Frontier League: Game Recaps, Notes, News & Transactions — June 1, 2021

Just finished listening to the intro to the latest “Talkin’ Baseball” podcast while making my morning coffee at 5:15 am and Jake was on fiiiiirrre! It pumped me big time and man do we have some great baseball to talk about down here, because the Frontier League is giving us the action we craved and my smile goes for miles! (does that even make sense?)

Some really big things are brewing and it’s hard not to talk about it. What I can discuss, however, are the two “Game Talk” video segments I’ll be presenting today! The first one, right during your lunch break, will be with the Windy City Thunderbolts catcher Rob Calabrese, who’s just on fire to start the season, just as his team is.

The second interview, at the beginning of the afternoon, will be with Mr. Riley Krane, only the Player of the Week in the Frontier League! I told him to dress pretty, so let’s see what he comes up with.

To familiarize yourself with these quasi-daily segments, about 10–15 minutes long, head over to our Frontier League Journal YouTube Channel.

Until then, if you haven’t already, please check out my first weekly column, “The Frontier League Beat”, that also includes the Frontier League Power Rankings that we will produce each week. In the article, I talk about the roster rules for the league and what my take on it is after close to 3 months covering the circuit like a madman.

NEWS

The Frontier League named its Player and Pitcher of the week, yesterday:

Player of the Week — Riley Krane

The Evansville Otters press release was full of cool notes I can’t come close to match (except that they don’t mention is outstanding 1.765 OPS. Some small towns around the country wish they had that number!), so here is the best part:

Pointstreak, the official statistical provider of the Frontier League and the Independent Professional Baseball Federation, chooses the weekly award.

In earning the award, Krane went 6 for 11 at the plate in the Frontier League’s Opening Weekend, a .545 batting average.The first baseman also scored five runs, but his biggest game came in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader against Equipe Quebec.

Krane had two home runs, one being an inside-the-park home run, with five RBIs. Krane is in his first season with the Otters. This is the first Frontier League individual honor of the 2021 season for the Otters.

This season is Krane’s fourth overall in the Frontier League. The Evergreen, Co. native previously spent time with the Joliet Slammers and the Windy City Thunderbolts. Krane takes home the award for the first time since he won it back in 2019 with the Joliet Slammers.

As I mention earlier, watch out for my video interview with Krane at the beginning of the afternoon.

Pitcher of the Week — Tyler Thornton

From the Frontier League site:

In his first start of the season, Thornton pitched seven scoreless innings, registering twelve strikeouts in the ThunderBolts’ Opening Day win against Joliet. He gave up only two walks and four hits in the start as well. Thornton has also previously won the award for Frontier League Pitcher of the Week with the ThunderBolts in 2019.

Tyler Thornton is in his third season in the Frontier League, having played for Windy City in 2019, and Traverse City in 2018. He is currently tied for the league lead in strikeouts and ERA through the opening week of the season.

TRANSACTIONS

NEW JERSEY JACKALS

May 31: Sold the contract of RHP Hayden Shenefield to the Cincinnati Reds. Congrats, my man! Wow, not even a pitch for the Jackals in 2021 and the Reds were impressed. Three seasons of Summer League and Frontier League and sweet ratios to offer: 8.8 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and 0.5 HR/9.

STANDINGS

GAME RECAPS and NOTES

Gateway news release: SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — The Grizzlies entered the top of the 9th inning at WinTrust Field trailing the Boomers 5–2. Earlier in the game, Gateway had trailed 4–0. However, a three run explosion forced extras and the Grizzlies tacked on one more to earn a 6–5 victory over the Boomers in 10 innings.

It was Schaumburg that got the ball rolling first. Gian Martellini smacked a two-run single in the 2nd and Quincy Nieporte did the same in the 3rd. DH Andres Regnault finally found the board for Gateway in the 7th, towering a solo homer to the kids zone beyond the left field wall.

Following a tit-for-tat in the eight, it was 5–2 heading into the 9th. After a Jose Reyes walk and a Jay Prather ground-rule double put runners on second and third, Abdiel Diaz and Jose Rosario hit back-to-back RBI groundouts to cut the deficit to 5–4.

