Williams belts first homer of season to help Titans to doubleheader sweep
Malik Williams (Toronto, Ont.) belted his first home run of the season for the Ottawa Titans to help them to a 6-3 victory over the New Jersey Jackals in their first game of a doubleheader sweep over the Jackals on Sunday. Photo: Ottawa Titans (file photo)
June 9, 2024
Official Ottawa Titans News Release
Paterson, N.J. - In a pair of back-and-forth affairs, the Ottawa Titans grinded out a pair of wins on Sunday, defeating the New Jersey Jackals by a 6-3 final in game one - then followed up with an 11-5 extra innings victory in game two.
Game one - Ottawa 6, New Jersey 3
Looking to snap their two-game slide - the Titans turned to Grant Larson who made his first career start at Hinchliffe Stadium - where the lefty worked five innings, setting a new career high with eight punchouts.
Malik Williams (Toronto, Ont.) started the scoring with his first homer of the season, a two-run blast over the right field fence, to make it a 2-0 game in the second inning.
After Edwin Tavarez got the Jackals on the board with a solo shot in the bottom of the second - the home side scratched across two more runs to take a 3-1 advantage in the late innings. An RBI single from Luis Acevedo tied the game in the fifth before a sac fly from Cam Williamson in the sixth put the Jackals on top.
The Titans battled back in the seventh, scoring four unanswered against right-hander Chris Mormile - with Christian Ibarra tying the game by reaching on a fielder's choice. AJ Wright's two-run double off the centre field wall proved to be the winning hit, plating a pair of runs. Before it was all said and done, an RBI single from Jake Guenther pushed across another run to make it 6-3.
For the bottom of the seventh, Erasmo Piñales locked things down to open the doubleheader with a win.
Game two - Ottawa 11, New Jersey 5
With a leadoff homer from Jackie Urbaez in the first, things seemed to trend in the correct direction - but lefty Edgar Rodriguez managed to sit down 11 of the next 14 that he faced.
Brooks Walton saw the 1-0 quickly expire as a two-out three-run homer from Hemmanuel Rosario put the Jackals ahead 3-1 at the end of an inning.
With the offence going quiet, the Titans chipped away in the middle innings and eventually took back the lead. An RBI single down the left-field line from Victor Cerny (Winnipeg, Man.) got the Titans within a run in the fifth before a then go-ahead two-run double from Jamey Smart had the Titans ahead 4-3.
After Walton's three and two-thirds - in which the righty allowed three runs on four hits, walking one, and striking out two - the Titans turned to Bryan Peña who gave them an inning and a third of shutout relief.
In the sixth, a Ryan Ford RBI single the other way tied the score against Matt Voelker, seeing Ford producing his seventh run of the series.
Following a scoreless seventh - extras were needed to end the afternoon. Right-hander Danny Sullivan saw nine opposing hitters come to the plate, in which the Titans tacked on seven runs on four hits to secure the series split. Connecting for his first homer of the season, a three-run blast from Jason Dicochea broke the tie ahead of a grand slam from Christian Ibarra, putting the game out of reach.
McLain Harris recorded two innings for his first win with the Titans, seeing the start-up runner plate in the eighth.
The Ottawa Titans return home following the off day on Monday to open a six-game homestand with the first of three against the New York Boulders on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. from Ottawa Stadium.