OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Ottawa, ON - Missed opportunities deflated the Ottawa Titans (31-33) in a 5-2 loss to Evansville Otters (24-39) on Friday - as the club left 12 total runners aboard, including ten in scoring position.

The Titans' best chance to plate the opening run came in the third inning, as Aaron Casillas doubled to the left field wall. Jake Sanford attempted to score from first, but a fine 7-6-2 defensive relay cut down the potential opening run of the game at the plate.

Scoreless through three and a half, the Titans struck with the long ball, as Kaiden Cardoso ripped a two-run homer to right off left-hander Braden Scott (win, 4-3) to put the Titans ahead 2-0. Cardoso's third homer of the campaign marked his second in the last three games.

Dealing through the opening four, left-hander Grant Larson (loss, 7-6) saw the Otters pull level with a pair of solo blasts in the top of the fifth. JJ Cruz and Dennis Pierce tagged the southpaw to make it a new game at 2-2.

A leadoff walk came around to haunt Larson in the sixth, as the Otters took the lead for good at 3-2 on a two-out triple from Ellis Schwartz.

Larson hurled seven strong innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, walking one, and striking out two in the loss. Having his three-game win streak snapped, the lefty earned his seventh quality start in the process.

The bats whiffed on numerous opportunities from the second through eighth, leaving runners in scoring position in each frame against Scott and right-hander Nick McAuliffe.

The Otters' starter went seven quality innings - allowing two runs on nine hits, walking three, hitting one, and striking out a pair for the win.

In the eighth, the Titans presented the best of all opportunities to counter down by a run. With a runner on, Justin Fogel came off the bench and slapped a double to the left field corner against McAuliffe - putting two in scoring position with one down. With the lineup card flipped back to the top, the rookie righty for the Otters fanned Jake Sanford before getting Jackie Urbaez to ground out to second to end the threat.

After a scoreless inning from Luke Powell, the Titans allowed a pair in the ninth, as Billy Duby surrendered two runs on three hits. Mason White cashed in a leadoff double with a ground rule double before LJ Jones blooped a two-out single to right. Duby allowed two runs in an outing for the first time since his professional debut on May 13.

Nolan Thebiay (save, 1) hurled the only clean frame of the night for Otters' pitching by getting the side in order to secure the win for the visitors.

Kaiden Cardoso recorded his first three-hit game of his career, going 3-for-3 with a homer, two RBI, and a walk. Dylan Driver and Aaron Casillas each posted a two-hit night. Nolan McCarthy reached three times with a hit, a walk, and a hit by pitch.

The Ottawa Titans continue their first homestand of the second half with the second of a three-game series against the Evansville Otters on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. at Ottawa Stadium. All the action can be heard on CKDJ 107.9 and live-streamed on Frontier League TV, powered by HomeTeam Network.

For information on Ottawa Titans’ 2025 Single-Game Tickets, Group Outings, and Nine-Game Mini Packs, visit the Titans’ official website at www.ottawatitans.com.