CRUSHERS TAKE SERIES WITH GRIZZLIES TO KEEP PACE IN WEST - FRONTIER DAILY ROUNDUP
WRITTEN BY: MIKE GUISTOLISE
CRUSHERS HELD TO TWO HITS, STILL EDGE GRIZZLIES IN FINALE
AVON, OH - The Lake Erie Crushers won the rubber game against the Gateway Grizzlies 4-2 on Thursday night.
Despite only logging two hits, the Crushers (49-43) got another big win to keep themselves alive in the race for the final playoff spot in the Frontier League West Division. In the second inning, Lake Erie pushed across its first run on an RBI groundout to take a 1-0 lead. The Grizzlies (57-35) responded with an RBI single in the third to tie the game. Gateway then took a one-run lead in the fourth with another RBI base hit. The Crushers got the run back in the home half of the fourth on a sacrifice fly to bring the game back even. DH Vincent Byrd Jr. changed the dynamic of the game when he brought in two with a triple into left-center to give Lake Erie a two-run lead. RHP Trevor Kuncl then came into the game in the ninth and closed things out for his 21st save of the year. RHP Sammy Tavarez earned the win in relief while RHP Keegan Collett took the loss.
The Crushers will visit the Joliet Slammers for their final series of the regular season. First pitch on Friday will be at 6:35 PM CDT. The Grizzlies will finish up their regular season against the Florence Y'alls at home. Friday's series opener will be at 6:30 PM CDT.
BOOMERS HANG ON TO SWEEP OTTERS
SCHAUMBURG, IL - The Schaumburg Boomers completed their series sweep over the Evansville Otters with a 9-8 victory at Wintrust Field on Thursday night.
The Boomers (50-43) remain in the final playoff spot in the West by half a game after winning their fourth straight. The Otters (41-53) grabbed the first lead of the game with a bases-loaded walk in the first, but Schaumburg tied the game in the bottom half with an RBI triple from RF Christian Fedko, taking the lead later in the inning with an RBI groundout by LF Andrew Sojka. Evansville knotted things up in the second with a solo homer, but once again were answered with multiple runs from Schaumburg in the third inning. The Otters seemingly turned things around in the sixth when they took the lead after scoring four straight. The Boomers just kept coming, scoring four in the bottom of the inning, including a go-ahead two-run single from Sojka that made it 9-7 Schaumburg. Evansville countered with a run in the seventh but could not get over the hump. RHP Aaron Glickstein earned the win in relief for the Boomers while RHP Jake Joyce got his 16th save of the season. LHP Braden Scott took the loss for Evansville.
The Boomers will travel to Washington for their final series of the regular season, with hopes to clinch a spot in the playoffs. First pitch for Friday's opener will be at 7:05 PM EDT. The Otters will stay in the Chicagoland area and play their final series against the Windy City ThunderBolts, beginning on Friday at 6:35 PM CDT.
BOULDERS COMPLETE MASSIVE SWEEP WITH ANOTHER SHUTOUT
OTTAWA - The New York Boulders got a huge 2-0 shutout victory against the Ottawa Titans at Titan Stadium on Thursday night.
The win keeps New York (50-43) alive in the Frontier League East Division playoff race, as they are now just 1.5 games back headed into the final weekend. LF Steve Barmakian gave the Boulders a 1-0 lead with an RBI double down the left field line in the first inning. Neither side was able to score again until the eighth when 3B Thomas Walraven gave the Boulders an insurance run with an RBI double to left. The Titans (51-41) could not find a way to put runs on the board and were held to only three hits for the game. The shutout made it 26 consecutive innings where the Titans have been unable to score. RHP Garrett Cooper earned the win after tossing 6.1 shutout innings and striking out six. RHP Dylan Smith earned the save, his 12th, after striking out two in the ninth. LHP Tyler Jandron took the loss for Ottawa.
The Boulders will host the New England Knockouts for their final series, beginning on Friday at 7:00 PM EDT. The Titans will conclude their final regular season homestand with a weekend series against the Québec Capitales. First pitch for Friday's opener will be at 6:30 PM EDT.
VALLEYCATS DESTROY JACKALS 17-0
PATERSON, NJ - The Tri-City ValleyCats demolished the New Jersey Jackals 17-0 to win the series at Hinchcliffe Stadium on Thursday night.
After dropping the first game in sudden death, the ValleyCats (51-40) won the series while outscoring New Jersey (33-60) 29-8 in the final two games. 3B Ian Walters broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning with an RBI single to put Tri-City on top 1-0. Things then got out of hand in the seventh inning, as the ValleyCats put up seven runs on seven runs on four hits while sending 13 to the plate. The onslaught repeated in the eighth as Tri-City scored another seven runs while batting around. The backbreaking moment for New Jersey happened in the eighth when CF Jaxon Hallmark hit a grand slam to extend the ValleyCats' lead to 15-0. Tri-City tacked on two more in the ninth for good measure, completing their complete domination by a final score of 17-0. RHP Arlo Marynczak earned the win after striking out 12 across seven scoreless frames. RHP Jalon Tyson-Long took the loss for New Jersey.
