Five-Run Seventh Sinks Titans, Lose Third Straight

OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Augusta, NJ - Opening up the final series of their season-opening road trip, the Ottawa Titans (2-4) dropped their third straight, falling 10-4 to the Sussex County Miners (3-4) on Friday.

Facing lefty Mike Reagan (ND, 0-0) - the Titans poured it on early - getting a lead-off solo home run from AJ Wright in the first. Wright cleared the centre field wall for his first long ball of the campaign.

With traffic aboard, an infield single deep in the hole to short off the bat of Jason Dicochea pushed across another run, seeing the Titans take a 2-0 lead following a half-inning of play.

In what began a back-and-forth opening few innings - the Miners tied the game with two runs on three hits against Titans starter Shane Gray (ND, 1-0) in the second - seeing Gabriel Maciel and Tony Gomez connect with RBI singles.

Hoping to take the lead back in the top of the third, Christian Ibarra's lead-off double attempted to score with two outs following a single to left from Jason Dicochea - but left-fielder Alec Sayre came up throwing and tossed out Ibarra at the plate to keep the game level.

The Titans took the lead back in the fifth, plating an Ibarra single as Dicochea drove in his second of the game with a sac fly to centre.

In the bottom half, the Miners manufactured two against Gray, taking their first lead of the game. An RBI single from Willie Escala tied the game before Oraj Anu put the home side in front with a sac fly, making it 4-3.

Eston Stull vacated the mound with the bases loaded and two away in the sixth as the Titans threatened - seeing Jake Sanford walk against lefty Bobby Curry (win, 1-0) to tie the score at four.

Gray's night ended after five - in which the righty allowed four runs, three earned, on eight hits, walking two, and fanning two in the no decision.

The Titans turned to the bullpen for Scott Prins (loss, 0-1) - who worked a clean sixth before the Miners exploded for five in the seventh.

Sending ten to the plate - the damage was done as the Miners pulled ahead for good. Willie Escala, Oraj Anu, Jason Agresti, and Gabriel Maciel all delivered against the rookie right-hander to make it 9-4.

For good measure, the Miners added one more that was charged to Prins with Breyln Jones on in relief - with Anu driving in his third of the game with an RBI single to left in the eighth.

The top three of the batting order for the Miners contributed to seven of the 16 hits - with six players recording multi-hit performances.

Christian Ibarra went 3-for-5 with a double while Jason Dicochea produced a 3-for-4 game with a pair of RBI - meanwhile Jamey Smart and Jackie Urbaez each had two knocks.

Friday's defeat marked the first time the Titans had surrendered double-digit runs and fell by two or more in the young 2024 season.

The Ottawa Titans continue their season-opening road trip with the middle contest of a three-game series against the Sussex County Miners on Saturday night at 6:35 p.m. from Skylands Stadium in Augusta, New Jersey. All the action can be heard on CKDJ 107.9 and 94,5 Unique FM and live-streamed on Flo Baseball. The Titans’ home opener is scheduled for Tuesday, May 21 versus the Tri-City ValleyCats at Ottawa Stadium.

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