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July 28, 2024 - Frontier League (FL) News Release


PHILLIPS, OTTERS WALK OFF CRUSHERS TO TAKE SERIES

EVANSVILLE, IN - The Evansville Otters walked off the Lake Erie Crushers 5-4 on Saturday night at Bosse Field to take the series.

Despite being outhit 14-9, the Otters (26-40) were able to defeat the Crushers (38-27) in walk-off fashion and take a series from one of the top teams in the Frontier League West division. The game began slowly, with neither side able to produce any runs until the fifth inning when the Crushers took a 1-0 lead with a solo home run. They then built on their advantage in the sixth, pushing it to 3-0. 1B Dakota Phillips broke the scoring seal for Evansville in the sixth inning, getting his team on the board with an RBI single. After a wild pitch brought in another Otter run in the seventh, DH Randy Bednar put his side out in front with a two-run single. Lake Erie was able to knot things up in the eighth, forcing the Otters to have to walk them off if they wanted the victory. With one out in the ninth, Phillips came through with a base hit into left-center, bringing home the winning run and earning the series victory for Evansville. RHP Michael McAvene got the win in relief for the Otters while RHP Trevor Kuncl suffered his third loss of the season.

The Otters will go for the sweep in the Sunday finale. First pitch is at 6:05 PM EDT.

SLAMMERS SNAP SKID WITH 20-RUN OUTBURST

CRESTWOOD, IL - The Joliet Slammers buried the Windy City ThunderBolts 20-10 on Saturday, evening the series at Ozinga Field.

The Slammers (28-37) were able to put a stop to their six-game losing streak with an offensive outburst in the second inning. Joliet brought 20 men to the plate and produced 14 runs in the second frame, tied for the second most in a single inning in Frontier League history, and they did so with only seven base hits. The Bolts (27-39) could not find their footing after that, despite outscoring the Slammers 10-6 in the following innings. The game came to an unceremonious end in the ninth, as 3B Emmanuel Sanchez brought home two runs to cut the deficit back down to 10, but was thrown out trying to stretch his single into a double. LHP Zach Grace earned the win in relief while RHP Jacob Newman took the loss.

The Slammers and the ThunderBolts will play a rubber game on Sunday afternoon to determine the series victor. First pitch is at 2:05 PM EDT.

Y'ALLS WALK OFF MINERS AFTER NEAR-COLLAPSE

FLORENCE, KY - The Florence Y'alls used a walk-off double to take down the Sussex County Miners 11-10 in 10 innings on Saturday night.

The Y'alls (31-34) were in complete control of this game...until they weren't. Florence had managed to build a 7-1 lead through the first six innings and looked like it was going to stroll fairly easily to yet another series win. The bats were hot: CJ TJ Reeves and C Sergio Gutierrez both had home runs while 3B Brian Fuentes had two RBIs from a base hit in the fifth. Things started to unwind in the seventh, as Sussex County (23-41) blasted two home runs with men on base to shrink the lead down to two. In the ninth, another three-run home run put the Miners on top 9-7, forcing the Y'alls to have to make a comeback or take the loss. Fuentes and Reeves were able to produce the tying runs and push the game into the 10th. The Miners continued to put pressure on Florence, scoring the go-ahead run in the top of the frame. Fuentes, however, proved to be the hero as he laced a double into the left-center field to bring in two runs and end the game. The Y'alls' third baseman ended with five RBIs and gave his squad their third consecutive series win. RHP Ross Thompson was giving the win while RHP Billy Parsons took the loss.

The Y'alls have now set themselves up for another series sweep on Sunday. The finale at Thomas More Stadium will begin at 5:07 PM EDT.

WILD THINGS EVEN SERIES BEHIND MORE FABULOUS PITCHING

WASHINGTON, PA - The Washington Wild Things defeated the New York Boulders 6-2 on Saturday at Wild Things Park to even the series.

Washington (42-22) once again rode its pitching staff to a dominant win, allowing New York (38-26) only two hits. The bottom of the first could not have gone much better for the Wild Things, as they got back-to-back-to-back home runs from LF Wagner Lagrange, DH Tyreque Reed, and 1B Andrew Czech to take a 3-0 lead. The Boulders got back to within one after an error in the fifth gifted them a run. Lagrange worked the lead back out to three in the fifth as he drove in a couple with a double into right field. New York then gifted Washington a run on a balk later in the inning, making it 6-2. The Wild Thing bullpen did not allow a hit in the last two innings, only surrendering one baserunner on a walk. RHP Malik Barrington earned his fifth win of the season behind an excellent start, allowing only two hits across seven innings in his start while racking up nine punchouts. LHP Mitchell Senger took the loss for New York.

