OTTAWA WINS KEY SERIES AGAINST MINERS - FRONTIER DAILY ROUNDUP
WRITTEN BY: MIKE GUISTOLISE
OTTAWA WALKS OFF MINERS, BACK IN PLAYOFF PICTURE
OTTAWA - The Ottawa Titans picked up a huge series win against the Sussex County Miners in walk-off fashion on Sunday night, taking the finale at Titan Stadium 4-3.
After the win, the Titans (43-34) lept back into a playoff spot in the Frontier League East Division. After the Miners (27-50) worked their way out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth, 1B Jamey Smart got Ottawa on the board with a two-run double down the right-field line. 3B AJ Wright's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth tied things at 3-3 and Ottawa entered the ninth with a chance to end their homestand on a high note. With a man on second and one out, the newly-acquired DH Peyton Isaacson slapped a single down the line in right to bring around the winning run. RHP Erasmo Pinales got the winning decision after two innings of relief work while RHP Matt Stil took the loss for Sussex County.
The Titans will begin another important series against the New York Boulders on Tuesday at 7:00 PM EDT. The Miners will play the New Jersey Jackals for their next series, beginning on Tuesday at 6:35 PM EDT.
Y'ALLS TAKE SERIES WITH SLAMMERS IN SUDDEN DEATH
FLORENCE, KY - The Florence Y'alls capped their weekend with a sudden-death win over the Joliet Slammers to win the series at Thomas More Stadium.
The Y'alls (38-39) are now half a game behind Schaumburg in the Frontier League West Division standings and are once again only one game under .500. Florence got out to a fast start behind CF Blaze O'Saben's leadoff homer in the first inning. 2B Dalton Davis added on in the second with an RBI single to make it 2-0. Behind two big home runs, Joliet (32-45) took a 3-2 lead in the fifth, but it wouldn't last very long: O'Saben notched another RBI in the bottom of the inning to bring the game back to even. Davis again piggybacked O'Saben's efforts in the following inning by cranking a two-run homer to put Florence back on top 5-3. The Slammers used the home run ball to cut the deficit down to one in the seventh before tying the game in the ninth on a sacrifice fly. The game drifted into extra innings where both teams exchanged a run, thus requiring sudden death to decide the winner. The Y'alls opted to defend and got Joliet to roll over three straight ground balls to end the game and claim the victory. RHP Ben Terwilliger grabbed the win after two hitless innings in relief for Florence. There was not a losing pitcher, per Frontier League rules.
The Y'alls will host the Windy City ThunderBolts for their next series, which begins on Tuesday at 6:42 PM EDT. The Slammers will return home to host the Washington Wild Things on Tuesday at 6:35 PM CDT.
KRAUSE'S BIG HOMER LIFTS GATEWAY TO SERIES WIN
SAUGET, IL - The Gateway Grizzlies came away with a series victory against the Evansville Otters on Sunday behind a 5-3 win in the finale.
The Grizzlies (46-31) grabbed the lead in the eighth inning behind a huge go-ahead homer from C Kevin Krause. After an error gave Gateway a 1-0 lead in the third, 1B Peter Zimmermann made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly. DH Tyler Shelnut then added on in the fourth with a solo shot to make it 3-0. The Otters (33-44) fought back to tie the game in the top of the eighth behind a three-run homer from 1B Dakota Phillips, which also gave him the all-time record for most RBIs in franchise history with 228. The Grizzlies began the bottom of the inning with a leadoff walk to set up Krause; the Gateway backstop then smacked a 3-1 pitch over the left field fence to put his side up 5-3. LHP Leoni De La Cruz closed things out in the ninth for his 10th save of the season to secure the win. RHP Matt Hickey was credited with the win out of the bullpen while RHP Jon Beymer took the loss.
The Grizzlies will host the Lake Erie Crushers for their next series, beginning on Tuesday at 6:35 PM CDT. The Otters will travel up to Schaumburg to play a doubleheader on Monday with the Boomers. First game begins at 5:30 PM CDT.
WILD THINGS FINISH OFF SWEEP OF BOLTS
CRESTWOOD, IL - The Washington Wild Things completed a sweep of the Windy City ThunderBolts on Sunday with a 5-2 victory at Ozinga Field.
The Wild Things (53-24) have now won three straight and are 8-2 over their last 10 games. Washington took the initial lead in the first inning off a sacrifice fly from 3B Tommy Caufield. The ThunderBolts (33-46) then gifted Washington an additional run on a passed ball in the second. Windy City evened things up at 2-2 with a two-run home run in the fifth. The score stayed stagnant through the remaining four innings, forcing extras for the first time in the series. LF Wagner Lagrange put the Wild Things ahead in the top of the 10th on an RBI single. 2B Jalen Miller then secured the late lead for Washington with a two-run double, making it 5-2. RHP Gyeongju Kim allowed two base runners in the bottom half but closed the game out for his 19th save of the year without allowing a run. RHP Alex Carrillo earned the win out of the bullpen while RHP Tyler LaPorte took the loss for Windy City.
The Wild Things will stay in the Chicagoland area for their next series as they face off with the Joliet Slammers at Duly Health & Care Field. First pitch for Tuesday's opener is scheduled for 6:35 PM CDT. The Bolts will head to Florence for their next series against the Y'alls, which will begin on Tuesday at 6:42 PM EDT.
CRUSHERS COMPLETE HUGE SWEEP OVER SCHAUMBURG
AVON, OH - The Lake Erie Crushers capped a huge weekend at Crusher Stadium with a 4-3 win over the Schaumburg Boomers on Sunday.
