TJ REEVES, Y'ALLS GET EVEN WITH BOOMERS - FRONTIER DAILY ROUNDUP
WRITTEN BY: MIKE GUISTOLISE
Y'ALLS WALK OFF WITH GRAND SLAM
FLORENCE, KY - The Florence Y'alls walked off the Schaumburg Boomers 8-7 with a grand slam on Wednesday afternoon.
RF TJ Reeves crushed a no-doubt grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to send Y'alls (17-23) fans home happy. The Boomers (25-16) scored in the first, but Florence made quick work on their lead, tying the game in the bottom half. SS Alberti Chavez then homered in the second to give the Y'alls their first lead. Schaumburg responded by going on an offensive tear in the sixth inning, retaking the lead with a five-run outburst. The Y'alls managed to cut the lead down to three but the Boomers were able to push their lead to four with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth, seemingly sealing the game for another series win. Staring down RHP Jake Joyce in the last of the ninth, the Y'alls were able to load the bases with two outs on a walk. Joyce walked the next batter, bringing home a run while putting the tying run on base. Reeves stepped up and on a 2-1 count, sent the ball high and deep over the left field wall, never doubting that it was the game-winner. RHP Ben Terwilliger earned the win for Florence while Joyce took the loss.
The Y'alls and Boomers will fight for the series in a rubber game on Thursday at Thomas More Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:44 PM EDT.
CAPITALES TAKE PITCHERS' DUEL, WITHIN HALF A GAME OF FIRST
QUEBEC CITY, CAN. Despite being outhit, The Québec Capitales defeated the Sussex County Miners 1-0 on Wednesday night at Stade Canac.
The Capitales (27-14) are now within a half-game of first place in the Frontier League East division and could take the top spot with a win and a New York loss. The Miners (14-26) threatened to score in the first inning with the bases loaded, but that would turn out to be their best scoring opportunity the entire game. The only run scored in the third inning when CF Jonathan Lacroix crossed the plate on a passed ball. Québec only registered one hit past that point, as both bullpens found themselves in a stalemate. The Capitales got the last laugh in the ninth, leaving the tying run stranded on second base. RHP Frank Moscatiello picked up his fourth save of the season while LHP Ryo Kohigashi earned the win out of the bullpen. RHP Charlie Neuweiler took the loss.
The Capitales will try to complete the sweep on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled at 7:05 PM EDT.
AIGLES COME OUT ON TOP OF HIT PARADE WITH VALLEYCATS
TROIS-RIVIERES, CAN. - The Trois-Rivières Aigles took down the Tri-City ValleyCats 10-8 on Wednesday night at Stade Quillorama.
The Aigles (21-18) and ValleyCats (19-22) combined for 28 hits in the contest, including a season-high 15 from Tri-City. 3B Luis Curbelo pushed across the game's first run on a double-play in the first inning. The ValleyCats took a 2-1 lead in the top of the second, but the Aigles came right back to tie things up in the bottom half. After some back-and-forth between the two sides, the ValleyCats found themselves up by two as the Aigles took their turn to bat in the fourth. Curbelo homered to bring his side within one, beginning a stretch where every run scored for Trois-Rivières came from the long ball until the eighth inning. CF Raphael Gladu gave the Aigles the lead with a three-run blast in the fifth and C Willie Estrada added on with a solo bomb in the sixth. Curbelo hit his second homer of the day, a two-run shot, in the seventh that pushed the lead to 9-6. The ValleyCats were able to get within one run, but the Aigles' run production could not be matched. RHP Logan Hofmann earned the win for Trois-Rivières while RHP Kosei Naito picked up the save. RHP Chas Cywin took the loss for the ValleyCats.
The Aigles and ValleyCats will battle for the series win on Thursday, with first pitch coming at 7:05 PM EDT.
GRIZZLIES HOMER THRICE, EVEN SERIES WITH WILD THINGS
SAUGET, IL - The Gateway Grizzlies evened their series with the Washington Wild Things on Wednesday, taking the middle game 11-5.
