Titans' Skid Hits Three with Loss to Jackals

OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Paterson, NJ - Dropping their third in a row, the Ottawa Titans (10-14) at one point allowed six unanswered runs, falling 9-5 to the New Jersey Jackals (11-14) on Saturday.

The Titans got off to a great start - posting three on the board in the top of the second against starter Austin Parsley (ND, 0-3) to take a 3-0 lead. Jamey Smart opened the scoring with his second long ball of the season - a leadoff solo homer out of Hinchliffe Stadium to open the scoring before a pair of RBI singles from Victor Cerny and AJ Wright added to the lead.

Pitching with the advantage, Shane Gray (loss, 1-1) and the Titans saw the lead vanish as Ryan Ford's three-run homer to right tied the game. Ford's fourth of the season and second of the series had tied the game on one swing of the bat.

In the fourth, the Titans didn't let the tie score phase them - grabbing back the lead as Christian Ibarra's double came around to score on a wild pitch - putting the Titans back on top 4-3.

Dealing through four - Gray had struck out nine and allowed just three runs. The nine punchouts is a new season high by a member of the Titans' staff - where Gray had fanned the side in the first and the third innings.

The wheels fell off for the Titans from the fifth onwards, seeing the Jackals take the lead with a trio of runs against Gray - knocking the starter out of the game. An RBI ground out from Luis Acevedo tied the game before a line drive single to centre from Albert Cipion gave the home side the lead for good. In the sixth, Ford's fourth RBI of the game, a run-scoring double in the sixth, pushed the lead to 6-4.

Gray went five and a third in his sixth start of the season - allowing six runs on nine hits, walking one, and striking out a career-high nine in the loss.

A three-run homer from Hemmanuel Rosario in the seventh extended the lead further as the Jackals catcher took McLain Harris over the centre field fence to make it 9-4.

Jalon Long (win, 1-1) dominated through three and a third of relief for the Jackals - allowing just one hit, walking one, and striking out five to win his first contest of the year.

In the ninth, a wild pitch plated a run as Mike DeSanti walked a trio in the inning - seeing the Titans pull as close to within four.

In the loss, AJ Wright and Jackie Urbaez extended their respective on-base streaks to 18 consecutive games.

The Ottawa Titans end their four-game set against the New Jersey Jackals on Sunday afternoon with a doubleheader starting at 1:05 p.m. from Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey. Both games are scheduled for seven innings. Game two will begin roughly 30 minutes after the completion of game one. 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.