With the series tied, the Wild Things and the Boulders will play a rubber match on Sunday to determine the winner. First pitch is at 5:35 PM EDT.

GATEWAY GETS EVEN, DOUBLES UP BOOMERS

SAUGET, IL - The Gateway Grizzlies evened their series with the Schaumburg Boomers at Grizzlies Ballpark on Saturday, winning the middle game 8-4.

The Grizzlies (38-26) have now overtaken Lake Erie for second place in the West, and are 7-3 over their last 10 games. Gateway got off to a hot start, taking a 3-0 lead on the strength of a two-run double from SS Abdiel Diaz in the second inning. 2B Gabe Holt kept things rolling in the fourth, adding another run on a base hit up the middle. Schaumburg (34-31) fought back in the middle innings, tying the game at 4-4 in the seventh. The Grizzlies responded with a four-run outburst in the bottom of the seventh, taking the lead back at 8-4. The Gateway bullpen closed things out in the last two innings, notching four strikeouts in the process. RHP Alec Whaley got the win in relief for the Grizzlies while RHP Hambleton Oliver took the loss.

The Grizzlies will attempt to win the series in the rubber game on Sunday. First pitch is at 6:30 PM EDT.

CAPITALES SCORE TWICE LATE TO TOPPLE AIGLES

QUÉBEC CITY - The Québec Capitales took the lead late to defeat the Trois-Rivières Aigles 3-2 at Stade Canac on Saturday.

The win for the Capitales (42-23) evens the series at one game apiece. Trois-Rivières took the lead early in the first inning on a sacrifice bunt. DH Justin Gideon got Québec back into the game in the third with a game-tying single towards the third base side. The Aigles swiped the lead back in the fourth, jumping out 2-1 with a sacrifice fly. The Capitales were shut down until the eighth when LF Tommy Seidl broke through with a solo homer to tie the game. Later in the inning, 2B Jesmuel Valentin gave Québec their first lead with a two-out RBI single to the right side. RHP Frank Moscatiello was able to close things out for the Capitales to register his 10th save of the season. LHP Ryo Kohigashi earned the win in relief for Québec while RHP Kosei Naito took the loss.

With the series tied, the Capitales and Aigles will play a rubber game on Sunday. First pitch from Stade Canac will be at 5:05 PM EDT.

TITANS STAVE OFF TRI-CITY'S COMEBACK

OTTAWA - The Ottawa Titans escaped with a 6-5 win over the Tri-City ValleyCats at Titan Stadium on Saturday night.

The Titans (37-26) nearly fell apart in the top of the ninth inning, allowing the ValleyCats (35-30) to score three runs and advance the tying run to third base before finally closing things out. Tri-City took the initial lead in the first, plating two runs on three base hits to begin the game. Ottawa responded in the second, tying the game on a two-run double from SS Aaron Casillas. DH Lamar Briggs broke the tie in the sixth, giving the Titans a 3-2 lead with an RBI single into left-center; Casillas added on with a two-run triple down the line in right to push the lead to 5-2. Casillas stayed hot in the eighth, bringing home another run to push the Ottawa lead to four. The ValleyCats refused to back down in the ninth, scoring two on a base hit and getting to within one after a passed ball. With the tying run standing on third, RHP Erasmo Pinales was able to close things out with a strikeout, giving the Titans the victory. Pinales earned his 17th save of the year, which is tops in the Frontier League. LHP Matt Voelker was given the win in relief while RHP Wes Albert took the loss.

The Titans are now in a position to sweep their division rivals on Sunday. The series finale at Titan Stadium will begin at 1:00 PM EDT.

KNOCKOUTS FLIP THE SCRIPT, PUT UP SEVEN ON JACKALS

BROCKTON, MA - The New England Knockouts took down the New Jersey Jackals 7-2 to even the series on Saturday night.

After being tagged for seven runs in the opener on Friday, the Knockouts (21-41) turned things around on the Jackals (21-43) and posted seven runs of their own in the victory. New England was in control from the second inning on, grabbing a 2-0 lead on RBI singles from 1B Ramon Jimenez and 3B Luis Atiles. CF Austin White then added on in the fourth with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 3-0. New Jersey cut the deficit down to one in the fifth with a two-run homer, but RF Keagan Calero pushed the lead back out to three with a two-run single in the sixth. Calero later came around to score on an error, making it 6-2 Knockouts. Atiles put the finishing touches on the scoring in the seventh, bringing home a run on a fielder's choice. LHP Kyle Petri earned the win out of the bullpen for New England while RHP Danny Vazquez took the loss.

The Knockouts and Jackals will play a rubber game on Sunday to determine the series winner. First pitch from Campanelli Stadium will be at 1:00 PM EDT.

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