WILD THINGS CLINCH FIRST SPOT IN 2024 PLAYOFFS - FRONTIER DAILY ROUNDUP
WRITTEN BY: MIKE GUISTOLISE
WILD THINGS CLINCH PLAYOFF BIRTH WITH WIN OVER LAKE ERIE
WASHINGTON, PA - The Washington Wild Things grabbed the series opener from the Lake Erie Crushers on Friday night by a final score of 8-2.
A huge celebration followed the game at Wild Things Park because the Wild Things (56-25) became the first team in the Frontier League to clinch a spot in the postseason. Washington got off to a red-hot start, grabbing a 3-0 lead off a three-run bomb from 1B Andrew Czech. 2B Jalen Miller followed up Czech with a solo bomb to make it 4-0 in the first inning. Lake Erie (45-36) cut the lead in half with a two-run homer in the second. The Wild Things then scored a run in three straight innings, beginning with an RBI single from SS Ethan Wilder in the fourth. Miller then doubled home a run in the fifth to make it 6-2, and LF Wagner Lagrange made it a five-run game with an RBI base hit in the sixth. DH Tyreque Reed put the finishing touches on the scoring with an RBI double in the eighth to make it 8-2 Washington. LHP Kobe Foster picked up the win after allowing just two runs through seven innings. RHP Matt Mulhearn got tagged with the loss for Lake Erie.
The Wild Things will continue their series against their divisional foe on Saturday, with sights now set on the West Division crown. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM EDT.
CAPITALES CRUSH TITANS FOR THIRD STRAIGHT WIN
QUÉBEC CITY - The Québec Capitales dominated the Ottawa Titans in a 7-1 victory at Stade Canac on Friday night.
The Capitales (56-26) continue to show that they are in a class of their own at the top of the Frontier League East Division, taking down the Titans (46-35) to increase their first-place lead to 9.5 games. Québec opened the scoring in the second inning with four runs, including two-bases loaded walks. SS Kyle Crowl made it 5-0 in the fifth inning with a solo homer, his eighth of the year. Ottawa gifted a run to their opponents in the seventh with a wild pitch but took the run back in the eighth with a solo homer. C Anthony Quirion tacked on an insurance run with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to secure Québec's lead at 7-1. RHP Abdiel Saldana earned the win for the Capitales while RHP Scott Prins took the loss for Ottawa.
The series will continue on Saturday at 7:05 PM EDT.
BOULDERS, VALLEYCATS SPLIT DOUBLEHEADER
PONOMA, NY - The New York Boulders and Tri-City ValleyCats split their double feature on Saturday at Clover Stadium.
The split keeps both teams out of first by 12 games but keeps the ValleyCats (43-37) in the playoff picture due to their record vs. Ottawa. In the first game, Tri-City got on the board first with two runs in the third inning. LF Steve Barmakian got things rolling for the Boulders (44-38) in the bottom half with an RBI groundout. The ValleyCats got their lead back up to two in the top of the fourth with an RBI single. New York stayed silent until the sixth when 3B Thomas Walraven crushed a go-ahead three-run homer to left to put the Boulders up 4-3. RHP Dylan Smith then wrapped things up with his 11th save of the season in the seventh. LHP Mitchell Senger earned the win while RHP Arlo Marynczak took the loss.
In the second game, DH Kyle Novak gave Tri-City a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single to center field. C Oscar Campos broke things open in the fifth with a two-run bomb to make it 3-0. 1B Cam Jones singled home two runs later in the inning to push the lead to 5-0 for the ValleyCats. The Boulders got one run thanks to an error in the sixth but could not manufacture anything past that. RHP Wes Albert grabbed the win while RHP Colton Easterwood took the loss.
The New York State rivalry series will continue on Saturday at 6:30 PM EDT.
Y'ALLS WRECK OTTERS IN ROAD SERIES OPENER
EVANSVILLE, IN - The Florence Y'alls dominated the Evansville Otters on Friday night, shutting them out 10-0 at historic Bosse Field.
The Y'alls (41-40) still trail behind Schaumburg by a half-game in the Frontier League West standings and four games behind Lake Erie for the final playoff spot. It was all Y'alls from the start of this game, as 3B Brian Fuentes demonstrated with a two-run homer to open the scoring in the first inning. CF TJ Reeves got in on the scoring in the third with an RBI single to make it 3-0. Florence then scored twice more in the fourth before opening up the game to 9-0 in the fifth, thanks to a three-run double from SS Ed Johnson. The Otters (35-48) struggled mightily on offense, only registering four hits while unable to get a run across. 2B Justin Lavey capped the scoring in the ninth by bringing home the game's 10th run on an RBI fielder's choice. LHP Evan Webster earned the win after dealing seven scoreless innings while racking up 10 strikeouts. RHP Casey Delgado took the loss for Evansville.
