Frontier League Game Recaps, Notes, News & Transactions — June 6, 2021

Sitting here this morning at the cabin in St-Adalbert, QC, I can’t even begin to mention once again (I know, I say it a lot, but I mean it) how great it is to witness the great baseball the Frontier League is offering to start the season.

Some things were predictable, others not, but it’s clear that this afternoon’s slate of games has the potential to be epic!

My view while writing all these words and analyzing every game…

The ballpark we pass by every time to and from the cabin. Just an absolute beauty hidden in a little town, Saint-Cyrille-de-Lessard.

NEWS

• Deputy Commissioner Steve Tahsler was at Skylands Stadium (S.C. Miners), yesterday, and he was on the air with broadcaster Bret Leuthner, but unfortunately I missed that portion of the game. I wanted to transcribe the conversation, but even this morning I can’t access the replay of the game. A bit frustrating, but not a problem the world can’t handle.
• Équipe Québec announced yesterday that they have signed Dominican RHP Yordy Cabrera, a converted infielder that was a second-round pick of the A’s in 2010. In 61.1 IP at the AA level with the Dodgers, the 30-year-old has ratios of 7.8 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and 0.3 HR/9. He’ll be making his first start on Wednesday against the Sussex County Miners.

TRANSACTIONS

ÉQUIPE QUÉBEC

June 5: Activated C/INF Ruben Castro from the inactive list. With C/DH Jeffry Parra currently destroying the ball, they’ll have an amazing combo behind the plate and Castro can play 2B to keep his bat in the lineup.

June 5: Released RHP Austin Hutchison.

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS MINERS

June 5: Released INF Spencer Henn. Henn played 4 games for the Miners and hit .250. With the arrival of SI Salukis teammates Ian Walters and Nick Neville, something had to give on the roster.

SUSSEX COUNTY MINERS

June 5: Signed INF Joey Rose, a former 5th round pick of the Diamondbacks that never truly panned in affiliated ball. He can play the infield corners and bats from the right side of the plate.

STANDINGS

GAME RECAPS and NOTES

Schaumburg news release:

BOOMERS HOMER PAST OTTERS

SCHAUMBURG, IL — The Schaumburg Boomers erupted for a season high 16 hits, connecting on four homers in a 13–2 win over the Evansville Otters on Saturday night.

Luke Becker connected on the first long one of the night in the bottom of the second with two outs, a solo shot to open the scoring. Chase Dawson throttled a three-run homer with two outs in the third to extend the lead to 4–0. Quincy Nieporte’s second homer in as many nights brought home Dawson in the fifth and the Boomers went on to score five runs and open a 9–0 edge. Evansville scored single runs in the sixth and eighth but Angelo Gumbs doubled home a pair with two outs in the bottom of the inning before Becker nailed his second home of the night, a two-run shot to cap the scoring.

Aaron Rozek was the beneficiary of the run support on the mound. The lefty allowed just an unearned run in seven innings of work, striking out eight to grab his first win of the year. The pitching staff struck out 12 in the game with Darrell Thompson punctuating the win by striking out the side in the ninth. Becker finished with three hits, three runs scored and four RBIs. Gumbs also tallied three hits, doubling twice while scoring twice and driving home two. Matt McGarry, Dawson and Brett Milazzo all notched two hits as all nine members of the lineup reached base. Becker notched the first multi-homer game of the year. The Boomers logged three multi-homer games in 2019. The four homers in the game matched the fifth most in team history.

The Boomers (4–5) conclude the series with Evansville on Sunday by hosting a doubleheader at 5:00 p.m. on Game Show Night. RHP Ryan Middendorf (0–1, 2.57) is scheduled to take the ball for the Boomers in the first contest.

Frontier League Journal Notes:

• With his 3-for-4 night (all singles), OF Elijah MacNamee now has a five-game hitting streak and a .346 batting average on the season (.840 OPS). 1B Riley Krane had two singles of his own and he now sports a .313 avg and .926 OPS.
• Boomers left-handed starter Aaron Rozek is having himself a great start to the 2021 season: 13.2 IP, 13 H, 1 ER, 1 BB and 18 K.
• The Schaumburg pitching staff can attribute some of its success to the fact that they don’t allow a lot of free passes. They are tied for second in the league with 3.0.
• Everybody in the Boomers lineup got on base. Only leadoff man Alec Craig did not register a hit, but walked. In 27 AB, Quincy Nieporte is batting .407 and has yet to strike out. Quite a feat for a power hitter.

Sussex County news release:

MINERS WIN THRILLER OVER NEW YORK

RALLY FROM FIVE RUN DEFICIT TO PUSH WIN STREAK TO SIX GAMES

June 5, Augusta, NJ — Trailing by five runs heading at the 7th inning stretch, the Sussex County Miners (6–1) rallied in thrilling fashion to defeat the New York Boulders (4–5) by a final score of 7–6 in front of 1,682 fans at Skylands Stadium on Saturday night. With the win, the Miners now have won six consecutive games.

