FL Recap

Sports stats



FL Frontier League

FL Recap

August 31, 2024 - Frontier League (FL) News Release


TRI-CITY CLINCHES PLAYOFF SPOT

AUGUSTA, NJ - The Tri-City ValleyCats defeated the Sussex County Miners 9-6 on Friday night to punch their ticket to the 2024 Frontier League Playoffs.

Although the seeding is yet to be finalized in the Frontier League East Division, the ValleyCats (52-40) can sleep easier knowing that they will be playing into September. The Miners (32-62) got out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI single. Tri-City managed to tie the game in the second, thanks to an error by the Sussex County center fielder. The ValleyCats then took the lead in the fourth after a sacrifice fly and a balk brought in a pair of runs. C Oscar Campos gave Tri-City its first big hit of the day when he launched a two-run homer over the left field wall to put his side up 5-1 in the top of the sixth. The Miners answered back with two runs in the bottom half, but the 'Cats answered with another pair of runs in the seventh. In the eighth, CF Jaxon Hallmark put the game out of reach with a two-run double that made it 9-3 Tri-City. The Miners fought back, scoring three in the home half of the eighth but their comeback effort fell short. RHP Easton Klein earned the win for the ValleyCats while RHP Zeke Wood picked up the save, his sixth of the year. RHP Jimmy Boyce took the loss for Sussex County.

The series will continue on Saturday at 6:35 PM EDT as Tri-City looks to lock up the top wild card spot with a win.

CRUSHERS TAKE DOWN JOLIET IN EXTRAS

JOLIET, IL - The Lake Erie Crushers picked up a massive 4-2 win in 10 innings over the Joliet Slammers at Duly Health & Care Field on Friday night.

The win keeps the Crushers (50-43) half a game behind Schaumburg for the final playoff spot in the Frontier League West with just two games to go. Lake Erie began the scoring in the third inning with an RBI single from SS Jarrod Watkins. The Slammers came back to tie the game at 1-1 in the fourth, but the Crushers took the lead right back in the fifth with another RBI single, this time off the bat of 3B Logan Thomason. Joliet brought the game back to even with a solo homer in the seventh. The game drifted into extra innings, where the Crushers grabbed a 4-2 lead off RF Jake Guenther's two-run double. RHP Trevor Kuncl then shut the Slammers down in the bottom half, capping off a two-inning relief appearance with a win. RHP Greyson Linderman took the loss.

The Crushers will continue their crucial late-season series on Saturday at 6:05 PM CDT.

BOULDERS STAY ALIVE WITH WIN OVER NEW ENGLAND

PONOMA, NY - The New York Boulders kept their playoff hopes alive with an 8-7 victory over the New England Knockouts at Clover Stadium on Friday night.

New York (51-43) has won its last four games and now sits just a half-game back from the final playoff spot in the East. The Knockouts (37-55) jumped out in front 2-0 in the first inning with a two-run homer. DH Christian Ficca and 3B Thomas Walraven smacked back-to-back RBI singles in the bottom half to bring the game back to even. In the third, LF Steve Barmakian put the Boulders in front with a two-run blast to right-center. The Knockouts kept pace with a solo homer in the fifth, shaving New York's lead down to one. The Boulders then scored in the fifth and sixth to push their lead out to three, but the Knockouts hit two two-run home runs to retake the lead at 7-6. Ficca and Walraven teamed up again in the seventh to drive in a pair of runs to put New York back in front. RHP Colton Easterwood and RHP Dylan Smith then combined for two scoreless innings to close the game out, with Smith earning the save with three punchouts in the ninth. RHP Tyler Vail earned the win for New York while RHP Brendan Bell took the loss.

The Boulders will continue their fight for the playoffs on Saturday when they play New England at 6:30 PM EDT.

BOOMERS PICK UP MASSIVE WIN IN WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON, PA - The Schaumburg Boomers came from behind to defeat the Washington Wild Things 3-2 on Friday night at Wild Things Park.

The Boomers (51-43) battled back from being down 2-0 early to win a massively important series opener in Washington (65-28). The Wild Things got things rolling early, picking up the game's first run in the first inning off of an RBI double. Washington then added on in the second with a solo homer to go up by two. DH Anthony Calarco brought Schaumburg back to life in the seventh inning with a game-tying two-run homer to right. In the ninth, the Boomers were gifted the lead after a wild pitch allowed the go-ahead run to score and make it 3-2. RHP Dylan Stutsman entered the game in the ninth and closed the game out by striking out the side. RHP Dallas Woolfork grabbed the win in relief for the Boomers while LHP Ryan Munoz took the loss.