Chase Vallot and Axel Johnson then drew walks to put runners back on first and second with two outs. Then, Nick Rotola hit a grounder that bounced of pitcher Stephen Chamblee. Schaumburg SS Matt McGarry barehanded the ricochet and then one-hopped a throw into the stands, allowing the tying run to come home automatically.

A quick bottom of the 9th turned into extras. With Justin Jones as the runner on second to start, Connor Owings launched his first hit of the series to right field for a decisive RBI double.

Gateway RHP Geoffrey Bramblett (1–0) tossed two innings of scoreless, one-hit ball in the 9th and 10th to earn his first win of 2021. Schaumburg RHP Stephen Chamblee (0–1), who entered in the 9th and surrendered the tying and go-ahead runs, took the loss.

The Grizzlies have a day off tomorrow before beginning an eight-game homestand. The first matchup is a two-game series against the Windy City Thunderbolts beginning Wednesday. First pitch is set for 6:45 p.m. and you can listen live on YO Radio starting with the Budweiser Pregame Show at 6:30 p.m.

Frontier League Journal Game Notes:

• I watched that game in its entirety and, before we talk baseball, let me tell you that I really enjoyed the Tim Calderwood broadcast on Schaumburg’s side. Great voice, passionate about the league (even after 13 years in it), interactive with the fans on Twitter. Great job!
• The Grizzlies veteran Jose Rosario was in the middle of the action with his three singles on the day and he’s getting hot! The team offense looked anemic once again for most of the game and something clicked at the end. To their defense, they ran into a hot pitching staff, which we’ll talk in a few seconds.
• The visitors starter, Aaron Ford, looked stronger as the game went along, even danced a little while coming off the mound and getting to the dugout, loved it. Kudos to the bullpen who held off a good Boomers offense by going 5.1 innings, allowing three hits, 1 ER, 4 BB and striking out 5. They needed it, as the unit has the worst ERA in the league so far (5.71).
• Grizzlies CF Nick Rotola continued his torrid pace, now a 5-game hitting streak,with two singles. He is now the proud owner of a 1.186 OPS in 2021.
• Boomers starter Aaron Rozek deserves a better fate after going very strong for 6.2 innings: 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB and 10 K. Closer Jake Joyce, as I discussed in the game notes yesterday, made things interesting by walking 3 batters, a modus operandi we have to get used to, just because these weak moments are also subsided by pure domination. In his case, both go together and Schaumburg fans know it all too well.
• I’m begging you: if you have the time, watch an Alec Craig at-bat! The Boomers outfielder is a master at the top of the lineup, hitting 2 singles again and drawing a walk. His batting average stands at .273, but he gets on base at a .579 clip.

Game 1 of the Doubleheader

Game 2 of the Doubleheader

Sussex County news release: MINERS PITCHING OUTDUELS VALLEYCATS ARMS

May 31, Augusta, NJ — The Sussex County Miners rode stellar pitching in both games on Memorial Day afternoon in winning both games of a doubleheader against the visiting Tri-City ValleyCats by scores of 2–0 and 3–1 in front of 1,566 fans at Skylands Stadium.

In the first game, the Miners sent Billy Layne, Jr. to the mound. The Seton Hall product got himself out of a 1st inning, bases loaded jam and then proceeded to set down 12 of the final 14 batters he faced in his 5 innings of work, striking out 6 ValleyCats in the process. Layne did not allow a run, and surrendered only 2 hits while walking 3 in the contest.

That was enough to let the Miners bats — and legs — to give Billy the necessary offense. Trey Hair walked, then went to 3rd on a well executed hit-and-run by Martin Figueroa. With runners on the corners, the Miners attempted a double steal. Figueroa was thrown out at second, but Hair crossed the plate with the first Miners run. A Cito Culver RBI single in the 4th, knocking in Figueroa, would be all the offense the Miners would need in game 1.

