Titans Fall in Close Opener at Québec

OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Québec City, QC - In a tight series opener, the Ottawa Titans (40-29) sunk late, falling 7-4 to the division-leading Québec Capitales (46-24) on Friday.

After exchanging zeros in the first - the Titans' offence got off to a great start putting a pair of hits on the corners with one away against all-star righty James Bradwell (ND, 9-0) - as Taylor Wright grounded into a fielder's choice to start the scoring. The run for the Titans in the second spoiled 15 consecutive scoreless innings for the Canadian right-hander.

In the bottom of the second - Grant Larson (ND, 5-4) saw the lead evaporate - as the Capitales put together a pair of homers to jump out in front. A solo shot from Anthony Quirion and a two-run blast from Mathieu Sirois put the home side up 3-1.

After an RBI single from Justin Gideon in the third made it 4-1 - Larson was knocked out of the game after a season-low two and two-thirds, allowing four runs on six hits, and striking out two.

Needing to battle back against one of the top starters in the league after leaving the bases loaded in the third - the Titans pounced in the fifth to pull level. With the bases loaded, Lamar Briggs' second hit of the game made it a one-run game before Taylor Wright's sac fly tied the contest at four.

Matt Voelker (loss, 7-1) was great out of the bullpen for the Titans - keeping the team in the opener. After two and a third of scoreless ball, the Capitales loaded the bases with nobody out in the sixth looking to take the lead back. A pair of fielder's choices off the bats of Anthony Quirion and David Glaude put the home side in front.

The southpaw gave the Titans four innings out of the bullpen - allowing two runs on just one hit, walking four, and fanning two - suffering his first loss of the season.

In the eighth, the Capitales added another run for good measure against Zach Voelker - seeing Mathieu Sirois plate a run with a double to right-centre.

Doing all their damage against the starter, the Titans ended up striking out a season-high 15 times in the opener - and left a total of nine on base.

Jamey Smart went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks - while Lamar Briggs posted a 2-for-4 game with a pair of RBI.

The Ottawa Titans continue a seven-game Canadian road trip, with the second of a three-game set against the Québec Capitales on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. from Stade Canac in Québec City, Québec. 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.