Larson, Gray Stellar; Titans Secure Series Victory

OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Brockton, MA - The Ottawa Titans (29-29) used a quick start, while Grant Larson (win, 7-5) and Shane Gray (save, 3) locked things down on the mound in a 5-2 victory over the Brockton Rox (22-36) on Saturday. The team has now won eight consecutive series, 10 of their last 12, and 18 of their previous 23. The club also reaches the .500 mark for the first time since May 25.

Right out of the gate, the Titans threatened against Michael Quigley (loss, 0-1) in the opening frame. With a Jackie Urbaez walk aboard, a wild pitch moved the free pass into scoring position. Next, Aaron Casillas ripped an RBI single to left-centre to open the scoring.

In the third, Victor Cerny blasted his fourth homer of the year to left to make it 3-0. The long ball marked the All-Star's second homer in his last three games.

Back out for the fifth, Quigley issued two walks and saw a fielder's choice load the bags with nobody out. Inheriting a tough jam, right-hander Dylan Bedder allowed a pair of runs to score, as the Titans extended the lead to 5-0. A fielder's choice plated one before Jackie Urbaez lifted a sacrifice fly. For a second straight game, the Titans took advantage of a pair of errors by the Rox's defence to help push across some insurance.

Cruising through four, Larson surrendered four consecutive one-out singles in the bottom of the fifth. JR DiSarcina's infield RBI single broke the goose egg to make it 5-1. Larson's 12.1 scoreless innings streak came to a close, but he limited the damage by getting a popout and a flyout to escape trouble.

In the sixth, the Rox connected for back-to-back two-out doubles to make it 5-2. Rookie Nick Marola clubbed an extra base hit down the left-field line to score Trey Ciulla-Hall.

After getting the opening out of the seventh, Larson's night came to a close after six and a third innings of two-run ball. The lefty allowed nine hits, fanned four, and did not walk a batter for his sixth quality start of the season.

In relief, Shane Gray shut things down by striking out five over two and two-thirds for his third save of the year. The only runners to reach against Gray were a pair of walks.

Jackie Urbaez went 2-for-2 with a walk, a hit by pitch, and an RBI in the victory.

The Ottawa Titans end their first series of the second half against the Brockton Rox on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Massachusetts. The Titans play their first home series of the second half on Tuesday, 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, Rogers TV Ottawa, 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.