Gavin Sonnier would come on in the 6th inning and pitch 2 perfect innings in relief, retiring all 6 ValleyCats he faced, to pick up his 1st professional save. Gavin struck 2 batters on of the 6 that he faced.

In game 2, the ValleyCats would scratch a run out off of Miners starter Alexander Vargas on a single and 3 walks. But just when the trouble seemed at it highest, Vargas snared a line drive and turned a double play to shift momentum. That lineout would start a streak of 11 batters retired in a row by Vargas, that stretched to his final inning in the 5th. Vargas would finish with jsut 1 run allowed on 2 hits. The 3 walks in the first were his only 3 on the afternoon, and Alexander also struck out 3 batters.

Again, it would be the Miners legs that manufactured the runs in the nightcap. Figueroa singled to start the 5th inning, and he would advance to 2nd on a balk. John Jones sacrificed Figueroa over to 3rd, where he would score on a Culver sacrifice fly. Daniel Herrera would later single, steal 2nd base for his 4th steal of the season, then score on a pair of wild pitches. Then, in the 6th, Hair would get hit by a pitch, steal 2nd and 3rd bases, then score when Culver would reach on a fielding error.

Michael Mediavilla would strikeout 3 straight batters after allowing a single in the 6th, then Jalen Miller, Sr. would retire the ValleyCats in order in the 7th, fanning 2 more Cats in the process, to notch his 1st save as a Miner.

The Miners return to action tomorrow night when they begin a 3-game series against their in-state rivals, the New Jersey Jackals. Game time for all 3 games is set for 7:05 pm.

Frontier League Journal Game Notes:

• The runs and hits were scarce in these two contests, no batter hitting two times in safe territory in the same game!
• The Miners stole 7 bases during the day (also caught three times), while the ValleyCats stole none.
• Both teams were able to ride their starters and use a minimum of pitchers during the day. Only the Miners used three pitchers in one game (the second)
• The second game only took 1h48 to play! Granted, it was only 7 innings, but when you compare the 4 hours the Grizzlies vs Boomers took to complete…

Game 1 of the Doubleheader

Game 2 of the Doubleheader

New York news release:

BOULDERS, JACKALS SPLIT HOLIDAY DOUBLEHEADER

The New York Boulders gave T.J. Stanton his first win as manager of the Frontier League team with a 4–3 win in the first game of a doubleheader against the New Jersey Jackals in Montclair before the home team rallied for a 3–2 eight-inning victory in the nightcap on Memorial Day.

The Boulders took the opener, 4–3, as a relievers James Mulry, Orsen Josephina and Tanner Kiest combined to close out the game with 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Kiest picked up the save by striking out all four Jackals he faced.

The Boulders scored all of their runs in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Phil Capra was hit by a pitch to force in Ray Ramiz with New York’s first run. Milton Smith followed with an infield single behind second base that plated Jack Sundberg and Ray Hernandez and gave the Boulders a 3–2 advantage.

Tucker Nathans’ looping liner found the grass in right field for a single that scored Capra and gave New York a 4–2 lead.

New Jersey threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth when, with one run in, they loaded the bases with two outs. However, Mulry came on and struck out T.J. Ward to end the inning.

The Jackals had taken a 2–0 lead in the second inning on an RBI double by Stanley Espinal and a run-scoring groundout by Ward.

New York ran wild on the bases in the first game, setting a team record with nine stolen bases, three by Nathans.

Mike Pascoe got the win for the Boulders, while Chase Ingram took the loss for New Jersey.

In the second game, New York trailed 1–0 in the seventh inning when Austin Dennis lined a two-out hit to left field off of Jackals’ closer Dylan Brammer to score Hernandez and tie the game.

In the top of the eighth, the Boulders grabbed a 2–1 advantage on a sacrifice fly by Kevonte Mitchell that plated Smith.

However, the Jackals answered in their half of the frame. With the bases loaded, Espinal drew a walk off losing pitcher Luke Burton before Dalton Combs blooped a single to left that scored Russ Olive with the winning run.

The second game was an old-fashioned pitcher’s dual between starters Ben Strahm of New York and the Jackals’ Spencer Hereford.