Grizzlies Ballpark turned into a hitter's for Gateway (23-17), as they racked up a dozen hits to take down the first-place Wild Things (26-14). The Grizzlies never trailed during the game, taking the lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI single from RF Peter Zimmerman. In the third, Gateway expanded its lead to 4-0 after Zimmerman hit an RBI ground-rule double, and 3B DJ Stewart brought in two on a double of his own. The Wild Things were able to get on the board with a homer in the fourth, but SS Abdiel Diaz came back with a two-run blast in the bottom half of the inning. Washington came to life in the sixth, bringing the score within two, but a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly from the Grizzlies pushed the score back out to 8-4. 2B Gabe Holt and OF Kyle Gaedele launched back-to-back jacks in the bottom of the eighth to seal the game. RHP Lukas Veinbergs earned his first winning decision of the season while RHP Jordan DiValerio took the loss for Washington.
The Grizzlies will attempt to take the series from the Wild Things on Thursday. First pitch for the series finale is set for 7:30 PM EDT.
NOVA TAKES LEAD IN WIN OVER OTTERS
EVANSVILLE, IN - The Joliet Slammers took the first game of the series against the Evansville Otters on Wednesday by a final score of 7-2.
The Slammers (18-22) turned Bosse Field into their home away from home, scoring seven straight runs while keeping the Otters (16-24) off the scoreboard until the ninth inning. Joliet opened the scoring with an RBI groundout in the second inning. CF Liam McArthur then added on in the fourth with a two-run single. 3B Victor Nova pushed a double into the right-center field gap in the fifth inning to bring in two more runs and then homered in his following plate appearance to make it 6-0 Slammers. Joliet was able to keep Evansville scoreless until the ninth and walked away with a 7-2 victory. RHP Brett Sanchez got the win for the Slammers while RHP Tristan Harvin took the loss for the Otters.
The Slammers and Otters will play a doubleheader on Thursday to determine a series winner. The first game is set to begin at 6:05 PM EDT.
TITANS WIN RAIN-SHORTENED GAME TO TAKE SERIES
OTTAWA, CAN. - The Ottawa Titans defeated the New England Knockouts 9-8 in a rain-shortened game at Titan Stadium on Wednesday night.
After finding themselves down 8-0 in the fourth inning, the Titans (22-17) scored nine runs in one inning to take the lead. The Knockouts (12-28) built a comfortable lead for themselves, scoring three runs in the third and five runs in the fourth to take an 8-0 lead. Ottawa then put together an extremely productive home half of the fourth, beginning with a bases-loaded walk to get on the board. CF Taylor Wright brought in another run on a fielder's choice and then stole second base. RF Brian O'Donnell, SS Chrisitan Ibarra, and 3B AJ Wright then all hit RBI singles, bringing the score within two. DH Jamey Smart then tied the game with a two-run single, still with only one out in the inning. C Michael Fuhrman gave the Titans the lead on a sacrifice fly before the Knockouts were finally able to end the inning. Weather cut the game short after 5.5 innings, with RHP Shane Gray taking the winning decision in relief. LHP Luke Williamson let in the go-ahead run in the fourth and thus took the loss for New England.
The Titans will go for the sweep on Thursday, with the series finale kicking off at 6:30 PM EDT.
THUNDERBOLTS KNOT UP SERIES WITH A BIG COMEBACK
CRESTWOOD, IL - The Windy City ThunderBolts took down the Lake Erie Crushers 7-3 on Wednesday afternoon at Ozinga Field.
After getting down early, Windy City (17-25) was able to mount a comeback and score seven straight runs against the Crushers (25-16). Lake Erie pushed across three runs in the second inning, forcing Windy City to play from behind early. It wasn't until the fifth inning that the ThunderBolts were able to manufacture some offense, which took the form of an RBI single from C Tyler Sandoval. LF Thomas Rodriguez was able to tie things up in the sixth with a two-run, allowing the Bolts to start over. In the seventh, Sandoval gave his side the lead with an RBI single and RF Joe Johnson pushed the lead to 6-3 with his two-run double down the right-field line. The ThunderBolts bullpen was able to hold the lead for the last three innings, not allowing a hit and only allowing two baserunners. LHP Caleb Riedel earned the win in relief for Windy City while LHP Kenny Pierson took the loss for Lake Erie.
The ThunderBolts and Crushers will play a rubber game on Thursday to determine the series. First pitch is at 7:35 PM EDT.
