TITANS CLAIM FINAL PLAYOFF SPOT IN THE EAST, BOULDERS ELIMINATED - FRONTIER DAILY ROUNDUP
WRITTEN BY: MIKE GUISTOLISE
TITANS WALK OFF CAPITALES TO CLAIM FINAL PLAYOFF SPOT
OTTAWA - The Ottawa Titans clinched a spot in the Frontier League Playoffs with a 2-1 win over the Québec Capitales at Titan Stadium on Saturday night.
The Titans (52-42) grabbed the final postseason spot in the Frontier League East Division after their win and New York's loss. 3B Christian Ibarra got Ottawa on the board first in the second inning with an RBI single up the middle. The Capitales (64-31) tied things up at 1-1 in the seventh with an RBI single of their own. The two sides then exchanged zeroes through the eighth and ninth, forcing the contest to be settled in extra innings. LHP Jake Dixon picked off the ghost runner at second for the first out in the 10th and then sat down the only two batters he faced to give Ottawa a chance to walk Québec off. 2B Jackie Urbaez moved the runner to third on a sacrifice bunt to start the 10th, leaving it up to SS Aaron Castillas to try and finish things off. The Titans' shortstop came through with a single into center field that brought home the winning run. Dixon was credited with the win after working 3.2 scoreless innings in relief. RHP Nick Trabacchi took the loss for Québec.
The Titans will conclude their regular season campaign on Sunday at 1:00 PM EDT, with hopes of securing the top seed in the Wild Card round with a win.
GRIZZLIES SCORE 10 UNANSWERED RUNS, CAP COMEBACK WITH WALK-OFF OF FLORENCE
SAUGET, IL - The Gateway Grizzlies completed their largest comeback of the season to walk off the Florence Y'alls 11-10 at Grizzlies Ballpark on Saturday.
Down at one point 10-1, the Grizzlies (58-36) rattled off 10 unanswered runs, capping the night with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth. The Y'alls (44-50) got out in front with a two-run homer in the top of the first inning. 3B DJ Stewart gave Gateway its first run on a fielder's choice in the bottom half. Florence then proceeded to bury the Grizzlies, getting another two-run homer in the second before rattling off six in the fourth to make it 10-1. RF Dale Thomas began Gateway's comeback with an RBI double in the home half of the fourth to cut the deficit down to eight. Stewart then drove in another run in the fifth and later was brought around to score himself on an RBI single from SS Abdiel Diaz. Stewart came through again in the sixth, capping off a three-run frame with a two-run base hit to bring the Grizzlies to within two. CF Cole Brannen made things even more interesting with a two-run homer in the seventh to tie the game. In the bottom of the ninth, 2B Gabe Holt drove in the winning run with an RBI single to cap off Gateway's most impressive win of the 2024 campaign. RHP Alec Whaley earned the win in relief while RHP Ross Thompson took the loss.
The Grizzlies will attempt to close out their regular season with a series win on Sunday. First pitch for the series finale will be at 6:05 PM CDT.
CRUSHERS BEAT DOWN SLAMMERS TO TIE FOR PLAYOFF SPOT
JOLIET, IL - The Lake Erie Crushers smashed the Joliet Slammers 11-5 on Saturday night to even the series.
The win ties Lake Erie (51-43) for the final playoff spot in the Frontier League West Division going into the final day of the regular season. The Crushers got off to a hot start, registering three hits and three runs in the first inning to take the lead. The Slammers (37-58) got a run back via a solo home run in the bottom half. The Crushers then added on two more in the third on an error by the Joliet pitcher, followed by an RBI single from RF Jake Guenther. A wild pitch gifted the Crushers another run in the third, making it 7-1. CF Jack Harris snuck a two-run home run over the short porch in right in the fifth to put the Crushers up by eight. DH Vincent Byrd Jr. brought in another run on an RBI single in the sixth to make it 10-1. The Slammers got a pair of runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings, but the offense sputtered in the late innings and Lake Erie walked away with a crucial late-season win. RHP Matt Mulhearn earned the win while RHP Zac Westcott took the loss.
The Crushers will end their regular season on Sunday in the series finale against the Slammers at 6:05 PM CDT.
BOLTS END SEASON WITH SHUTOUT OF EVANSVILLE
CRESTWOOD, IL - The Windy City ThunderBolts brought their season to a close with a 6-0 shutout of the Evansville Otters on Saturday night.
The ThunderBolts (40-56) kept the Otters (41-55) to no runs of seven hits, bookending their season with a win at Ozinga Field against Evansville. SS Henry Kusiak and C Tyler Sandoval got the ThunderBolts on the board with RBI singles in the first inning. Sandoval was then part of a double steal that scored another run to make it 3-0. 1B Joe Johnson gave Windy City another run in the third with an RBI base hit to extend its lead to four. Sandoval and Johnson then both brought in runs in the fifth to bring the score up to 6-0. The Otters struggled on offense, only nothing two extra-base hits while striking out 13 times as a team. RHP Ruddy Gomez completed his rookie season by tossing six shutout innings with eight strikeouts for the win. RHP Casey Delgado took the loss for the Otters.
NEW ENGLAND KNOCKS BOULDERS OUT OF PLAYOFF RACE
PONOMA, NY - The New England Knockouts took down the New York Boulders 9-3 on Saturday night at Clover Stadium.
New England's (38-55) win mathematically eliminated the Boulders (51-44) from playoff contention, which shocked many as New York ruled the East Division for the majority of the first half of the season. The Boulders ended the scoreless tie in the bottom of the first with a pair of RBI hits to go up 2-0. The Knockouts were gifted their first run in the third inning with a fielding error on the New York third baseman. 1B Jack-Thomas Wold took advantage of the mistake and launched a two-run homer in the next at-bat to put New England up by one. The Boulders clawed their back, tying the game with an RBI double in the seventh, but New England grabbed all of the momentum back in the eighth with a two-run inside-the-park home run by C John Cristino. CF Austin White and Wold both hit two-run homers in the ninth to put the Knockouts up by six and put the game out of reach. RHP Dan Goggin earned the win in relief for New England while RHP Colton Easterwood got tagged with the loss out of the New York bullpen.
Both teams will end their season in a series finale on Sunday. First pitch will be at 6:00 PM EDT.
MINERS EVEN SERIES WITH VALLEYCATS
AUGUSTA, NJ - The Sussex County Miners won the middle game of their series against the Tri-City ValleyCats at Skylands Stadium by a final score of 7-4.
Despite being outhit 14-6, the Miners (33-62) found a way to prevent Tri-City (52-41) from securing the top seed in the East Division Wild Card. The ValleyCats established a lead early, beginning with two RBI base hits in the first inning. They doubled their lead with another pair of RBI hits in the fifth to make it 4-0. Sussex County got on the board in the bottom of the fifth with a bases-loaded walk. In the sixth, LF Evan Sleight brought the Miners a run closer with an RBI groundout. C Gehrig Ebel then repeated the effort to the same result in the following at bat, cutting the score to 4-3. 2B Matt Rodriguez then brought in the tying run, thanks to an error by the Tri-City second baseman. SS Cory Acton gave the Miners the lead in the seventh with an RBI single into center field; 1B Evan Giordano then added some insurance with a two-run double to make it 7-4. The ValleyCats went down without a whimper in the final two innings, ending the game by rolling a 4-6-3 double play. RHP Matt Stil earned the win in relief while RHP Robbie Hitt earned the save. RHP Connor Wilford took the loss.
The ValleyCats and Miners will play their final regular season game on Sunday at 6:35 PM EDT
