Titans Outlast Y'alls, Win Third Straight

OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Ottawa, ON - AJ Wright's go-ahead solo homer to lead off the eighth inning helped the Ottawa Titans (30-29) to a 6-5 victory over the Florence Y'alls (25-34) on Saturday.

Grant Larson (ND, 5-6) fell into trouble early on in the first, allowing the first two to reach with two-strike singles. Craig Massey brought Tristin Garcia home on a fielder's choice by legging out a potential double-play ball to open the scoring.

Stranding three on base over the first two innings, the Titans took the lead against rookie right-hander Carter Spivey (ND, 0-0) in the third. Jamey Smart's RBI single plated AJ Wright before Taylor Wright's sac fly scored Jackie Urbaez.

In the fourth, AJ Wright's rocket of a double to centre rolled all the way to the wall to score Austin Davis from third to make it 3-1.

The Y'alls battled back to tie the game against Larson with a pair of runs in the fifth. Lane Hoover's ground out scored Ray Zuberer before Tristin Garcia put the visitors level with an RBI double.

Larson would allow a run in the sixth and vacate with the Titans trailing. With two on, Augie Gallardo struck out a pair to get out of the frame.

The left-hander would go five and a third and allow four runs on six hits, walking two, and striking out four.

David Mendham's first career homer to right-centre would tie the game in the bottom of the sixth, as the Canadian took Carter Poiry deep. Later, Jamey Smart's bloop single to right scored Austin Davis to put the Titans back in front.

After leaving the bases loaded in the seventh, the Y'alls tied the game yet again off an error in the eighth. Making Erasmo Pinales (win, 2-1) elevate his pitch count, Lane Hoover's fly ball to left was misplayed by Broc Mortensen, allowing Ray Zuberer to score the tying run.

To lead off the bottom of the eighth, AJ Wright blasted his team-leading 11^th homer of the year to left-centre off Ben Terwilliger to put the Titans ahead 6-5.

In the bottom of the ninth, Trevor Clifton (save, 5) made things interesting by walking a pair with two outs before getting Zade Richardson to lineout to end the ballgame.

With the win, Austin Davis finished the night 1-for-1 with three walks and four stolen bases, setting a franchise record. Meanwhile, AJ Wright recorded a 4-for-5 day with a double, homer, and two RBI.

Also, the Titans move a game over .500 for the first time since May 14, the third game of the season.

The Ottawa Titans finish their three-game set against the Florence Y'alls on Sunday night at 1:00 pm at Ottawa Stadium. All the action can be heard on CKDJ 107.9 and live-streamed on Flo Baseball. For information on season tickets, group outings, and nine-game mini packs, visit the Titans’ official website at www.ottawatitans.com.