The ValleyCats will finish up their regular season with a series against the Sussex County Miners at Skylands Stadium, beginning on Friday at 7:05 PM EDT. The Jackals will head up to Trois-Rivières for their final series of the season against the Aigles. First pitch on Friday will be at 7:05 PM EDT.
SLAMMERS DISMISS Y'ALLS IN RUBBER GAME
FLORENCE, KY - The Joliet Slammers took down the Florence Y'alls 11-3 on Thursday night to earn the series victory at Thomas More Stadium.
The Slammers (36-56) crushed the Y'alls (43-48) for 11 runs on 15 hits to win their final road series of the year. 2B Antonio Valdez put Joliet in front with a two-run double in the top of the second inning. 1B Matthew Warkentin added on with an RBI single to make it 3-0 later in the inning. The Y'alls took a run back in the bottom half and then made it a one-run game with a solo homer in the third. LF Liam McArthur pushed the lead back out to two in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly. In the sixth, McArthur tallied another RBI with a run-scoring single into right to make it 5-2. Valdez then added on with an RBI groundout to extend Joliet's lead to four. Valdez tacked on another in the eighth, marking his fourth RBI of the day as the Slammers extended their lead to 7-2. The Slammers' offensive clinic was capped with a three-run homer by Warkentin in the ninth that made it 11-3. RHP Dwayne Marshall earned the win for Joliet while RHP Carter Poiry took the loss.
The Slammers will play their final series of the season at home against the Lake Erie Crushers, beginning on Friday night at 6:35 PM CDT. The Y'alls will travel to play the Gateway Grizzlies on Friday at 6:30 PM CDT.
WILD THINGS TAKE SERIES IN CRESTWOOD
CRESTWOOD, IL - The Washington Wild Things defeated the Windy City ThunderBolts 3-1 on Thursday night to win the series at Ozinga Field.
The Wild Things (65-27) will head into the final weekend with a possibility of tying the Frontier League single-season wins record. DH Jake Washer got his first hit as a member of the Wild Things in the third inning when he launched a solo homer over the left field fence to give Washington a 1-0 lead. The ThunderBolts (38-56) evened the score in the fourth with an RBI single. Washer struck again in the seventh inning with a two-run homer to put the Wild Things back on top 3-1. RHP Gyeongju Kim then closed things out in the ninth for his 27th save of the season. RHP Zach Kirby picked up the win after allowing just one run across six innings. RHP Will Armbruester took the loss for Windy City.
The Wild Things will finish up their regular season at home with a series against the Schaumburg Boomers. The first game of the series will be on Friday at 7:05 PM EDT. The ThunderBolts will conclude their season with a two-game weekend series against the Evansville Otters, beginning on Friday at 6:35 PM CDT.
KNOCKOUTS OUTLAST CAPITALES TO SPOIL POTENTIAL SWEEP
QUÉBEC CITY - The New England Knockouts beat the Québec Capitales 4-3 to salvage the series finale at Stade Canac on Thursday night.
The Knockouts (37-54) used a big fourth inning to defeat the Capitales (63-30), despite being outhit 7-6. CF Austin White began the scoring in the third inning with an RBI single through the right side to put New England on top 1-0. The Knckouts then were gifted a second run on a wild pitch. C John Cristino and 2B Jake Boone then notched back-to-back RBI hits to double New England's lead up to four. Québec made things interesting in the fifth, scoring three runs to come to within one. However, the Capitales could not find a way to score the tying run, despite having multiple men on base in two of the final three innings. RHP Reeves Martin closed things out in the ninth by setting the Capitales down in order to pick up his ninth save of the season. RHP Michael Quigley earned the win while LHP Harley Gollert took the loss.
The Knockouts will finish up their season with a weekend series against the New York Boulders, beginning on Friday at 7:00 PM EDT. The Capitales will play their final regular season series in Ottawa against the Titans, beginning on Friday at 6:30 PM EDT.
AIGLES CRUSH MINERS
TROIS-RIVIÈRES - The Trois-Rivières outclassed the Sussex County Miners with an 11-2 victory at Stade Quillorama on Thursday night.
The Aigles (43-49) avoided the sweep behind 11 runs on 14 hits against Sussex County (32-61) in the finale. Trois-Rivières got out to a great start, grabbing a 2-0 lead on a two-run double from 1B Dalton Combs. DH Raphael Gladu and RF Steve Brown both added on to make it 4-0 in the opening frame. The Miners brought in a pair of runs in the top of the second, but the Aigles were able to blunt their impact with a sacrifice fly from SS James Smibert. Trois-Rivières blew things open with a five-run fourth inning, highlighted by two-run hits from both Gladu and C Parker Rowland. Gladu capped his big day with a sacrifice fly in the fifth that made it 11-2 Trois-Rivières. Sussex County struggled, only tallying one hit in the final seven innings and not scoring a run. RHP Alex Mack was credited with the win for the Aigles while RHP Tyler Thornton took the loss.
The Aigles will finish their season at home with a weekend series against the New Jersey Jackals. First pitch for Friday's opener will be at 7:05 PM EDT. The Miners will host the Tri-City ValleyCats on Friday at 7:05 PM to begin their final regular season series.
