BOULDERS SHUT OUT TITANS, BOOMERS AND CRUSHERS BOTH GET WALK-OFFS AS PLAYOFFS LOOM - FRONTIER DAILY ROUNDUP
WRITTEN BY: MIKE GUISTOLISE
BOULDERS CLAMP DOWN ON TITANS TO TAKE KEY SERIES
OTTAWA - On Wednesday, the New York Boulders shut out the Ottawa Titans 2-0 to win a crucial late-season series at Titan Stadium.
The Boulders (49-43) remain two games behind Tri-City for the final playoff spot in the Frontier League East Division and 2.5 back from Ottawa (51-40). LF Steve Barmakian broke the silence in the sixth inning with a go-ahead RBI single up the middle to put New York up 1-0. DH Christian Ficca followed with an RBI single to right, extending the Boulder lead to two. LHP Mitchell Senger, the reigning Pitcher of the Week, refused to let the Titans back in the game and ended up only surrendering two hits over the final four frames and not allowing a runner to reach third base. Senger went the distance for New York, striking out nine en route to a complete-game shutout to capture his 10th win of the season. LHP Bryan Pena took the loss for Ottawa.
The Boulders will go for the series sweep on Thursday. The series finale will begin at 6:30 PM EDT.
CRUSHERS WALK OFF GRIZZLIES, KEEP CLOSE IN PLAYOFF RACE
AVON, OH - The Lake Erie Crushers kept their playoff hopes alive with a 5-4 walk-off win against the Gateway Grizzlies at Crusher Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
The win keeps Lake Erie (48-43) within half a game of Schaumburg for the final playoff spot in the Frontier League West Division. 1B Scout Knotts gave the Crushers a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a sacrifice fly. The Grizzlies (57-34) responded quickly in the second inning, racking up three runs to take the lead. Gateway added another on an RBI double in the third to go up 4-1. DH Vincent Byrd Jr. got the Crushers back in the game with a two-run homer in the sixth. SS Jarrod Watkins tied things up in the ninth with an RBI single up the middle and moved up to second after 2B Alberti Chavez was walked. With one out, Knotts lined a comebacker off the Gateway pitcher's glove; instead of throwing to first, there was a play at the plate where the catcher dropped the ball, resulting in the winning run coming in to score. RHP Trevor Kuncl got the win in relief while RHP Matt Hickey took the loss for Gateway.
The Grizzlies and Crushers will play a rubber game on Thursday. First pitch will be at 6:35 PM EDT.
BOOMERS COME FROM BEHIND TO WALK OFF OTTERS
SCHAUMBURG, IL - The Schaumburg Boomers came back and walked off the Evansville Otters 6-5 at Wintrust Field on Wednesday night.
Down by as many as four at one point, the Boomers (49-43) stormed back to take the series with Evansville (41-52). The Otters got off to a strong start, posting three runs in the third inning to grab the game's first lead. LF Aaron Simmons kept Schaumburg within shouting distance with an RBI single in the bottom of the third. Evansville got another two runs in the fifth to extend their lead to 5-1. The Boomers responded in the sixth with four straight runs, tying the game on a two-run single from DH Anthony Calarco. In the ninth, Schaumburg got men in scoring position with a ground-rule double down the line in right. C Jake Meyer then dropped a single down in shallow right to drive in the game-winning run. RHP Jake Joyce got credit for the win out of the Schaumburg bullpen while RHP Michael McAvene took the loss.
The Boomers will attempt to sweep the series in the finale on Thursday. First pitch for their final home game will be at 6:30 PM CDT.
WASHINGTON SETS FRANCHISE WIN RECORD AGAINST WINDY CITY
CRESTWOOD, IL - The Washington Wild Things took down the Windy City ThunderBolts 6-3 at Ozinga Field on Wednesday to tie the series.
Washington's (64-27) win gives them a new franchise record with 64. 1B Andrew Czech began the scoring in the second inning with a no-doubt two-run homer to put the Wild Things on top. The ThunderBolts (38-55) fought back to tie the game at two in the fourth. In the seventh, Windy City came up with a go-ahead RBI single to give itself a 3-2 lead. CF Caleb McNeely, DH Tyreque Reed, and LF Wagner Lagrange all logged RBI doubles in the eighth to put Washington back on top at 5-3. Czech put the game away with an RBI single later in the inning. LHP Kobe Foster did not receive a decision but registered five strikeouts, bringing his total to 126, setting the new single-season franchise record for Washington. RHP Alex Carillo earned the win in relief while RHP Gyeongju Kim earned his league-leading 26th save of the season. LHP Caleb Reidel took the loss for the Bolts.
