Sussex County routed the Ottawa Titans, 11-3, at Ottawa Stadium in a Sunday matinee for their second road series sweep of the season and fifth consecutive win. The Miners scored nine unanswered runs in the late innings and dealt the Titans (8-18) their fourth straight loss. The Miners’ offense continued to sizzle, plating 29 runs in the three-game set and recording their fourth consecutive game with double-digit hits.
Down 2-0 early, the Miners halved the lead in the third on right fielder Gabriel Maciel’s RBI groundout and knotted the game in the fourth on third baseman Will Zimmerman’s RBI single. The Titans regained the lead, 3-2, on reliever Billy Parson’s wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth.
Ottawa, however, became unraveled during the top of the seventh. Zimmerman was struck in the face by a pitch and left the game. His exit forced the Miners to shuffle their lineup as infielder Mahki Backstrom was on a rest day. In a rare move, the Miners inserted pitcher Matt Stil to run for the injured Zimmerman. Second baseman Hunter D’Amato then reached base on a well-placed bunt and moved Stil into scoring position. Maciel laid down a sacrifice bunt and moved the runners to second and third. Jordan Smith was intentionally walked, and Alec Sayre narrowly missed a grand slam before popping up for the first out. Ottawa reliever Zach Cameron walked in the tying run, and Sussex County took the lead, 4-2, on Gionti Turner’s two-RBI single.
In the home half of the seventh, Keenan O’Brien moved from first base to third base, and Backstrom came off the bench to play first. The Titans threatened in that frame, but Parsons pitched himself out of a bases-loaded jam to keep Ottawa off the board.
In the top of the ninth, O’Brien’s two-RBI single increased the Miners’ lead to 7-3. Turner drove in O’Brien to tack on another run. Backstrom (pictured above) then hit a mammoth three-run home run over the center field wall with an exit velocity of 112 MPH, stretching the lead to the final score of 11-3.
Starting pitcher Kellen Brothers tossed five solid innings, allowing two runs on five hits and four walks, striking out three. Parsons (4-0) earned the win, allowing no earned runs and four hits with a walk and three strikeouts in his two innings of relief. Relievers Ronnie Voacolo and Tyler Luneke held the Titans hitless over the final two frames to seal the victory.
Sussex County becomes the second Frontier League team to reach 20 wins and remains on top of the Atlantic Conference East Division with a 20-7 record. The Miners are behind only the Québec Capitales (23-4) for the league’s best record.
The Miners now return home for a six-game homestand against the New York Boulders and Capitales from June 10-15. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.sussexcountyminers.com.
Click here to watch Director of Broadcasting Sean Bretherick’s interview with Backstrom on the Miners’ Instagram page.
Written by Dennis Mark
Photo by Phil Hoops