FL Tri-City ValleyCats

Small Ball Leads to Series Sweep

July 30, 2023 - Frontier League (FL)
Tri-City ValleyCats News Release


AVON, OH - The Tri-City ValleyCats (42-24) received five excellent frames from Dwayne Marshall in his first relief appearance of the year, and defeated the Lake Erie Crushers (27-39) 9-5 on Sunday at Mercy Health Stadium. The ValleyCats registered their fourth sweep of the 2023 campaign, and extended their season-high win streak to seven games.

Tri-City opened the scoring for the fourth consecutive game. Cito Culver singled off Jonaiker Villalobos in the first, and Jakob Goldfarb followed suit with an RBI double to give the ValleyCats a 1-0 lead.

Lake Erie retaliated in the bottom of the first. Garrison Bryant issued back-to-back walks to Jiandido Tromp and Zach Racusin. Jack Harris knotted the game at 1-1 with an RBI double.

The Crushers took the lead in the second. Josh Rego singled, and went to second after Scout Knotts walked. Tromp singled in a run to pull Lake Erie ahead, 2-1.

The Crushers tacked on a run in the third. Jack Harris tripled, and came around on a groundout from Kemuel Thomas-Rivera to put Lake Erie on top, 3-1.

Tri-City struck back in the fourth. Ian Walters and Lamar Briggs singled. Tanner Smith laid down a sac bunt as both runners advanced 90 feet. Jaxon Hallmark lifted a sac fly to cut the deficit to 3-2.

The Crushers extended their lead back to two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Rego singled and stole second. Scout Knotts grounded out to short, and Rego went to third. Tromp cashed in with his second RBI with a single to make it a 4-2 ballgame.

Bryant was handed a no-decision. He tossed four frames, allowing four runs on six hits, walking three, and striking out four.

Villalobos also received a no-decision. He threw 4.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits, walking four, and striking out four.

The ValleyCats stormed back in the seventh. Goldfarb greeted Darrien Ragins with a double. Juan Kelly had a bunt single to put runners at the corners. Walters walked to load the bases. Lamar Briggs had an RBI sac fly. Hallmark walked to put a runner at every square base. Oscar Campos pinch-hit for Cale Jones, and laced a two-run single to give the 'Cats a 6-4 lead.

Tri-City added some insurance in the eighth. Culver and Goldfarb led off the inning with back-to-back singles against Perry Bewley. The two baserunners advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch. Kelly collected his second RBI of the day with a single. Walters lined out, and Thomas-Rivera tried to double up Kelly, but threw the ball away, allowing Culver to score, and make it a 9-4 affair.

Lake Erie responded in the bottom of the eighth. Marshall retired the first 10 batters he faced before Harris hit a double. Thomas-Rivera then singled to trim the deficit to 9-5. The earned run ended a stretch of 27.1 scoreless innings from the bullpen, dating back to the seventh inning on July 23 - the start of the win streak.

Marshall (7-2), a starter in his first 12 outings of the season for Tri-City, would go on to finish the game, and earn the win. He hurled five frames, yielding one run on three hits, walking one, and striking out two.

Ragins (2-4) was handed the loss. He went an inning, giving up three runs on three hits, walking two, and striking out one.

Tri City has a day off tomorrow before taking on the Empire State Greys on Tuesday, August 1 at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM.

FINAL | TRI-CITY 9 | LAKE ERIE 5

W: Dwayne Marshall (7-2)

L: Darrien Ragins (2-4)

Time of Game: 2:42

Attendance: 1,743

Check out the Tri-City ValleyCats Statistics



Frontier League Stories from July 30, 2023


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