Strahm went 4 2/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits, while Hereford tossed five scoreless, four-hit frames.

A Nico Toni run-scoring groundout had given New Jersey a 1–0 lead in the second inning.

Brammer picked up the win in the second game.

Frontier League Journal Game Notes:

• So weird to analyze their games after so much of them were postponed, feels like I don’t know the players as much. I’ll make sure and watch both games today to get acquainted with their strengths and weaknesses.
• For the Boulders, INF Jack Sundberg picked up three singles for the day, as did DH Ryan Ramiz, but he also added a walk to his productive doubleheader.
• Check this out: the Boulders ran wild on Jackals catcher Jason Agresti in the first game, stealing 9 bases! Tucker Nathans picked up 3 and the speedster Milton Smith, 2. Both, but especially the latter, I’m eager to see a full game of, since he looks very dynamic from the 2 innings I watched yesterday and the stats that just don’t lie. They also drew 8 BB in that game, 4 on starter Chase Ingram and 4 on reliever Sam Mercedes. The Jackals are second to last in BB/9 this season at 4.9.
• Jackals 1B Dalton Combs had some fun with four hits, one double, two walks and two stolen bases. He took his OPS from .250 to .917 in just a few hours. I. Love. Baseball.

Washington news release: AVON, Ohio (May 31) — Memorial Day saw a rubber game played between the Lake Erie Crushers and the Washington Wild Things at Mercy Health Stadium and by the end of it, it was the Wild Things picking up a series win with a 7–1 victory behind a great first professional start for Ryan Hennen, four solid innings from Michael Austin and a wakening of the bats.

Hennen threw 67 pitches in five innings of one-run, one-hit ball. Of those 67 pitches, 56 were stikes. Hennen fanned eight batters including six of the first seven he faced in the start. The only hit he allowed was a solo shot to Lake Erie catcher Bryan DeLaRosa in the second. Michael Austin worked the final four innings scoreless to earn a four-inning save.

The Washington bats came alive to the tune of 12 hits and seven runs, with the scoring beginning in the first inning. Bralin Jackson singled home Derek Reddy, who had his third-straight multi-hit game, then John Sansone lifted a sac fly that plated Cody Erickson. In the second, Jackson singled home Reddy again before Erickson scored for a second time on a single by Grant Heyman, who had three hits including a triple in the win. Washington added a run on a Sansone single in the fifth before Hector Roa doubled home Heyman in the seventh and scored himself on a Trevor Casanova RBI single.

The Wild Things will have Tuesday off before heading to Florence for a doubleheader Wednesday that begins at 5:07 p.m. That series and the road trip wraps with a 6:34 p.m. first pitch Thursday.

Frontier League Journal Notes:

• Wild Things lead off hitter Derek Reddy has yet to hit an extra-base hit, but he gets on base 43.5% of the time and makes things happen.
• WT OF Grant Heyman has a hit in every game so far and a 1.205 OPS to show for it (2 doubles, a triple and a homer).
• Lake Erie really needs to get going, producing an average of 2.75 runs per game so far, with a .539 OPS.
• Only 952 persons were on hand to see the game, a bit surprising considering it was Memorial Day and sunny.
• Lake Erie produced their first HR of the season and C Bryan De La Rosa was the one to do it:

• Check out what the Wild Things putout after the game, deserves a mention:

Southern Illinois news release (a bit weird that Florence doesn’t produce theirs): The Southern Illinois Miners held a 4–2 lead in the eighth inning on Monday at Florence, but again could not hold it, allowing single runs in the eighth and ninth before the Y’Alls scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th and swept the series with a 5–4 result at Y’Alls Ballpark.

Tyler Brown got the start for the Miners, and Florence got the initial lead on a two-run single by Harrison DiNicola in the bottom of the second inning at 2–0. Southern Illinois responded in a big way by sending eight hitters to the plate in the top of the fourth, scoring four times in the frame. Nolan Earley slammed a solo home run to begin the scoring and make it 2–1 Florence, which kicked off a string of seven straight Miners to reach base safely. Jarrod Watkins tied the game on an RBI single at 2–2, and a wild pitch to Ryan Stacy scored Luke Mangieri from third to make it 3–2 Miners, with a two-out RBI single by Spencer Henn then stretching the lead to 4–2.

