OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Ottawa, ON - Opening their final weekend series at home, the Ottawa Titans (45-43) rallied to score five in the bottom of the sixth to take down the Empire State Greys (16-72) by a 7-5 final on Friday.

Damon Casetta-Stubbs (ND, 5-5) took the mound in the opener and fell into early trouble, seeing the Greys load the bases with nobody out. Josh Sears laid off several tough breaking balls from the Titans' starter, walking home the game's first tally. Next, Jaylen Turner's single doubled the lead to 2-0 through a half inning.

Following a one-out single against left-hander Joe LaFiora (loss, 0-8), Jake Sanford wasted little time by lining an RBI single to right. Sanford extends his hit streak to five consecutive games and now has knocks in nine of his last ten contests.

The Greys made Casetta-Stubbs battle through four and two-thirds, loading the bases two more times. Quentin Holmes' RBI single in the third cashed in Jaylen Turner's leadoff double before a two-run base hit from Jordan Scott in the fifth put the guests up by as many as three.

In the fourth, Austin Davis cashed in one of two walks to open the frame by lining a single to centre. Attempting to score a second run, a strong relay throw to the plate was able to retire Jason Dicochea trying to score from second base.

With a strikeout in the fifth, Casetta-Stubbs was able to strike out his 100^th of the season, becoming the third pitcher in franchise history to reach the century mark in a season. The righty went five and two-thirds, allowing five runs on eight hits, walking four, and striking out seven.

The Titans starter left after the bases loaded up in the fifth, seeing Nick MacDonald (win, 5-3) enter the game. The right-hander was able to punch out JR DiSarcina to get out of the jam.

Down by three, the Titans rallied with one on and two outs to eventually load up the bags against LaFiora. Michael Fuhrman's walk brought home one before Jamey Smart drilled a game-tying double off the left-field wall to make it 5-5. Next, AJ Wright's infield hit scored two, putting the Titans up for good.

In three scoreless innings of relief, Nick MacDonald allowed just one hit, walked one, and struck out three. Thomas Bruss threw just one pitch to get out of the eighth before Erasmo Pinales (save, 4) made things interesting in the ninth, eventually slamming the door.

Jamey Smart went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI, putting together his 34^th multi-hit performance of the season. Smart also extends his hit streak to ten consecutive games. AJ Wright and Austin Davis also put together two-hit performances.

The Ottawa Titans continue their final homestand of the 2023 regular season, with the second of a three-game series with the Empire State Greys on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. from Ottawa Stadium. All the action can be heard on CKDJ 107.9 and 94,5 UNIK FM and live-streamed on Flo Baseball. For information on 2023 single-game tickets, group outings, nine-game mini packs, and 2024 season tickets, visit the Titans’ official website at www.ottawatitans.com.