Frontier League Recap

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Frontier League Recap

July 20, 2024 - Frontier League (FL) News Release


Joliet Slammers pitcher Zac Westcott
Joliet Slammers pitcher Zac Westcott
(Joliet Slammers)

SLAMMERS BLANK BOLTS, ZAC WESTCOTT NOW ALL-TIME LEADER

JOLIET, IL - The Joliet Slammers won their series opener 1-0 over the Windy City ThunderBolts behind seven shutout innings from Zac Westcott.

Westcott's 52nd career win gave him the record for most career pitching wins in Frontier League history, surpassing Aaron Ledbetter who set the mark in 2008. Westcott takes the record after becoming the all-time league leader in strikeouts earlier this season. The Slammers (27-31) scored the only run of the game in the third inning, an RBI single of the bat of 1B Matthew Warkentin. The ThunderBolts (21-38) kept things close, but Westcott would not be denied as he went for seven frames while only allowing two hits before handing it off to the Joliet bullpen. RHP Jacob Morin picked up the save with a strikeout in the ninth, giving Westcott and the Slammers the win. RHP Will Armbruester was solid but ended up taking the loss, despite only allowing one run across six innings.

The Slammers and Bolts will continue their series on Saturday at Duly Health & Care Field. First pitch for the middle game is scheduled for 7:05 PM EDT.

OTTERS WALK OFF WILD THINGS

EVANSVILLE, IN - The Evansville Otters beat the Washington Wild Things 3-2 in walk-off fashion on Friday night, sending Bosse Field into a frenzy with a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th.

Pavin Parks, who has made appearances both as a position player and as a relief pitcher, was the hero for Evansville (22-36) as he had the final swing to take down the first-place Wild Things (38-19) in extra innings. Washington got off to a fast start, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with an RBI single. Evansville was quiet until the eighth, tying things up on a sacrifice fly from LF Mason White. With the game at a 1-1 standstill after nine, fans in Evansville were treated to some free baseball. Washington was able to bring in the go-ahead run in the top half, putting all the pressure on the Otters to come from behind to continue the game. Parks crushed the first pitch he saw in the 10th over the right field fence, giving the Otters the win on his fourth big fly of the year. RHP Jon Beymer earned the win in relief while RHP Gyeongju Kim took the loss.

The Otters will attempt to win the series on Saturday when they take on the Wild Things at 7:35 PM EDT for game two.

TITANS HOMER THRICE IN BLOWOUT OF MINERS

AUGUSTA, NJ - The Ottawa Titans blasted three homers in an 11-3 victory over the Sussex County Miners at Skylands Stadium on Friday night.

The Titans (33-23) inched a little closer to the top spot in the Frontier League East division after their win over the Miners (21-37) and are now just three games back. Ottawa began the game loudly, with 2B Jackie Urbaez leading the Titan first off with a solo shot. The offense continued to roll from there, with Ottawa scoring nine runs across the next three innings. The Titans were able to carry their 10-0 lead into the seventh before Sussex County managed to scratch across two runs. CF Taylor Wright took a run back with a solo home run in the eighth, marking his third of the season. The Miners produced one more run in the ninth, but could not close the gap. RHP Shane Gray got the win for Ottawa while RHP Tyler Thornton took the loss.

The Titans and Miners will play the middle game of their weekend series on Saturday at 6:35 PM EDT.

TRI-CITY LIMITS CAPITALES TO FOUR HITS

QUÉBEC CITY - The Tri-City ValleyCats shut down the Québec Capitales in a 4-1 Friday night victory at Stade Canac.

The ValleyCats (31-27) kept the first-place Capitales (37-21) quiet for the most part, surrendering only four hits and a single run. Tri-City lept out in front in the first inning, scoring three runs on RBI singles from DH Oscar Campos, 1B Ryan Cash, and C Chris Burgess. The ValleyCats were able to hold Québec in check, allowing one hit before the seventh inning. The Capitales were able to break through after the stretch, plating one run to cut their deficit down to two. However, a wild pitch allowed another Tri-City run in the ninth, and RHP Austin Dill was able to get the Capitales 1-2-3 in the ninth to end the game. Dill's save came from 2.1 innings of work allowing only one hit while RHP Easton Klein earned the win in relief. LHP Harley Gollert took the loss for Québec.

The ValleyCats and Capitales will play the middle game of their series on Saturday, with Tri-City looking for the series win. First pitch is at 7:05 PM EDT.

