FL Joliet Slammers

Ricca's Grand Slam Leads Tully Monsters to 8-4 Win over Deep Dish

August 16, 2020 - Frontier League (FL)
Joliet Slammers News Release


JOLIET, IL - The Joliet Tully Monsters soundly defeated the Chicago Deep Dish by a score of 8-4 in Sunday's 2020 City of Champions Cup matchup. The contest featured plenty of offense as both teams combined for 17 hits, including three home runs.

Half of the Tully Monsters' eight runs came courtesy of one swing by designated hitter Caleb Ricca. After the Tully Monsters worked three consecutive walks to lead off the sixth inning, Ricca blasted a towering grand slam for his first homer of the summer. Ricca was 2-for-3 with a walk in the game, boosting his team-leading batting average to .436.

Catcher Nick Meyer, shortstop Tyler Depreta-Johnson and center fielder Alex McKenna also contributed offensively in the Tully Monsters' win. Meyer was 2-for-4 with an RBI double and two runs scored, and Depreta-Johnson was 2-for-4 with a run scored. McKenna recorded two RBIs of his own with a third-inning double to deep center field.

Deep Dish catcher Erik Ostberg had a tremendous day at the plate despite the loss. He hit two solo homers- one in the fourth inning and one in the eighth. Ostberg also singled, stole a base and scored a run in the first inning, making him 3-for-4 on the day with a walk.

Third baseman David Kyriacou displayed a great effort at the dish in the loss, too, going 3-for-3 with a walk, RBI and run scored. He raised his team-leading batting average to .476.

Righthander Tyler Jones posted a quality start for the Tully Monsters, pitching six innings and allowing three runs. He gave up six hits and walked three batters, striking out two to earn his first win of the City of Champions Cup.

Relievers Robert Milacki, Kyle Johnson and Tom Caulfield combined for three innings of one-run ball on the mound to close out the Tully Monsters victory, with the lone run coming as a result of an Ostberg dinger off of Johnson in the eighth.

Deep Dish starter Austin Shea pitched five innings, allowing five hits and one walk. He struck out three and gave up four runs, although only three were earned. Shea was tagged with the loss.

With the win, the second-place Tully Monsters improved to 10-4 on the season. Meanwhile, the third-place Deep Dish dropped to 7-11 with the loss. The Deep Dish hope to get back into the win column on Thursday night against the NERDS Herd, while the Tully Monsters will play the Joliet Slammers Tuesday night in their next City of Champions Cup game.

Game Recap:

Runs Hits Errors Left on Base

Joliet Tully Monsters 8 7 0 8

Chicago Deep Dish 4 10 2 9

WP - Tyler Jones (1-1)

LP - Austin Shea (4-2)

Today's Merchants and Manufacturers Bank Player of the Game: Caleb Ricca (2-3, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB)

Check out the Joliet Slammers Statistics



Frontier League Stories from August 16, 2020


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