the winner of the West Division Wild Card game between the Schaumburg Boomers and Evansville Otters taking place in Schaumburg on Tuesday, September 5.