The Miners’ bullpen would hold the lead for the next five innings. Stevie Ledesma sparkled with three and one-third scoreless frames in his season debut, and Ryan Miller got him out of a two-runners-on, one-out jam in the seventh.

But Florence came back again. Trevor Craport’s solo home run in the bottom of the eighth off Joey Pulido made it a 4–3 game, and Kyle Hinton walked the leadoff batter in the ninth, leading to a game-tying rally. DiNicola, who reached on the walk, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a fielder’s choice by Will Baker to make it 4–4. Hinton struck out two in the frame to keep it tied, but the Miners failed to score the international tiebreaker run in the top of the tenth, and Chad Sedio led off the bottom half with a walk-off single, dealing the Miners another tough loss, their second in walk-off fashion in the series and third in their opponent’s last turn at-bat.

The Miners now return to Marion tomorrow to kick off a six-game homestand at Rent One Park. They will play their 2021 home opener on Tuesday, June 1, at 7:05 p.m. against Équipe Québec. Zac Westcott will pitch for the Miners against Équipe Québec’s Nick Economos.

Frontier League Journal Game Notes:

• An incredibly entertaining and tight game again by both teams and the Y’alls are now 5–0 to begin the season.
• Florence stole another 4 bags and are now sole leader of the league with 14 in 2021. OF Will Baker leads he team with 3, but the cool thing is exactly it: everybody’s running and taking care of business.
• Y’alls INF Chad Sedio has a hit in every game, including three doubles and now has a .381 average. C/3B/OF Trevor Craport hit a homer to bring his OPS to 1.341, second on the team to Harrison DiNicola’s 1.363!
• As always, here is the Game Report for the Florence Y’alls pitchers by their own Pitching Strategist, Chad Rhoades:

Evansville news release: The Evansville Otters won their home-opening series Monday 5–2 against Equipe Quebec, improving their record to 3–1 on the young season.

The Otters took the rubber match playing across town at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium on the campus of the University of Evansville.

Monday marked the first win for the Otters at home in Evansville that was not hosted at Bosse Field.

Dakota Phillips got the offense rolling with a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the second inning. He would go on to reach base two more times with a single and a walk.

The Otters added to their lead in the bottom of the third, as Bryce Denton doubled home Miles Gordon for his sixth RBI of the season.

With a 3–0 lead, Evansville scored their final tallies in the fourth, after back-to-back, two-out RBI singles from Miles Gordon and Andy DeJesus.

On the mound for the Otters, Marty Anderson earned the win after going five innings while allowing three hits, two walks, but no runs after striking out three.

Equipe Quebec scored their two runs in the top of the eighth, as Jeffry Parra singled home two runs with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. Their momentum was held off with Abraham Almonte coming in out of the bullpen to get out of the jam.

Logan Sawyer pitched a scoreless ninth, earning his second save of the season following his first on Saturday night.

The Evansville Otters continue their 2021 campaign and begin a three-game home series against the Lake Erie Crushes on Tuesday night. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m.

Tuesday night is Taco Tuesday at Bosse Field. The night will feature tacos, nachos, a taco food truck, frozen margaritas, and more.

Frontier League Journal Game Notes:

• ÉQ 2B David Glaude is off to a torrid start with the bat: .294/.400/.706. His double was the lone extra-base hit of the night for the visitors.
• ÉQ C Jeffry Parra’s bat his also carrying the team so far, hitting for a 1.353 OPS.
• The Evansville offense is by far the most productive in this young season with an average of 7 runs a game and second in OPS with .827. Riley Krane, John Schultz, Dakota Phillips and Andy DeJesus all have an OPS over .900. They also have the third best team ERA at 2.81.
• Chris Austin, a fan of the Frontier League and our coverage, was at the game: