Blowers Terrific, Bats Go Silent in Titans Loss

OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Ottawa, ON - CJ Blowers (loss, 0-1) tossed into eighth but unfortunately took the loss, as the Ottawa Titans (47-37) were blanked 1-0 by the Sussex County Miners (30-54) on Tuesday.

Making his third start of the season, Blowers got off to a great start - retiring 21 of the first 23 batters he faced, which included ten in a row from the end of the first through the fourth - and 12 of the opening 13 that came to the dish. Overall through seven, the Miners had just two hits and base runners aboard.

As for Blowers' counterpart, rookie right-hander Kellen Brothers (win, 4-8) was also fantastic, allowing just three Titans to reach base through the first six innings of play.

In the seventh, the Titans had their greatest chance - with a Brendan O'Donnell single and Lamar Briggs, who reached on a hit-by-pitch, on base. As the first runner of the game stood in scoring position, Jake Hjelle went down swinging to end the threat.

The Miners struck in the eighth against Blowers - as a leadoff double ended up at third on a wild pitch, as a walk later had put on the corners with one out. Tony Gomez dropped down a safety squeeze to reach on a bunt single - bringing home Gehrig Ebel as the only run of the contest.

Blowers went seven and a third - allowing just one run on four hits, walking one, and striking out nine in the loss. The great effort also earned Blowers his second-consecutive quality start.

The Titans tried to claw back - as Brothers beaned Christian Ibarra with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. As Eston Stull (save, 3) entered - pinch runner Jackie Urbaez stole second to move into scoring position - but the hard-throwing right-hander struck out Aaron Casillas to end the frame.

On the bump for the Miners, Brothers worked the longest outing of his career - going seven and two-thirds, allowing no runs on three hits, striking out seven.

Christian Ibarra and Lamar Briggs each reached base twice with a single and a hit-by-pitch.

In four straight games, the Titans' offence has struck out 10+ times.

The Ottawa Titans continue their three-game set against the Sussex County Miners on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. from Ottawa Stadium. All the action can be heard on CKDJ 107.9 and 94,5 Unique FM and live-streamed on Flo Baseball.

For information on tickets, group outings, and the "All-In" Playoff Package, visit the Titans’ official website at www.ottawatitans.com.