Loopstok Leads Charge as Titans Defeat Crushers

OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Avon, OH - Sicnarf Loopstok led the charge as the Ottawa Titans (26-26) pulled back to the .500 mark by doubling up the Lake Erie Crushers (22-30) 4-2 to open the second half of the season on Friday night.

Loopstok wasted little time in his return to his old stomping grounds, blasting his first of two homers on the night in the top of the first. Former big leaguer JD Hammer (loss, 2-2) walked Jamey Smart with two outs in the opening frame to bring Loopstok to the dish, who gave the Titans the early 2-0 lead.

Zac Westcott (win, 4-5) would throw up zeros through the opening four innings before a pair of leadoff singles reached base in the fifth. With one out, Jack Harris' double to the corner in right plated Jackson Pritchard and Josh Rego to tie the game.

The Titans' offence re-took the lead with Loopstok's one-out solo shot in the sixth. The veteran catcher's multi-home run performance marks the fourth time that a Titan has recorded at least two round-trippers in a game.

After the two-run double in the fifth, Westcott would go on to retire the final eight batters he faced to record his fifth quality start of the season. The righty went seven and allowed just the two runs on seven hits, striking out a season-high eight. Westcott also did not walk a batter for the second-straight start.

In the eighth, Loopstok was able to drive in his fourth of the game with a sacrifice fly to left, making it 4-2.

The advantage was safe with Erasmo Pinales and Trevor Clifton (save, 3) who came on in relief to secure the Titans' third consecutive victory.

With the win, the Titans are back to .500 for the first time since May 16, when they were 2-2.

Along with Loopstok extending his hit streak to 14 games, Jason Dicochea was able to record a single in the late innings to bring his hit streak to nine games in a row.

The Ottawa Titans continue their series with the Lake Erie Crushers tomorrow night at 6:05 pm in Avon, Ohio. All the action can be heard on CKDJ 107.9 and 94,5 UNIK FM and live-streamed on Flo Baseball. For information on season tickets, group outings, and nine-game mini packs, visit the Titans’ official website at www.ottawatitans.com.