Titans Drop Finale in Kinston

OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Kinston, NC - Holding a late lead, the Ottawa Titans (11-9) allowed three in the eighth in a 5-3 loss to the Down East Bird Dawgs (10-11) on Sunday evening, dropping five of six in the series.

Making his first pro start, left-hander Caiden Johnson (ND, 0-0) looked sharp in the early going, before a two-out walk kicked off a Bird Dawgs rally in the second. A wild pitch advanced Yeniel Laboy into scoring position, setting up an RBI single from Danell Figueroa to put the home side up 1-0.

Inked over the weekend, Johnson went two innings, allowing one run on four hits, walking two, and striking out one.

Ky Hampton, another newcomer to the Titans' pitching staff, impressed for four innings of one-run ball in the series finale.

The Bird Dawgs doubled the lead off Hampton with a Laboy RBI single in the fourth inning, making it 2-0.

Offensively, the Titans could not find the big hit in the early stages of the game. After leaving the bases loaded in the first, the Titans had two on and none out in the second before loading them up again in the third, failing to get on the board. Bird Dawgs right-hander Jose Moreno (ND, 0-0) held the Titans off the board and navigated through the trouble.

The Titans broke through in the sixth inning against Jackson Hicks, filling up the bases with one out. Taylor Wright legged out a fielder's choice, seeing the Titans get on the board down 2-1. The run for the Titans snapped a 15-inning scoreless drought.

In the eighth, the Titans were back at it against Davis Blair (win, 1-1), as Kaiden Cardoso tied the score with an RBI single. A couple of batters later, Taylor Wright gave the Titans their first lead of the game with a go-ahead RBI single to right-centre, making it 3-2.

With one scoreless inning under his belt, Heitor Tokar (loss, 1-1) saw the first two runners reach in the bottom half. Tokar would get Ali LaPread to pop out and Kalae Harrison to go down looking for the first two outs. Entering in a save situation, Brett Garcia gave up a go-ahead two-run single off the bat of pinch-hitter Jacob Corson, seeing the Bird Dawgs take the lead back. For good measure, Trey Law made it a 5-3 game with an RBI single of his own.

The Titans put two on in the ninth against Elian Almanzar (save, 1) but couldn't capitalize, leaving the potential tying run at first to end the game.

AJ Wright went 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch twice. Taylor Wright went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Myles Smith's hit streak came to an end, but the on-base streak continues with a pair of walks.

After an off day on Monday, the Ottawa Titans return home to open a three-game series with the New York Boulders on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. at Ottawa Stadium. It is the first $2 Hot Dog Night of the season. Next weekend, the Titans are back on the road for a series with the Tri-City ValleyCats in Troy, New York. All the action can be heard on the Ottawa Titans Radio Network and 94.5 Unique FM, and live-streamed on Frontier League TV powered by HomeTeam Network.

For information on Ottawa Titans’ 2026 Season Tickets, 10-Game Mini Packs, and Group Outings, visit the Titans’ official website at www.ottawatitans.com.