Quick Start Not Enough, Titans Drop Opener of Canadian Swing

OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Québec City, QC - Despite plating a pair in the first, the Ottawa Titans (33-34) allowed nine unanswered in a 9-2 loss to the Québec Capitales (47-20) on Tuesday.

With two on and two out in the top of the first, the Titans pounced on Canadian lefty Harley Gollert (ND, 5-3) for an early lead. Nolan McCarthy plated a leadoff Jackie Urbaez walk with a single to left-centre before Victor Cerny ripped a ground-rule double over the left field wall to score Justin Fogel to make it 2-0.

From innings two through six, the Titans picked up just two hits and three baserunners total. Both hits came off the bat of Victor Cerny, who hit a second ground-rule double in the fourth before an infield single in the sixth. The other lone runner was a hit batter by right-hander Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis (win, 8-4) in the sixth inning. The Capitales' bullpen held the offence silent the rest of the way.

Alfredo Villa (ND, 7-2) dominated through the first five, keeping the visitors in front. Over the first five innings, the Capitales' offence left seven runners on base.

A pair of singles knocked Villa out of the game with two down in the sixth inning, as things then unraveled for the Titans in the opener.

Mac Lardner (loss, 3-5) entered in relief, seeing Will Riley double home a run down the right field line to get the home side on the board. The double came after Larder had gotten ahead in the count 0-2. With two in scoring position, Jesmuel Valentin's infield hit tied the score at two. The Capitales then rallied to load the bases, with Kyle Crowl walking in the go-ahead run. Before all was said and done, Jarrod Belbin brought in one with a single, and Anthony Quirion followed suit with a two-run knock to blow it open at 6-2. All six Capitales runs came with two away. In total, the home side sent 12 to the plate.

After leaving in line for the win, Villa took a no-decision. The right-hander went five and two-thirds, allowing two runs on seven hits, walking two, and striking out five. The Titans' eight-game winning streak during a Villa start came to a close.

Lardner allowed four runs in the sixth without registering an out. The lefty surrendered three hits and walked two.

In the eighth, Luke Powell allowed three runs on four hits, as the Capitales added insurance to go up 9-2. Anthony Quirion once again registered a two-run single while Christian Inoa brought home another with a sacrifice fly.

Victor Cerny went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in the loss. Nolan McCarthy went 1-for-3 with a hit by pitch, while Jackie Urbaez reached twice with a walk and a hit by pitch.

The Ottawa Titans continue a six-game Canadian road trip with the second of a three-game series against the Québec Capitales on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. at Stade Canac in Québec City, Québec. After the series in Québec, the Titans will make their first trip of the year to Trois-Rivières over the weekend. All the action can be heard on CKDJ 107.9 and 94,5 Unique FM, and live-streamed on Frontier League TV, powered by HomeTeam Network.

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