The Boulders built their lead with a run in the first on a throwing error, then three consecutive doubles off of Miners starter Billy Layne, Jr. that pushed the lead to 3–1, and then a two run 6th inning expanded the visitors edge to 5–1 through six. Layne fough his way through those six innings, allowing four earned runs, walking two and striking out four.

On the other end, Ben Strahm would keep the Miners in check, allowing just one run on six hits through five innings. James Mulry would come on for an injured Orsen Josephina to throw a scoreless 6th, and then the Boulders would tack on another run to make it 6–1. They nearly scored more in the frame, but Maddux Conger would induce a fly out to escape any further damage.

The Miners bats got going in the bottom of the 7th. A walk and a hit batsmen put two runners on for Trey Hair, who launched an opposite field home run to bring the Miners back to within 6–4. The three run shot was Hair’s 4th HR of the season.

More drama then came in the 8th inning. With one out, Aaron Knapp and Chuck Taylor walked. Hard throwing former Miner Tanner Kiest came on, but Audy Ciriaco got a broken bat infield single to load the bases. After Hair went down on strikes, Martin Figueroa once again came through for the Miners. But instead of a championship winning home run, Figueroa simply lined a 100 MPH Kiest fastball into left field, scoring Taylor and Ciriaco to give the Miners the lead. The Miners nearly added more, but Kiest worked out of the ensuing bases loaded jam to send the game to the 9th with the Miners up 7–6.

Jalen Miller, Sr. would get in a bind in the 9th, however. The Boulders would load the bases with one out in the 9th, and Jack Sundberg’s fly ball into right field would elude a sprinting and sliding Taylor. However, an equally charging Trey Hair, from his second base position, grabbed the ball on a hop, and threw an off-balance strike to home plate, where Daniel Herrera stretched to get a force out at the plate and kept the lead at 7–6. Gavin Sonnier would then get a full count, two out flyout to finish the game in exciting fashion for Sussex County, and set the fans into a fireworks frenzy.

The two teams will wrap up their three-game series tomorrow afternoon at 2:05 pm. The Miners are scheduled to send Mike Castellani to the mound, where he’ll be opposed by the Boulders’ Danny Wirchansky.

Frontier League Journal Notes:

• I was able to watch two parts of that game while having fun with every game on Frontier League TV and I got to witness the last inning’s madness! That. Was. A. Thriller! Four hours, too.
• The Miners used 5 relievers in 3 innings against the Boulders and they allowed only 2 hits, but 4 walks and struck out 2. The defence was able to do its job, including the Trey Hair throw to home plate that prevented the Boulders run to tie it up in the 9th inning.
• With his 2-for-4 night, the Miners’ Martin Figueroa was able to raise his average to .391.
• 11 bases were stolen last night’s game. Figueroa collected 3. The two teams sit comfortably atop the league’s rankings in that category with 32 (Boulders) and 29 (Miners).
• Miners SS Cito Culver walked 4 times and the team as a whole got 10 free passes. For a team as strong offensively as the Miners are, that’s obviously playing with fire.
• I’ll the stop notes for that game, now, but please examine the boxscore above to see the multiple offensive performances. Today’s game will be must-watch baseball!

Joliet news release:

LONG BALL LIFTS SLAMMERS OVER THUNDERBOLTS

JOLIET, IL — Coming off a big win last night and looking to leapfrog the Thunderbolts for first place in the division, the Slammers resoundingly secured their second series win of the year on the backs of 5 longballs. Righty Cam Aufderheide took the mound to start off the night for the Slammers, and pitched 2.0 innings with 5 hits and 2 runs surrendered.

In the Slammers’ first turn at bat, Brylie Ware belted a two run homer bringing home Sean Green to give the team an early lead. Ware would also hit another three run home run in the bottom of the second inning that escaped the park and bounced all the way on to Clinton Street.

There were no shortage of home runs tonight as the Slammers bats were on fire. Brylie Ware banged two out past the fence, one being a three run blast bringing home Tyler Blaum and Tyler Depreta-Johnson, the rest being solo homers with Patrick Causa in the bottom of the second, Braxton Davidson in the third, and Kyle Jacobsen in the fifth. All but one of the Slammers’ runs came from home runs.

The men on the mound for the Slammers were solid tonight, keeping the Thunderbolts offense at bay as Keaton Sullivan took the mound in the third to relieve Aufderheide, pitching a scoreless 4 innings with 2 strikeouts. In the seventh inning, Mario Samuel came to the mound, and would pitch the final three innings of the game for Joliet. While on the mound, he let in two runs, with one in the seventh, and a solo home run in the ninth.

