Rain Shortens Series Finale, Titans Fall to Boulders

OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Ottawa, ON - The Ottawa Titans (14-15) had their season-high four-game winning streak snapped in a rain-shortened contest, falling 9-1 to the New York Boulders (19-9) in seven innings on Thursday.

Going for the sweep, the forecast pushed back the start of the game by over an hour - but both Shane Gray (loss, 1-2) and Brandon Backman (win, 4-0) were in sync early on by tossing two shutout frames respectively.

The Boulders struck first with a two-out rally against Gray in the third inning. With the first two hitters of the frame grounding out - Gray beaned Austin Dennis before walking Chris Kwitzer - setting up an RBI single from David Vinsky.

Down by a run - the Titans worked great plate appearances - eventually loading the bases against Backman. With two outs, Victor Cerny drew his second walk of the game - bringing home a leadoff Taylor Wright double to tie the game at one.

In the fifth, the Boulders' offence erupted for four runs on five hits - all with two outs against Gray to take a 5-1 lead. An RBI single from Chris Kwitzer and a run-scoring double from Peyton Isaacson pushed a pair across before a two-run base hit from Casey Dana put the game out of reach.

Gray exited after five - allowing five runs on seven hits, walking one, and striking out two in the defeat.

The Boulders tacked on four more runs by sending nine to the plate against Matt Voelker in the sixth - seeing a single from Steve Barmakian score a leadoff Isaac Bellony triple as Austin Dennis' RBI knock scored another ahead of a hit by pitch and sac fly adding two more.

After Backman's five innings of one-run ball - veteran Tyler Vail worked two clean frames, striking out four before the game went into a rain delay.

Following a delay of 30 minutes and in an official game, the series finale was called after seven innings of play.

In the loss, the Titans were only able to register four hits - with Michael Fuhrman and Taylor Wright connecting for doubles.

The Ottawa Titans continue their six-game homestand with the first of three against the New Jersey Jackals on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. from Ottawa Stadium. All the action can be heard on CKDJ 107.9 and 94,5 Unique FM and live-streamed on Flo Baseball.

For information on tickets, group outings, and nine-game mini packs, visit the Titans’ official website at www.ottawatitans.com.