While the box score shows that a June 5 rubber match against the Brockton Rox was a 7-6 loss for the Ottawa Titans, the final contest in a three-game series against the visitors from Massachusetts showcased why the Titans should not be counted out.
The Titans returned home to face Brockton following a six-game road trip in which they didn’t win a single match. They continued the slump with an embarrassing 17-4 defeat to the Rox in the series opener, but made up for it with a walk-off win the next night, as infielder Jeremy Piatkiewicz delivered a ninth-inning RBI single and a 6-5 Ottawa win.
The third game Thursday was evenly matched, with the teams trading blows throughout the afternoon. It was an early affair, the second school day game presented by the Titans this season. While they didn’t come away with the win, the Ottawa club certainly entertained the large crowd of young baseball fans.
The Titans struck early with third baseman AJ Wright bringing home Jackie Urbaez, who led off the game with a double. For the next few innings, the match became a lockdown pitcher’s duel, with two lefties, Brockton’s Joe Kemlage and Ottawa’s Evan Grills, going toe-to-toe.
In the fourth inning, Grills found himself in big trouble. He loaded the bases with no outs and proceeded to walk in a run, tying the game. The Whitby, Ont., pitcher hung tough, though, as he quickly struck out the next two batters before retiring the side with a groundout.
Grills was eventually pulled in the sixth inning after throwing 117 pitches. He gave up a solo shot in the fifth and two more runs in the sixth, ending the day with four earned runs.
Still, Grills’ experience and poise gave his team a shot at winning, even when he had to deal with too much traffic on the bases.
“He pitched out of some big jams and more so than anyone else, it’s his presence out there,” Titans on-field manager Bobby Brown said of his team’s veteran southpaw. “He’s a good influence and a good role model for our younger pitchers on what a Major League pitcher looks like.”
Grills was a Houston Astros 10th-round draft pick in 2010 and played Triple-A baseball in the Colorado Rockies organization in 2019.
“I know Grills didn’t quite get to the big leagues but he was really, really close,” Brown said. “I think it’s great that he’s here to chew up innings for us and be a good example for our younger pitchers.”
Another standout player in the game was Grills’ battery mate, catcher Victor Cerny.
The Winnipegger knocked in two runs with a single in the fifth inning to temporarily put Ottawa up 3-2. While the Titans would lose the lead and never reclaim it, it was the moment that got some of the loudest cheers from the crowd.
Perhaps more impressive than his performance at the plate was Cerny’s resilience behind it.
He got hit by a wild fastball early in the game, but shook it off and continued to perform well. After each strikeout, Ottawa’s enthusiastic catcher showed his love for the well-executed pitch.
“Even when things aren’t going well, I think it’s about keeping the energy going,” Cerny said.
The game seemed out of reach at the top of the eighth inning, with the Rox tacking on three more runs to take a 7-3 lead. But the bottom of the inning brought some magic. Michael Mugan and Piatkiewicz, the rookie who knocked in the winning run the night before, hit clutch RBIs. The Titans would load the bases, though designated hitter Kaiden Cardoso struck out at the worst time, setting up a dramatic ninth.
The Titans, two runs behind, got runners on via a single and a walk, but were down to their final out after a flyout and a fielder’s choice. The team still had life, though, as shortstop Aaron Casillas reached first on a misplayed grounder to second and pinch runner Taylor Wright scored.
Unfortunately for the Titans, their luck ran dry in the next at bat, as second baseman Jackie Urbaez’s line drive was caught for the final out.
‘I think our team competed throughout. We put up lots of hits as a team, we kept extending innings. It just didn’t go our way.”
— Victor Cerny, Ottawa Titans catcher
Even though the game ended with heartbreak and a foiled comeback, many in the locker room were still in good spirits. The team dropped to an 8-15 won-lost record ahead of a home series against the Atlantic-East division leaders, the Sussex County Miners.
“I think our team competed throughout,” Cerny said. “We put up lots of hits as a team, we kept extending innings. It just didn’t go our way.”
Cerny says that he sees the group making progress even in losses like this one.
“You could see it in the game yesterday, we’re starting to feel the energy in the locker room,” Cerny said. “I can feel like we’re just that click away from turning this around.”
Bobby Brown seemed to agree with the assessment, as he echoed that there is belief in the locker room.
“It’s early. I thought we played good last night and I thought we played good today,” Brown said. “There were a couple of at-bats where we need to get better, but other than that, we’re gonna keep moving and show up every day and try to get this thing to .500 and make a run at it.”
Brown says that while there is disappointment with the loss, he is looking forward to the next stretch of games.
“That would’ve been a great win today, that would have been two in a row,” Brown said. “We’ve got three good starters going in the next three days, and maybe we could’ve rolled off three or four in a row.”
After the three-game series agains the Miners, Ottawa heads out on the road to take on the Québec Capitales. The Capitales are the defending Frontier League champions, having won their third straight Frontier Cup last fall.