The Wild Things will finish up their last road trip of the regular season on Thursday in Crestwood. First pitch will be at 6:35 PM CDT.
TRI-CITY CLUBS NEW JERSEY TO EVEN SERIES
PATERSON, NJ - The Tri-City ValleyCats defeated the New Jersey Jackals 12-8 at Hinchcliffe Stadium on Wednesday night.
The ValleyCats (50-40) produced three innings in which they scored three or more runs to out-slug the Jackals (33-59) and even the series. New Jersey grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning on the strength of two home runs. Tri-City responded in the top of the second with five runs, including home runs from LF Brett Rodriguez and CF Jaxon Hallmark. The offensive surge continued in the seventh with a two-run double from Hallmark, followed by an RBI double from 2B Elvis Peralta Jr. to make it 8-3. The Jackals charged back with five runs in the bottom half to tie the game at 8-8. RF Dylan Broderick put Tri-City back in front with a three-run homer in the eighth; Hallmark homered later in the inning to put the ValleyCats up by four, where the lead would stay for the rest of the game. RHP Nathan Medrano earned the win in relief for Tri-City while LHP Zach Morris took the loss.
The ValleyCats and Jackals will conclude their series with a rubber game on Thursday at 6:35 PM EDT.
CAPITALES CRUISE PAST KNOCKOUTS
QUÉBEC CITY - The Québec Capitales breezed past the New England Knockouts 6-2 on Wednesday night to capture the series at Stade Canac.
The Capitales (63-29) earned their 63rd win, the most they've had in a single season since joining the Frontier League. CF Jonathan Lacroix singled home a run in the second inning to put Québec in front 1-0. The Capitales then scored a run on a botched pickoff attempt in the third to make it 2-0. 2B Justin Gideon then added on to the lead in the fourth with an RBI base hit through the left side. The Knockouts got on the board on a fielder's choice in the seventh, but the Capitales responded with a pair of runs in the seventh to push their lead out to four. The Knockouts put one more run up in the eighth to come to within two, but a Gideon solo shot in the eighth put Québec's lead back out to four, which proved to be unreachable for New England. RHP Abdiel Saldana earned the win for the Capitales while RHP Matt Cronin took the loss for New England.
The Capitales will look to finish a series sweep in the finale on Thursday. First pitch will be at 7:05 PM EDT.
MINERS DOUBLE UP AIGLES
TROIS-RIVIÈRES - The Sussex County Miners defeated the Trois-Rivières Aigles 4-2 at Stade Quillorama on Wednesday night.
The Miners (32-60) earned their first road series win since their series with New Jersey, ending on May 26th. RF Tony Gomez put the Miners on top in the fifth inning with an RBI single. The Aigles (42-49) scored twice in the fifth to take the lead at 2-1. DH Oraj Anu snatched the lead back for Sussex County in the eighth, making it 4-2 with a three-run home run. RHP Robbie Hitt then closed things out in the ninth inning, setting down the Aigles 1-2-3 to earn his 12th save of the season. LHP Bobby Curry got credit for the win out of the Miner bullpen while RHP Hernando Mejia took the loss.
The Miners will go for the series sweep in the finale on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM EDT.
Y'ALLS HOMER THREE TIMES, TAKE MIDDLE GAME VS. JOLIET
FLORENCE, KY - The Florence Y'alls slugged their way past the Joliet Slammers at Thomas More Stadium on Wednesday by a final score of 8-5.
Despite the win, Lake Erie's win over Gateway mathematically disqualified Florence (42-48) from playoff contention. Joliet (36-55) worked its way out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a single and an error on the Y'alls. LF Hank Zeisler cut the lead in half with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half. After the succeeding batter walked, DH Zade Richardson delivered the Y'alls the lead with a go-ahead three-run homer. The Slammers cut the lead down to one with a run in the third, but Florence's bats stayed hot, extending its lead up to five after back-to-back home runs from C Sergio Gutierrez and SS Justin Lavey. The Slammers manufactured runs in the sixth and eighth inning to come to within three, but could not complete the comeback. RHP Logan Campbell earned the win after pitching three-plus innings in relief. LHP Kent Klyman earned the save. RHP Jake Armstrong took the loss for Joliet after surrendering all eight runs.
The Y'alls and Slammers will conclude their series with a rubber match on Thursday at 6:44 PM EDT.