In the bottom of the eight, two more runs were scored by the Slammers, as Patrick Causa walked and Tyler Blaum was hit by a pitch, both with the bases loaded, bringing the Slammers’ run total into double digits for the first time in a game this season.

Tonight’s win with a final score of 10–4 secured a series win for the Slammers, their second out of three series this season. The victory puts the team’s record at 5–4 on the season which puts them in first place of the Central Division.

The next home game takes place on Sunday June 6th at 1:05 p.m. Sunday’s game is the final game of the Slammers/Thunderbolts series as well as an end to a six game homestand.

Frontier League Journal Notes:

• The Slammers ruined ‘Bolts starter Jake Fisher’s birthday: 3.1 IP, 10 H, 7 ER and 6 K.
• I watched as RHP Keaton Sullivan was brought in in the third and completely shut down the huge inning that was brewing for Windy City. He struck out two and popped out SS Brynn Martinez. Great managerial decision and even better execution on the mound.
• Windy City 1B Rob Calabrese stayed hot with a homer and his average is still .406. LOVE what RF Dan Robinson is doing at the plate, again adding to his total with 3 singles. Jack Strunc has played four games and has hit in 3 of them, all multi-hit games.
• Everyone got on base for the Slammers, except C Brian Parreira, but he can be excused after the great start he’s been having.

Lake Erie news release:

CRUSHERS HOLD OFF MINERS IN EXTRAS

AVON, Ohio — Lake Erie won a nail-biter in Marion, Illinois, against the Miners Saturday night. Another tremendous ballgame between the two clubs had to be settled in extra innings for the second straight night.

The scoreboard was lit for the first time when Trevor Achenbach ran home after a wild pitch from Southern Illinois starter Chase Cunningham.

Cunningham had a solid day with the ball in his hand. He pitched seven innings, allowed two runs on three hits, and recorded three strikeouts.

The Miners would snag their first lead of the night on an Ian Walters two-run double, bringing Luke Mangieri and Anthony Brocato home to take a 2–1 advantage.

Paul Hall Jr. went five innings for the Crushers. Four strikeouts and two runs on four hits detailed his night on the mound. Sam Curtis entered and pitched three and two-thirds innings. He accumulated the same stats that Hall Jr. had to his credit.

Fast forward to the top of the sixth inning. Brody Wofford knotted the score even with a single scoring Shawon Dunston Jr.

The even affair would not last too long as Southern Illinois regained the upper hand in the bottom half of the sixth inning. Walters struck with a ground-rule double, this time allowing Nolan Earley to touch home. Atlanta native, Nick Neville, contributed with a sacrifice fly to center field. Brocato was the beneficiary of the run-scored statistic.

Bryan De La Rosa delivered an RBI triple in the top of the eighth to put the Crushers down by one run. Lake Erie was not finished tallying runs in the inning. Wofford’s sacrifice fly to center field gave way to De La Rosa racing home to tie the game up at 4–4.

As the game entered extra innings, Connor Oliver was the man of the hour. He scorched a ball into the left-center field gap, giving him a stand-up triple. Steve Passatempo scored the go-ahead run for the Crushers.

An intense bottom of the tenth ensued with Paul Perez on the mound in his first appearance with the Crushers. With runners on the corners and the tying run 90 feet from home, Jared Mang sent a ball out of the park, but the ball landed only a couple of feet foul. Mang grounded out to Javier Betancourt to finish off the game.

Perez picked up the win with his clutch performance on the rubber in the late going. Kyle Hinton received the loss for the Miners.

Lake Erie snapped a six-game losing streak. The Crushers now sit at 2–7 in the standings. Southern Illinois moves to 3–6 on the season.

A rubber match is set between the two respected clubs on Sunday. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 pm ET.

Frontier League Journal Notes:

• I’ll repeat myself, but a treat it is to see newcomer and local boy 3B Ian Walters come in and hit like he does (5-for-12, 3 doubles, 3 walks). The league will adjust, obviously, but a nice story for the team and the league.
• Very happy for the Crushers putting an end to their losing streak. They’re better than their record indicates, so let’s see how they build off that win.
• I was surprised to see starter Zac Westcott coming into the game as a reliever. Either manager Mike Pinto really wanted that game or the bullpen needed a rest.

Gateway news release:

Y’alls Rally In 9th To Hand Grizzlies 6–4 Loss

SAUGET, Ill. — Gateway clawed back from four runs down to tie the game late, but a 9th inning push from Florence handed the Grizzlies a 6–4 loss.

