Defensive woes don’t phase Titans in victory over Greys

Ottawa, ON – The Ottawa Titans (32-18) committed a season-high five errors but came away with a 7-4 victory on Saturday night over the Empire State Greys.

To lead off the ballgame, Liam McCarthur bounced a groundball to second, where Jason Dicochea booted the ball. With McCarthur on, Chris Burica (win, 5-2) rolled another grounder to third. Clay Fisher threw wide of second to put runners on the corners. Willies Estrada gave the Greys an early lead with a sac fly to centre.

The Titans tied the score in the bottom half against right-hander Jay Palais (loss, 0-1) as Rodrigo Orozco drew a one-out walk. Dicochea followed and hammered a Palais offering on the warning track for extra bases. As Orozco plated, Dicochea flew around the bases attempting for an inside-the-park-homer, but a strong throw from the cutoff man threw him out at the dish.

In the second, Miguel Molina singled, then Marcos Estevez reached on an error. Two batters later, Jose Mercado lined a single to score Molina, putting the Greys ahead 2-1.

After Jacob Talamante scored on an E2 following a leadoff single in the third, Dicochea and Taylor Wright put the Titans ahead with RBI hits.

Burica locked in on the mound and allowed one more run in the fifth, as Christian Naccari scored a one on a groundout. The south-paw earned the win, going seven complete, allowing three runs, none being earned, on five hits, punching out four.

Plating a run in the fifth on a Taylor Wright RBI double, Talamante scored two huge insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh with a double to the gap in right-centre.

Ahead 7-3 headed the eighth, Gavin Sonnier had Naccari reach on an E6. Following a fielder’s choice, Trey Woosley smacked a double to right-centre, making it a 7-4 game. Following a walk and a wild pitch, the tying run came to the plate as Sonnier managed to get out of the jam. The righty fanned Molina and got Estevez to fly out to deep right.

Nelson Gonzalez (save, 3) worked a clean ninth, earning the Titans a victory.

The Ottawa Titans complete their series with the Empire State Greys on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from Ottawa Stadium. Following the finale, the Titans hit the road for four in Trois-Rivières, then play their final home series of the first half next weekend against the Quebec Capitales.

For information on Ottawa Titans’ 2022 season tickets, group outings, and 8-game mini packs, visit the Titans’ official website at www.ottawatitans.com.

The post Defensive woes don’t phase Titans in victory over Greys first appeared on Ottawa Titans Baseball Club.