Larson Dynamite, Titans End First Half with Series Win

OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Ottawa, ON - Grant Larson (win, 6-5) went the distance, only allowing four hits, helping the Ottawa Titans (26-29) to a 4-0 shutout victory over the Québec Capitales (42-15) in a rain-shortened finale on Sunday, taking the rubber game to end the first half. The team enters the break with six consecutive series wins.

Larson gave the Titans eight-plus innings before the skies opened up to force the end of the game, allowing four hits, hitting one batter, and striking out five for his third complete game blanking of his career. It also marks the fifth complete game shutout during the regular season in franchise history. At one point, the 6-foot-7 lefty retired 12 consecutive batters. Larson also faced just four more than the minimum in the victory.

The offence slugged right out of the gate - scoring the opening runs of the contest in the bottom of the third. With a Dylan Driver single and a Jackie Urbaez double in scoring position against left-hander Masatoshi Sakurai (loss, 5-1), Aaron Casillas extended his hitting streak to seven in a row with a two-run single to centre. Casillas also extended his on-base streak to 19 in the process and put the Titans up 2-0.

After a leadoff single from Nolan McCarthy, all-star Victor Cerny blasted a two-run homer to left-centre in the bottom of the sixth to make it 4-0. The homer was his third of the year, the first of which at home.

Sakurai's afternoon was over after six, allowing four runs on a season-high 12 hits, striking out two in his first defeat of the campaign.

Ryo Kohigashi walked two and allowed a hit in a clean seventh before all-star right-hander Cole Roland fanned a pair in the eighth. The eighth inning was the only frame in which the Titans did not have a runner on base.

Back out for the ninth, Larson allowed a leadoff double to Jesmuel Valentin before the wind picked up and rain began to fall. After a delay of over an hour and in an official game, the series finale was called.

Jackie Urbaez went 3-for-3 with a double and a walk in the win. Nolan McCarthy also had a three-hit day, going 3-for-4 with a double. AJ Wright singled and walked while Aaron Casillas picked up two hits in the win.

The Titans earn just their fourth series victory all-time versus the Capitales, the third coming at home.

After seeing their record fall as low as 11-24, the Titans enter the all-star break winners of seven of their last nine, 12 of 15, and 15 of their last 20. The club will enter the second half of the campaign just two games back of the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Conference. 

The Ottawa Titans are now off until Friday for the all-star break. The team returns to action on Friday, July 18, to continue the suspended game from July 3, up 2-0 in the bottom of the third against the Brockton Rox at 5:30 p.m. at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Massachusetts. A seven-inning second game will follow 30 minutes after the completion of the suspended game. With two more scheduled over the weekend, the Titans play their first home series of the second half on Tuesday, July 22, against the Down East Bird Dawgs with a doubleheader starting at 5:00 p.m. at Ottawa Stadium. All the action can be heard on CKDJ 107.9 and live-streamed on Frontier League TV, powered by HomeTeam Network.

For information on Ottawa Titans’ 2025 Single-Game Tickets, Group Outings, and Nine-Game Mini Packs, visit the Titans’ official website at www.ottawatitans.com.