Florence handled Grizzlies starter Carlos Vega with ease in the first two innings. Chad Sedio opened the scoring in the first with an RBI double before Taylor Bryant and Jackson went yard for one and two runs each to put the Y’alls up 4–0 early.

A few scoreless innings followed until the bottom of the 5th. With two men on, Gateway 2B Abdiel Diaz smacked a rare home triple to plate them both before Nick Rotola scored him on a double to make the deficit just 4–3. Then, in the 6th, Axel Johnson tied the game at 4 on a home run that just scraped over the short wall in right-center.

In the end, Florence got the last laugh in the top of the 9th. Florence 1B Jordan Brower came home on a passed ball and Rodney Tennie scored on a groundout to deliver a 6–4 lead and victory.

Y’alls RHP Joe Dougherty (1–0) earned the win after tossing a scoreless eighth inning and Johnathan Tripp (3) earned his third save after doing the same in the 9th. Grizzlies RHP Justin Watts (0–1) took the loss after surrendering the deciding runs in the 9th.

The Grizzlies and Y’alls wrap up the three-game set on Sunday night, which will be Bark in the Park Night at GCS Credit Union Ballpark. First pitch is set for 5:45 p.m. and you can listen live on YO Radio or watch on Frontier League TV starting with the Budweiser Pregame Show at 5:30 p.m.

Frontier League Journal Notes:

• Florence reliever Joe Dougherty has yet to allow a run and a walk this season. Same thing for his Gateway counterpart Tanner Cable, except he’s allowed three walks, but struck out 7.
• Grizzlies C Chase Vallot caught Trevor Craport two times trying two steal.
• The Grizzlies pitching staff struck out 12 batters and allowed only 2 walks. Great recipe for future wins!

Tri-City news release:

ValleyCats Stumble to Jackals

TROY, NY — Despite a trio of solo home runs including a pair to begin the team’s night offensively, the Tri-City ValleyCats (1–7) could not turn their losing ways around, failing, 7–5, to the New Jersey Jackals (5–3) at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium Saturday evening.

Looking to end a six-game losing skid in front of a crowd of 1,501, the ‘Cats went yard in their first two at-bats, with shortstop Keaton Weisz and center fielder Carson Maxwell each launching their second home runs of the season to left field for an early 2–0 Tri-City lead. Things stayed quiet through the early innings thereafter, with right-hander Josh Hiatt settling in with a pair of strikeouts in what would turn out to be a no-decision in five and one-third innings for the ‘Cats starter.

Riding an exceptional professional debut from left-hander Jared Milch, who struck out six in four and two-third innings, the Jackals displayed a crooked inning to take a 4–2 lead in the top of the fourth, with two singles and a sacrifice fly getting the job done. Tr-City right fielder Denis Phipps kicked off a pair of clutch scoring plays with an RBI single that plated a pair to knot the game back up at four in the home half of the fifth.

With the ValleyCats trying to shake off a lopsided result from the previous evening that occurring during bullpen innings, the Jackals took hold of another crooked frame to take a 7–4 lead in the to of the seventh, sending eight to the plate and scoring off a wild pitch, an RBI single, and an RBI double. Tri-City’s only answer came from Phipps, who rocketed a solo home run of his own into left field in the bottom of the eighth. The ‘Cats stranded a pair of runners during the final two innings, with the potential game-tying run striking out at the plate to put the night in the books.

New Jersey reliever Jason Zgardowski (2–0) took home the win with two and one-third scoreless innings while striking out three, while Tri-City’s Dario Polanco (0–1) took the loss by surrendering three runs on as many hits in one-third of a frame. Four ‘Cats had multi-hit performances at the plate, with Weisz going 3–5 to lead the team offensively.

The ValleyCats will look to salvage a game in the weekend series against their Can-Am Conference rivals on Sunday, June 6 at 3:00 PM, with gates set to open at The Joe at 1:45 PM for the first of eight Sunday Funday promotions at the ballpark.

Washington news release:

Wild Things Drop Middle Game To Équipe Québec

WASHINGTON, Pa. (June 5) — The Wild Things dropped the second game of the weekend series losing a close game to Équipe Québec in the ninth inning.

Bralin Jackson started the scoring off for the Wild Things with an RBI single in the third inning to left bringing in Nick Ward. The game went on to be scoreless until the fifth inning where the Wild Things had a runner on third. Grant Heyman stepped up to the plate and doubled to right scoring Brian Sharp giving the Wild Things 2–0 lead.

The game would eventually become tied in the seventh inning off an Équipe Québec single with the bases loaded to bring in two runs.

The tie would remain until the ninth inning when L.P. Pelletier stepped up to the plate with runners in scoring and would bring in a run with a groundout. This was the go-ahead run that ultimately put Québec on top.

Washington and Équipe Québec battle for the final time in the series tomorrow at 5:35 p.m.