TITANS RIDE EARLY HOME RUN TO DIVISION SERIES BERTH
WRITTEN BY: MIKE GUISTOLISE
TROY, NY - The Ottawa Titans ended the Tri-City ValleyCats' season by taking Tuesday's Wild Card Game at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium by a final score of 5-2.
The Titans relied on timely hitting and excellent pitching to propel them to the divisional round, beginning with a first-inning three-run bomb from third baseman AJ Wright.
The ValleyCats got themselves on the board in the first after catcher Oscar Campos reached on an error while simultaneously bringing home a run.
Left-hander Tyler Jandron settled in after giving up the first-inning mishap to Campos, not giving up an extra-base hit until the fifth inning. Righty West Albert also overcame his early struggles to keep the ValleyCats in the game from the mound, tossing 3.2 scoreless innings before the wheels fell off again for Tri-City in the fifth.
Albert was able to make it through one out in the fifth before back-to-back base hits saw his day come to an end after 4.1 innings. Right-hander Arlo Marynczak took over and looked good to start, getting the second out of the inning via the fly ball. With Ottawa left fielder Lamar Briggs with two down, Marynczak chucked a wild pitch that trailed all the way to the backstop, allowing catcher Michael Fuhrman to score while second baseman Jackie Urbaez advanced to second base. Briggs then laced a base hit up the middle to score Urbaez and put the Titans up 5-1.
Center fielder Jaxon Hallmark helped the 'Cats regroup with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the fifth, but Jandron was able to suppress the comeback by setting down the next nine hitters before being pulled in the seventh in favor of left-hander Jake Dixon.
Dixon continued to do great work from the bump for Ottawa, only allowing one baserunner in the eighth on a hit-by-pitch. He was left out there in the ninth to finish out the game, quickly registering the first two outs with a fly ball and a punchout. Ryan Cash was called upon to pinch hit with two outs and kept the game alive with a line-drive base hit to left. Dixon dismissed the runner on first to focus on the man at the plate in second baseman Elvis Peralta Jr.
After getting his opposition down 1-2, Dixon clipped the outside corner with a fastball to strike Peralta out looking and send the Titans to the East Division Series. Jandron earned the win after giving up only two through seven innings while Dixon picked up the save after getting the final six outs. Albert took the loss for Tri-City.
The Titans are now set up to host the Québec Capitales for the first game in the divisional round on Thursday at 6:30 PM EDT at Titan Stadium.