The Crushers (44-33) now have a fairly secure grip on the last playoff spot in the West and lead Schaumburg (38-38) by 5.5 games. C John Tuccillo put the Crushers on the board first with a solo homer in the third inning. The Boomers answered with three runs in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. In the fifth, 2B Walner Espinal and SS Alberti Chavez hit back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game at 3-3. Espinal then doubled home the go-ahead run in the seventh to put Lake Erie up 4-3. After a huge two-inning relief appearance on Friday, RHP Trevor Kuncl came out of the Crusher bullpen to close things out in the ninth, not allowing a run while striking out two for his 18th save of the year. LHP Cal Carver got credit for the win in relief while RHP Matt Helwig took the loss for Schaumburg.
The Crushers will take on the Gateway Grizzlies for their next series. First pitch for Tuesday's opener in Sauget will be at 6:35 PM CDT. The Boomers will host the Evansville Otters for a doubleheader on Monday. First game will kick off at 5:30 PM CDT.
CAPITALES BLAST KNOCKOUTS TO COMPLETE SWEEP
BROCKTON, MA - The Québec Capitales completed a dominating sweep of the New England Knockouts with a convincing 15-9 win at Campanelli Stadium on Sunday.
The Capialtes (53-25) collected 19 hits and scored in six of the nine innings to roll over the Knockouts (27-49) for the third game in a row. 2B David Glaude doubled home two runs in the top of the first inning to establish Québec's lead at 2-0. DH Jesmuel Valentin crushed a two-run homer in the second inning to increase the Capitales' lead to 4-0. New England grabbed tied things up in the bottom of the inning with a four-run outburst which included sending all nine of their hitters to the plate. The two sides then exchanged a run in the fourth before Québec retook the lead in the fifth on an RBI single from C Anthony Quirion. RF Marc-Antoine Lebreux then made it 8-5 with a two-run double in the sixth. LF Tommy Seidl followed two batters later with a three-run blast to put the Capitales up six. The Knockouts put together three runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead down to two, but another four runs from the Capitales in the seventh put the game out of reach. RHP Yusneil Padron-Atiles grabbed the win in relief while RHP Matt Cronin got tagged with the loss for New England.
The Capitales will play the Trois-Rivières Aigles next, with the series beginning on Tuesday at 7:05 PM EDT. The Knockouts will continue their homestand with a series against the Tri-City ValleyCats on Tuesday at 6:30 PM EDT
JACKALS CAP SWEEP OF AIGLES WITH SUDDEN DEATH VICTORY
PATERSON, NJ - The New Jersey Jackals completed their sweep of the Trois-Rivières Aigles with a sudden death victory on Sunday at Hinchcliffe Stadium.
The Jackals (26-50) were turned away with a bases-loaded opportunity in the 10th but secured the win on the defensive side of sudden death to hand Trois-Rivières (37-38) a devastating loss. The Aigles got off to a hot start, scoring two in the first to establish an early 2-0 lead. CF Bryson Parks got New Jersey on the board with an RBI single in the fifth. 1B Miguel Gomez then tied the game in the seventh on an RBI single into right field. Both teams were unable to score in the last two innings, which forced extra innings. In the 10th, the Jackals had the bases loaded with one out but were denied scoring the winning run to force sudden death. After New Jersey elected to defend, RHP Dazon Cole returned the favor to Trois-Rivières by leaving the runners stranded on second and third to secure the win. Cole's win was his second of the season.
The Jackals will play against the New York Boulders on Monday in a makeup game from earlier this season. First pitch in Ponoma is at 7:00 PM EDT. The Aigles will host the Québec Capitales for their next series, beginning on Tuesday at 7:05 PM EDT.
VALLEYCATS AND BOULDERS SPLIT DOUBLEHEADER
TROY, NY - The Tri-City ValleyCats and the New York Boulders split their doubleheader on Sunday, with Tri-City taking the series.
In the first game, Tri-City (42-34) scratched across its first run in the fourth inning on a fielder's choice. CF David Vinsky got the Boulders (42-34) on the board in the fifth with an RBI single, tying the game at 1-1. 1B Garrett Frechette followed three hitters later with an RBI single to give New York a 2-1 lead. RHP Peter Allegro kept the ValleyCats off the board to close out the game, earning him his first save of the season. LHP Mitchell Senger earned the win after allowing just one run and striking out five across six innings. RHP Connor Wilford took the loss for the ValleyCats.
In the second game, Tri-City took an early lead in the second on a fielder's choice. After New York knotted things up on a sacrifice fly in the top of the third, 1B Kyle Novak gave the lead back to the ValleyCats in the bottom half with a two-run single into right field. 2B Ryan Cash immediately followed with an RBI single to increase the lead to 4-1. LF Brett Rodriguez then capped the big inning with another RBI single to push the Tri-City advantage to four. Novak notched another RBI on a double in the sixth that made it 7-1 ValleyCats. The Tri-City bullpen allowed just one baserunner in the seventh and closed the game out without allowing a score. LHP Alfredo Ruiz earned the win after allowing just one run in six innings while striking out eight. RHP Garrett Cooper took the loss for New York.
The ValleyCats will move on to face the New England Knockouts on Tuesday at 6:30 PM EDT. The Boulders will play a one-game set with the New Jersey Jackals on Monday at Clover Stadium. First pitch is at 7:00 PM EDT.
