FLORENCE MAKES STATEMENT, TAKES FIRST SERIES AGAINST REIGNING CHAMPS - FRONTIER DAILY ROUNDUP
FLORENCE OFFENSE CONTINUES TO HUM AS Y'ALLS TAKE OPENING SERIES FROM QUÉBEC
FLORENCE, KY - For the third game in a row, the Florence Y'alls put on an offensive clinic to defeat the Québec Capitales 8-4 at Thomas More Stadium.
The Y'alls (2-1) continued to look impressive against the reigning Frontier League champion Capitales (1-2) and tallied their third consecutive game with 10 or more hits as they secured the series win on Saturday night. Florence DH Zade Richardson continued his offensive tear to start the year, driving in seven RBIs to bring his league-leading total to 11. LHP Joe Kemlage grabbed the winning decision out of the bullpen for Florence while LHP Harley Gollert took the loss, allowing all eight runs in 2.2 innings of work.
The Y'alls will travel to Crestwood to take on the Windy City ThunderBolts for their next series, beginning on Tuesday at 11:35 AM EDT. The Québec Capitales will make the trek to New Jersey to take on the Sussex County Miners, beginning Tuesday at 7:05 PM EDT.
THUNDERBOLTS JUMP OUT TO EARLY LEAD, EVEN SERIES WITH VALLEYCATS
CRESTWOOD, IL - The Windy City ThunderBolts showed their grit in a 5-3 victory over the Tri-City ValleyCats at Ozinga Field on Saturday Night.
The Bolts (2-1) opened the scoring with two outs in the second when C Alex Lugo, in his first at-bat of the season, laced a two-run double to left field that scored SS Alejandro Lara and DH Joe Encarnacion. CF Cam Phelts then followed with a double to drive in Lugo, giving Windy City an early 3-0 advantage. The ValleyCats (1-1) would fight back to come within two runs, but the ThunderBolts' bullpen would slam the door shut and only allow one hit in the final three innings. RHP Buddie Pindel earned his first win of the season for Windy City, going six full innings and striking out eight. RHP Wes Albert was charged with the loss after giving up five runs on six hits through six innings.
The T-Bolts will finish their series against the ValleyCats at home on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 PM EDT.
JOLIET SLAMMERS HAND OTTERS THEIR THIRD CONSECUTIVE LOSS
JOLIET, IL - The Joliet Slammers only needed four hits on Saturday evening to earn the win over the Evansville Otters, 3-2.
With both starting pitchers only going four innings, it was LHP John Lundgren who earned the victory for the Slammers (2-0) out of the bullpen after tossing three shutout frames against the Otters (0-3). Evansville was able to strike for a run in the first inning, but their lead was short-lived as Joliet 2B Victor Nova drove in two runners with a double down the right-field line to give the Slammers a 2-1 lead in the bottom half. A pair of Evansville errors gifted Joliet another run, and LHP David Harrison closed the game out to earn his first save of 2024.
The Slammers will look to complete the series sweep against the Otters tomorrow afternoon at Duly Health and Care Field. Game is set to start at 2:05 PM EDT.
BOULDERS CRUSH JACKALS FOR FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON
PONONA, NY - The New York Boulders dominated the New Jersey Jackals in their home opener at Clover Stadium, giving nearly 4,800 fans plenty of reasons to cheer on Saturday night.
New York (1-1) rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the second inning, then went ahead for good on the strength of a four-run bottom of the third, highlighted by C Joe DeLuca's two-run single. In the eighth, the Boulders broke it wide open, erupting for five runs, with RF Casey Dana and CF Isaac Bellony blasting back-to-back home runs to put away the Jackals (1-1) for good. RHP Garrett Cooper struck out five en route to his first win of the year.
The Boulders will try to finish off a season-opening series win on Sunday, as they host a Mother's Day rubber match vs. New Jersey. First pitch scheduled for 1:35 PM EDT.
TITANS OFFENSE SURGES AS OTTAWA KNOCKS OUT NEW ENGLAND
BROCKTON, MA - The Ottawa Titans certainly lived up to their name on Saturday night, as they defeated the New England Knockouts 11-8.
