New England's Defensive Woes Not Enough; Drop Game Two

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FL New England Knockouts

New England's Defensive Woes Not Enough; Drop Game Two

June 29, 2024 - Frontier League (FL)
New England Knockouts News Release


BROCKTON, MA.- Dalton Combs went 3 for 5 with three RBIs to give Trois-Rivieres a 6-1 victory over New England on Saturday night at Campanelli Stadium. The Aigles boosted their record to 24-18 in the season while the Knockouts dropped to 12-31.

Prior to the game Jerod Edmondson gave an update on Casey Bargo, who left the game last night with an injury in the third inning. "He saw the doctors today and he doesn't have any structural damage or anything. He is just going to go to the DL, probably miss a start and just re-evaluate like a week and just kind of see how he is feeling." He also added "He has forearm tightness a little bit in his upper biceps, so is just long bus trips and get out here and little ripped and it was little chilly. He is going to be fine."

Trevor Anibal spoke about making his professional debut last night. "It has been my dream since I was a little kid - since I was playing in little league to play professional baseball. Obviously, a lot of hard work goes into that and it feels good to play professionally. Now the work starts, we have to start winning games and maybe moving on to next levels."

Trois-Rivieres starting pitcher Jesen Therrien delivered a solid performance. Securing his fourth win of the season (4-2) by pitching seven innings, allowing only three hits and one unearned run. He also walked a batter and struck out six. New England's Neil Uskali took the first loss of the season (0-1). after pitching six innings, giving up three earned runs while allowing eight hits and walking a batter.

L.P. Pelletier began the game with a base hit to right field, and Raphael Gladu followed with a well-placed single on a hit and run, putting Trois-Rivieres with two runners on and nobody out. However, Uskali managed to retire the next three batters, leaving two Trois-Rivieres runners stranded on base.

In the bottom half of the inning, New England Austin White led off with a solid double down the third base line. With one out, John Cristino hit a fly ball to center field, allowing White to advance to third base. Unfortunately, the inning ended when Tommy Kretzler struck out swinging.

Trois-Rivieres in the top of the second Brendon Dadson received a walk to lead off the inning and then advanced to second on a ground out. Rodrigo Orozco stepped up and singled to center field, putting Aigles in a strong position with runners on the corners. Later, Estrada reached on a fielder's choice, allowing the first run of the game to be scored.

The Knockouts in the bottom of the inning were able to tie the game at one run apiece. Jalen Garcia singled to center field, and then managed to steal second, putting him in a great position to score. Keagan Calero reached first base due to an error by the pitcher, Therrien. New England had runners on the corners, and Calero took advantage of the opportunity by stealing second and then advancing to third. However, Garcia was declared out at home, marking the second out for the team. Despite this setback, Calero seized the moment and scored on a wild pitch, evening up the score at one apiece.

Trois-Rivières added another run to their score in the third. It all began when Gladu initiated the inning with a base hit, followed by a stolen base and advancing to third on a ground out. He successfully scored a run due to an error by the Knockouts catcher, Cristino, allowing the Aigles to once again take the lead with a score of 2-1. The momentum continued when Steve Brown stepped up and hit a double down the left field line with two outs. However, the inning came to a close as Dadson flew out to Garcia.

In the fifth inning, Usakali started off strong by getting the first two outs quickly. However, he faced trouble when Luis Curbelo hit a triple to left center field, allowing Aigles to take a 3-1 lead. This was followed by Combs hitting an RBI single to bring home the third run of the game. The inning concluded with Coombs being caught stealing.

Willie Estrada drew a walk in the top of the seventh and L.P. Pelletier hit a single to right field with two outs. Curbelo then singled to left field, loading the bases. Combs stepped up to the plate and delivered a clutch two-run single, extending the Aigles' lead to 5-1. The Aigles added one more in the ninth when Curbelo flew to left fielder Garcia for a sacrifice fly.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, with just one out, John Cristino hit a double to right field. A few batters later, Garcia was hit by a pitch and then stole second base, putting two runners in scoring position for the Knockouts. However, the excitement was short-lived as Brady West struck out swinging, ending the game.

Gladu stood out as the top performer for Trois-Rivières with an impressive three hits. Additionally, four different Aigles players had multiple hits, and Brown also contributed with a hit. Austin White was the standout player for the Knockouts, recording multiple hits. Garcia and Cristino also recorded hits during the game.

The Knockouts are back at Campanelli Stadium tomorrow afternoon, hosting Trois-Rivieres in the final game of their weekend series. Tickets for the weekend can be found at https://tickets.knockoutsbaseball.com/.

Check out the New England Knockouts Statistics

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Frontier League Stories from June 29, 2024


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