Y'ALLS DOUBLE UP CRUSHERS

AVON, OH - The Florence Y'alls showed little rust coming out of the All-Star break, as they took down the Lake Erie Crushers 6-3 on Saturday.

It didn't take long for the Y'alls (24-33) to showcase their All-Stars after the break, with RF Hank Zeisler and C Sergio Gutierrez combining for four hits and five RBIs against Lake Erie (37-21). Florence was able to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning with an RBI single from DH Langston Ginder. The stars showed up in the third, with Zeisler singling home a run before Gutierrez broke the game open with a three-run blast to right. Gutierrez stayed hot for the Y'alls, driving in another run in the fifth with an RBI base hit that made it 6-0. The Crushers were able to put together some offense late, cutting the lead down to three with two runs in the eighth, but unceremoniously went 1-2-3 to end the game in the ninth. RHP Reed Smith earned the win for Florence, striking out eight across six innings. RHP Cameron Pferrer picked up his first save of the season. RHP Pedro Echemendia took the loss for Lake Erie.

The Y'alls will try to take the series on Saturday when they play their second game of the series at Crusher Stadium at 7:05 PM EDT.

AIGLES TAKE OPENER OVER BOULDERS

TROIS-RIVIÈRES - The Trois-Rivières Aigles earned the 6-3 series-opening victory over the New York Boulders at Stade Quillorama on Friday night.

The Aigles (32-25) are now two games back from the Boulders (34-23), who sit in second place in the East. CF Raphael Gladu put Trois-Rivières up 1-0 in the first with a solo home run, followed soon after by DH Payton Robertson's two-run triple. The Aigles and Boulders then traded runs in the fourth before New York was able to cut their deficit to 4-2 with a solo homer in the fifth. The Aigles were able to bring in two more runs in the seventh to put themselves up by four, proving to be too much for the Boulders to come back against. RHP Tucker Smith earned his fifth win of the season after allowing only two runs across seven innings. RHP Yunior Thibo picked up the save while RHP Brandon Backman took the loss for New York.

The Aigles and Boulders will play the middle game of their series on Saturday, with the first pitch being thrown at 6:05 PM EDT.

MILEY STRIKES OUT SEVEN AS GRIZZLIES BEAT BOOMERS

SCHAUMBURG, IL - The Gateway Grizzlies took the series opener on the road against the Schaumburg Boomers by a final score of 6-3 on Friday night.

The Grizzlies (33-24) took control of the game with five runs in the third inning while RHP Deylen Miley added to his league lead with seven strikeouts in five innings. C Jose Alvarez kicked off the scoring for Gateway in the third with a three-run blast to left-center. CF Edwin Mateo and 3B DJ Stewart then brought in runs with their respective base hits later in the inning to make it 5-0. The Boomers (32-26) managed to fight back, getting two in the fifth and another in the seventh to make it 5-3 headed into the late stages of the game. The Grizzlies did not relent as DH Peter Zimmermann blasted a solo home run to put the game out of reach in the eighth. Miley picked up his sixth win of the season while LHP Leoni De La Cruz earned the save. RHP Aaron Glickstein took the loss for Schaumburg. The Grizzlies now have a half-game lead over the Boomers for the final playoff spot in the West.

Gateway and Schaumburg will play the middle game of their series at Wintrust Stadium on Saturday at 7:30 PM EDT.

JACKALS SCORE FIVE IN THE FIRST TO BURY KNOCKOUTS

PATERSON, NJ - The New Jersey Jackals blasted the New England Knockouts 9-2 at Hinchcliffe Stadium on Friday night.

The Jackals (18-39) scored five runs in the bottom of the first to take charge of the game. 3B Miguel Gomez plated the game's first run on an RBI single in the first; the Jackals then loaded the bases on a walk and another base hit to set up SS Fritz Genther with only one out. Genther, on the second pitch of his at-bat, crushed the second New Jersey grand slam of the season to put the Jackals up 5-0. The offense continued to hum for the Jackals, scoring a run in each of the following three innings to push their lead up to 8-0. The Knockouts (20-37) allowed another run to cross on a bases-loaded walk in the seventh to increase their deficit to nine. New England was able to generate some offense in the eighth but ultimately came up short. RHP Jalon Tyson-Long picked up his fourth win of the season behind six shutout innings while RHP Neil Uskali took the loss for the Knockouts.

The Jackals will attempt to take the series on Saturday when they face the Knockouts for game two at 6:05 PM EDT.

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Joliet Slammers pitcher Zac Westcott
Joliet Slammers pitcher Zac Westcott
   

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Frontier League Stories from July 20, 2024


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