The Titans (1-1) jumped on the Knockouts (1-1) in the first inning, pushing across eight runs, and had a 10-0 advantage before New England was able to get on the board in the fourth. Knockouts RHP James Marinan only recorded one out in his first start of the season and was tagged with a loss after allowing eight runs on five hits and three walks. Ottawa DH Jamey Smart and LF Jake Sanford combined for five RBIs on the day, with each player knocking in two runs in the first inning. Former Yankees prospect RHP Shane Gray picked up his first win for the Titans while RHP Erasmo Pinales struck out two and allowed no hits for his first save of 2024.
The Ottawa Titans finish off their three-game series with the New England Knockouts on Sunday at 1:00 PM EDT at Campanelli Stadium.
AIGLES SHUT DOWN MINERS, GUTIERREZ DAZZLES
AUGUSTA, NJ - The Trois-Rivières Aigles won their first game of the season against the Sussex County Miners, besting their hosts by a final of 5-1.
The Aigles (1-0) built their win on great pitching and defense to defeat the Miners (0-1) on Saturday night. Fans were treated to a great outing from RHP Osman Gutierrez, as the Aigles' starting pitcher took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. Sussex County 3B Evan Giordano singled to center field to break up the no-hit bid, but that was the only hit surrendered by Gutierrez in his season debut. Another key play came defensively in the third inning from Trois-Rivières CF Raphael Gladu, as he climbed the wall to rob Tony Gomez of a home run that would have tied the game. Gladu finished his day with an RBI and gave the Aigles an insurance run on a misplayed sacrifice bunt attempt in the ninth inning.
The Miners and Aigles play a doubleheader at Skylands Stadium on Mother's Day, with the first game starting at 1:35 PM EDT.
SCHAUMBURG COMES FROM BEHIND TO DEFEAT WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON COUNTY, PA - For the second night in a row, the Schaumburg Boomers overcame an early deficit to beat the Washington Wild Things 6-3 on Saturday night.
Washington (0-2) started their second game of the season in an identical way to their first, scoring three runs early at home against Schaumburg (2-0). Boomer LHP Cole Cook quickly recovered from a rough first inning, and the reigning Frontier League Pitcher of the Year surrendered only two more hits while striking out nine in his 2024 debut. The Boomer bullpen took over for Cook in the sixth inning and did not allow a hit for the rest of the game. The offense came to life for Schaumburg in the eighth inning as the Boomers broke through with four runs to jump ahead. LF Chase Dawson, the Schaumburg franchise leader in triples, got his first three-bagger of the year to tie the game. With the bases loaded following a pair of hit batters, 3B Seth Gray gave the Boomers the lead at 4-3 with an RBI single. Schaumburg plated two more in the inning, allowing RHP Matt Helwig and RHP Jake Joyce to earn the win and the save, respectively.
The Boomers and Wild Things conclude their series Sunday at 1:35 PM EDT at Wild Things Park.
CRUSHERS HANG ON LATE TO BEAT GRIZZLIES
AVON, OH - The Lake Erie Crushers defeated the Gateway Grizzlies 11-9 in a Saturday night slugfest at Crusher Stadium.
Lake Erie (1-1) found itself in a back-and-forth offensive battle with the Gateway Grizzlies (1-1), which included three lead changes and a near-comeback in the ninth inning by the visitors. The Crushers rode the middle of their batting order and 1B Vincent Byrd Jr., who knocked in three of the 11 Lake Erie runs on two hits. Things started to look a little hairy for the home team in the ninth inning; up 11-6 coming into the final frame, Gateway CF Cole Brannen made things uncomfortably close when he crushed a three-run homer to right field off RHP Tyler Kuncl. The tying run was then able to get on base and into scoring position with two outs, but Kuncl was able to get a groundout to finish up Lake Erie's first win of the season.
Lake Erie and Gateway are set to clash one more time on Sunday afternoon for a rubber match. First pitch is set for 2:05 PM EDT.
