Sports stats



FL New England Knockouts

Knockouts' Lead Thumped by Ottawa's Nine-Run Surge

June 26, 2024 - Frontier League (FL)
New England Knockouts News Release


OTTAWA, CA. - Ottawa used a nine-run fourth inning to comeback from 8-0 to defeat New England 9-8 in the 6 th inning due to rain on Wednesday night at Ottawa Stadium. The Titans improved to 22-17 in the season, while the Knockouts dropped to 12-28.

In a closely contested game, both starting pitchers ended up with a no-decision. Ottawa's starting pitcher, Matt Voelker, pitched for three innings and allowed six hits and three earned runs while striking out four batters. Shane Gray earned the win by pitching 2.1 innings in relief, during which he allowed six hits, five earned runs, and walked a batter while striking out several others.

New England's starting pitcher, Matt Cronin, pitched 3.1 innings, giving up eight earned runs on six hits. In addition, he walked six batters and struck out three. Luke Williamson took the loss as he pitched 0.1 innings in relief, allowing one hit, one run, and walking a batter.

In the opening inning, Ottawa's Jackie Urbaez began with a base hit to center field for a single. However, Urbaez was later caught stealing at second base, resulting in the second out of the inning. Despite this, A.J. Wright walked and Jake Guenther hit a single to right field, placing Titans' players on the corners and raising hopes for a successful inning. Unfortunately, the inning ended as Jamey Smart struck out swinging.

The Knockouts scored three runs on five hits in the third inning. Despite Voelker securing the first two outs, John Cristino and Tommy Kretzler both hit for a base hit, putting New England in a promising position with two runners on base and two outs. Brady West, Jalen Garcia, and Ramon Jimenez delivered an RBI single. The inning concluded with Nolan Lucier striking out while two runners were left on base.

New England put on an impressive display, scoring five runs on six hits in the fourth. With runners positioned on the corners and only one out, Cristino stepped up and delivered a two-run double to left field, extending their lead to 5-0. Kretzler then followed with an RBI double to the same side of the field, bringing Cristino home and widening the gap to 6-0. Garcia wasn't far behind, adding another run with an RBI single to left field. The momentum continued as the Knockouts secured one more run in the inning when Lucier connected with an RBI base hit.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Knockouts had an 8-0 lead, which gradually slipped away as the Titans managed to score nine runs on five hits. The momentum shifted when Cronin delivered two consecutive walks, followed by Fuhrman's single to center field, loading the bases with nobody out. Jason Dicochea walked to force home a run, and later in the inning, Tyler Wright added another run on a fielder's choice. Brendan O'Donnell capitalized on having two runners in scoring position and hit a base hit to drive home another run. This narrowed the Knockouts' lead to five, with the score at 8-3. Urbaez got hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Christian Ibarra delivered an RBI single. A.J. Wright then delivered a two-run single that ultimately knocked Cronin out of the game. Ottawa found themselves trailing by two, with the score at 8-6, before Smart completed the comeback with a two-run single to right field, tying the game at 8-8. Finally, Fuhrman put the Titans ahead with a sacrifice fly to Austin White in center field.

Ottawa had all the bases occupied in the bottom of the fifth when Smart struck out swinging, ending the opportunity to build on their lead. As the top of the sixth inning began, with one out, the rain started to pour, causing both teams to halt the game and not resume play.

Ottawa's Urbaez was the only Titans player to record multiple hits, while six different Titans players each recorded at least one hit. On the other side, four different New England players achieved a multi-hit game, while four others recorded just a single hit.

New England will finish their road trip tomorrow night, playing the Ottawa Titans in the final game of their series. They are back at Campanelli Stadium next Friday, hosting Trois-Rivieres in a weekend matinee. Tickets for the weekend can be found at https://tickets.knockoutsbaseball.com/.

Check out the New England Knockouts Statistics

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

Frontier League Stories from June 26, 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.

OurSports Central