The Boomers and Wild Things will continue their series on Saturday at 7:05 PM EDT.

CAPITALES HAND TITANS FOURTH STRAIGHT LOSS

OTTAWA - The Québec Capitales took down the Ottawa Titans 8-5 at Titan Stadium in the series opener on Friday night.

The Capitales (64-30) tallied 14 hits to run the Titans (51-42) out of their home ballpark, pushing them to the brink of elimination from playoff contention. Ottawa grabbed the initial 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI single up the middle. Québec responded in the third inning with an RBI double from RF Marc-Antoine Lebreux that tied the game at one apiece. CF Jonathan Lacroix followed with an RBI infield single that gave the Capitales the lead. LF Justin Gideon homered to lead off the fourth and extend the lead to 3-1; Lebreux and Lacroix came through later in the inning and combined to drive in another three runs and push the lead to five. The Titans showed some fight, trimming the lead down to one after a pair of runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings, but a two-run double from C Ruben Castro in the ninth provided the insurance that Québec needed to close the game out. RHP Ryan Sandberg earned the win for the Capitales while RHP Frank Moscatiello picked up the save. RHP Shane Gray suffered the loss for Ottawa.

The Capitales and Titans will play the middle game of their series on Saturday. First pitch will be at 6:00 PM EDT.

Y'ALLS TALLY 10 HITS IN SERIES-OPENER VS. GATEWAY

SAUGET, IL - The Florence Y'alls beat the Gateway Grizzlies 4-2 on Friday night to kick off their final regular season series at Grizzlies Ballpark.

The Y'alls (44-49) outhit the Grizzlies (57-36) 10-5 and scored four runs in a row to grab the opener in southern Illinois. The Grizzlies got their first hit in the fourth inning, a solo home run, which gave them a 1-0 lead. Florence came back in the fifth, tying the game with an RBI single from 2B Justin Lavey and then taking the lead on a two-run base hit from 3B Brian Fuentes. DH Dalton Davis then gave the Y'alls a three-run lead with a solo homer in the sixth. Gateway took a run back with a solo homer in the seventh, but could not put together any significant offense in the late innings, eventually falling 4-2. RHP Hunter Mink earned the win while RHP Matt Fernandez picked up a three-inning save. RHP Teague Conrad took the loss for the Grizzlies.

The series will continue on Saturday at 6:30 PM CDT.

BOLTS HOLD ON TO BEAT EVANSVILLE

CRESTWOOD, IL - The Windy City ThunderBolts prevailed in their series opener against the Evansville Otters 5-3.

The ThunderBolts (39-56) were outhit by the Otters (41-54) 11-7 but built a significant lead early that they rode to victory at Ozinga Field. SS Henry Kusiak put Windy City on top with an RBI single in the first inning. LF Robert Chayka made it 3-0 two batters later with a two-run double down the left field line. DH Christian Kuzemka extended the ThunderBolts' lead to four with an RBI double in the fourth; Kusiak added on later in the inning with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0. The Otters made a comeback attempt in the eighth, scoring three runs but the Bolts were able to maintain the lead and close the game out in the ninth. RHP Buddie Pindel was excellent for Windy City, striking out nine across seven scoreless frames for the win. RHP Tyler LaPorte picked up the save with a scoreless ninth, his 13th of the season. RHP Zach Smith took the loss for Evansville.

The ThunderBolts and Otters will play their final game of the season on Saturday at 6:05 PM CDT.

AIGLES DOMINATE JACKALS IN SERIES OPENER

TROIS-RIVIÈRES - The Trois-Rivières Aigles crushed the New Jersey Jackals 10-3 in the series opener at Stade Quillorama on Friday night.

The Aigles (44-49) and Jackals (33-61) combined for 28 hits, with Trois-Rivières holding the 16-12 advantage. 1B Brendon Dadson and RF Raphael Gladu both notched RBI singles in the first inning to put the Aigles on top 2-0. DH LP Pelletier and C Willie Estrada kicked off the scoring in the second inning with back-to-back RBI base hits. Trois-Rivières capped the inning with a sacrifice fly followed by a two-run single from 2B Rodrigo Ozorco to make it 7-0. The Jackals scored a run in the third, but the Aigles took it right back in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Pelletier. The Jackals put another pair of runs on the board in the sixth with a two-run homer. The Aigles responded with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half and then scored again in the seventh on an RBI single from RF Steve Brown to put the game out of reach. RHP Tucker Smith got the winning decision for Trois-Rivières while LHP Alex Barker took the loss.

The Aigles and Jackals will continue their series on Saturday at 6:05 PM EDT.

Check out the Frontier League Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Frontier League message board...

Frontier League Stories from August 31, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central