The Y'alls will go for the road series win on Saturday. First pitch will be at 6:35 PM CDT.
GRIZZLIES BLANK THUNDERBOLTS
CRESTWOOD, IL - The Gateway Grizzlies shut out the Windy City ThunderBolts 5-0 on Friday night to open the weekend series at Ozinga Field.
The Grizzlies (49-32) got an outstanding effort from their pitching staff, allowing no runs on seven hits to begin their series on the road. Gateway and Windy City (34-49) exchanged zeroes for the first five innings, with the Grizzlies breaking the scoring silence in the sixth with a bases-loaded walk. C Jose Alvarez then singled down the right field line to bring in two and make it 3-0. 2B Dale Thomas and LF Victor Castillo both brought in runs in the two at-bats that followed, cementing Gateway's lead at 5-0. The ThunderBolts had multiple chances to score in the final three innings, but could not come up with the big hit. RHP Alvery De Los Santos got the win for Gateway while LHP Michael Barker took the loss.
The Grizzlies and ThunderBolts will play the middle game of their three-game set on Saturday at 6:05 PM CDT.
BOOMERS OUTLAST JOLIET TO GRAB SERIES OPENER
SCHAUMBURG, IL - The Schaumburg Boomers took down the Joliet Slammers 8-3 on Friday night at Wintrust Field.
With the win and Lake Erie's loss, the Boomers (42-40) are now just 3.5 games out from a playoff spot. The best-case scenario for Schaumburg is Washington sweeps the Crushers and the Boomers sweep the Slammers (34-47). This would get Schaumburg within 1.5 games before they face off with Lake Erie next week. Joliet took the initial lead in the second with an RBI single, but the Boomers responded with six runs in the bottom half to grab the lead. The Slammers grabbed another run in the seventh off a wild pitch and another off a solo home run in the eighth. CF Andrew Sojka cracked a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to erase those two runs and reestablish Schaumburg's five-run lead, then handed the game off to the Schaumburg bullpen to close the game out. LHP Jacob Smith earned the win for the Boomers while RHP Zac Westcott took the loss.
The Boomers and Slammers will continue their series on Saturday at 6:35 PM CDT.
JACKALS TAKE OPENER WITH AIGLES IN SUDDEN DEATH
TROIS-RIVIÈRES - The New Jersey Jackals won their fourth straight game against the Trois-Rivières Aigles when they took them down in a sudden death series opener at Stade Quillorama on Friday night.
The Jackals (29-52) continued their success against Trois-Rivières (38-42), picking up where they left off after sweeping the Aigles last weekend. New Jersey struck first, getting RBI singles from DH Arbert Cipion and SS Fritz Genther to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Aigles responded with two in the second, and then five in the fifth to take a 7-2 lead. C Frank Nigro blasted a two-run homer in the seventh to cut the lead down to two, but an error by New Jersey gifted Trois-Rivières another run in the eighth. The Jackals worked their way back to even in the ninth, getting a two-run homer from Cipion and a game-tying RBI double from CF Bryson Parks to send the game to extra innings. The two sides both scored two in the 10th, forcing the game to be settled in sudden death. The Aigles elected to hit but were turned away by the New Jersey defense, giving the Jackals the 11-10 win. RHP Andrew Kramer got the win for the Jackals. By rule, the Aigles did not have a losing pitcher.
The Jackals will look to continue their winning ways over the Aigles in the series' middle game on Saturday. First pitch is at 6:05 PM EDT.
MINERS SURVIVE COMEBACK EFFORT VS. KNOCKOUTS.
AUGUSTA, NJ - The Sussex County Miners turned away the New England Knockouts to take Friday's series opener at Skylands Stadium by a final score of 6-5.
The Miners (29-52) established a 6-0 lead early but had to fend off the Knockouts (29-50) all the way through the ninth inning. DH Oraj Anu gave Sussex County its first runs with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. 2B Cory Acton added on with a leadoff solo shot in the third to make it 3-0. The Miners worked the lead up to 6-0 later in the inning with a sacrifice fly and a two-run double from LF Evan Sleight. New England worked their way back gradually, scoring two in the fifth and another two in the eighth to widdle the deficit down to 6-4. The Knockouts plated one more in the ninth to get to within one, but RHP Robbie Hitt was able to turn them away without surrendering the lead. Hitt's closing effort awarded him his 10th save of the season. LHP Mike Reagan got the win for the Miners while RHP Trevor Anibal took the loss.
The Miners and Knockouts will play the middle game of their series on Saturday at 6:35 PM EDT.
