Key Hits, Tremendous Pitching Headline Titans Walk-Off Win

OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Ottawa, ON - The Ottawa Titans (48-44) got big-time pitching performances and a pair of key hits in a 2-1 extra-innings win over Trois-Rivières Aigles (36-55) on Wednesday.

With a pitcher's duel lined up on paper, Damon Casetta-Stubbs (ND, 5-5) and Osman Gutierrez (ND, 8-4) each lived up to the hype, throwing three shutout innings to keep the game scoreless.

In the fourth, a lead-off solo homer from Jake Sanford put the Titans ahead 1-0. Sanford's second homer of the season was finally able to break the ice.

The lead stood for Casetta-Stubbs, who fell into trouble in the fifth inning. The Aigles threatened to load the bases, seeing the Titans make a pair of errors in the frame. The right-hander would get former Titan Brendon Dadson to pop out on the infield to escape the jam.

After leaving in line for the win, Casetta-Stubbs tossed six shutout frames and allowed four hits, walked two, and punched out eight. In the process, the right-hander set a new career high by reaching 109 strikeouts on the season.

Nick MacDonald entered for the seventh and allowed the tying run to score on a Tyler Wiber RBI single to centre to pull the Aigles level at one.

Osman Gutierrez threw a season-high eight innings for the Aigles and also ended up with a no-decision. The right-hander allowed just one run on four hits, walked one, and struck out ten.

In a tie game late, Erasmo Pinales (win, 5-1) slammed the door of any hopes for the visitors, striking out five over two innings of relief. 

Down to their final out in the tenth, a wild pitch by Christian Scafidi (loss, 1-2) put the potential winning run at third. Up 3-0 in the count, the Aigles intentionally put the pinch hitter Jackie Urbaez on base with a walk to face Jamey Smart, who rocketed a walk-off single to the wall in right.

With the win, the Titans win their third consecutive series and guarantee themselves at least a .500 finish in 2023.

AJ Wright extended his hit streak to 13 with a 1-for-4 performance by recording a double. Jamey Smart also reached base three times, going 2-for-4 with a walk.

The Ottawa Titans play their final home game of the 2023 regular season on Thursday, ending a three-game series with the Trois-Rivières Aigles at 6:30 p.m. from Ottawa Stadium. The Titans will play their final three games of the year in Québec starting on Friday night. All the action can be heard on CKDJ 107.9 and 94,5 UNIK FM and live-streamed on Flo Baseball. For information on 2023 single-game tickets, group outings, nine-game mini packs, and 2024 season tickets, visit the Titans’ official website at www.ottawatitans.com.