The Ottawa Titans clashed with the Quebec Capitales for the first time this season in their final series of the first half of the Frontier League season on Friday night, falling 6-4.
Despite trailing 6-2 in the middle of the fourth inning, the Titans had a chance to win the game right until their final out. With the crowd of 1,738 on their feet, Jake Sanford stepped up to the dish with the bases loaded and two outs. A lengthy battle ensued, but eventually, Capitales pitcher Samuel Adames won out, getting Sanford to ground out to second base. Manager Bobby Brown was happy with the effort in the near comeback, but “almost” isn’t going to cut it for the Titans anymore, not at this point in the season.
“We got down a substantial amount of runs and came back,” Brown said. “At some point, there are no more moral victories. We have to have better at-bats in high-leverage situations, and that’s on the coaching staff to continue to coach and get those guys to understand those RBI situations.”
“You don’t want to make a living on having to come back from 6-2 defects,” Brown continued. “We just need to play better baseball all around, defensively, offensively, and pitching. We’ll be right back at it, and we’re right there. I think this is a playoff team and I believe in this group.”
Two runs, notably the margin of victory, crossed the plate when the Titans experienced communication issues on what could have otherwise been double-play balls. No one got back to cover the first-base bag, and the Capitales cashed in two runs. With pitcher Evan Grills falling off the right side of the mound as a lefty, Brown says those plays are difficult for everyone, but especially when you have a player at first base who isn’t used to being there.
“A left-hander is always going to fall to the third base side, so those are tweener balls to the first baseman,” Brown said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have anyone covering the bag on one of them, but we had Taylor Wright as our first baseman who’s played third base his whole life, so he’s kinda learning how to play first base. Maybe in that situation, it’s understanding that there’s a lefty on the mound, so you might want to go home on that play. We talked about it, and it’s just the teaching part of the game.”
Friday night’s home loss marks the third loss in as many games for the Titans. They have come in different ways, with a 1-0 loss in Trois-Rivières, followed by a 12-10 loss where it looked like the Titans would find a way to win a few different times, and then a heartbreaking loss at home. Although there is some frustration, it hasn’t changed the dynamics in the clubhouse.
“We’ve had a stretch like this already,” said Clay Fisher, who hit a home run on Friday night. “It’s only a few games, and we’re only a few games back of Quebec, so I don’t think it’s time to panic or anything, there’s a lot of baseball left. We just have to scrap through these next two days, and then the boys get a four-day break, and we’ll be good to go.”
The Titans’ confidence hasn’t been shaken by their three consecutive losses, and they still believe that they can win the next two games and win the series.
“We just have to get the boys going and start the day off with some energy,” Fisher said. “We’re a very good club too, and I think we are better. We just have to roll out there with some confidence and do what we do.”
Brown, although still optimistic that his team could win the series, took a longer approach.
“We’re already down 0-1, so we would have to win the next two games [to win the series],” Brown said. “But can we win this division? Absolutely.”
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