CAPITALES HOLD OFF TITANS, HEAD TO THIRD CONSECUTIVE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
WRITTEN BY: MIKE GUISTOLISE
QUÉBEC CITY - For the third season in a row, the Québec Capitales will head to the Frontier League Championship Series after eliminating the Ottawa Titans 8-7 in a decisive game three on Sunday night.
The crowd at Stade Canac was treated to a thriller in a rainy win-or-go-home finale to the Frontier League East Division series between Québec and Ottawa. Things started well for the defending champions, as they grabbed a 1-0 lead with an RBI single off the bat of shortstop Kyle Crowl.
The Titans got things rolling in the fourth inning by loading the bases with one out on a pair of walks and a base hit. Designated hitter Jake Hjelle gave Ottawa the lead when he smacked a two-run single through the left side. After reloading the bases, catcher Michael Fuhrman repeated the effort to the same result, making it 4-1 Titans. Shortstop Aaron Castillas then put the finishing touches on the inning when he drilled an RBI base hit to shallow left-center to put Ottawa up by four.
Third baseman Anthony Quirion cut the Ottawa lead in half in the bottom of the inning when he blasted a hanging breaking ball over the left field wall.
Right fielder Brendan O'Donnell gave the Titans a little more cushioning in the top of the fifth with a solo homer, making it 6-3. Then, the Capitales came to life.
In the bottom of the fifth, right fielder Justin Gideon widdled the deficit down to one when he drilled a two-run double into the left field corner. Catcher Ruben Castro then tied the game at 6-6 the following inning with another RBI double.
Gideon came back up to the dish in the sixth and sent a base hit back through the middle to give the Capitales the lead back at 7-6. After a walk loaded the bases, designated hitter Marc-Antoine Lebreux showed excellent plate discipline to draw a base on balls and gave Québec an insurance run.
The Titans had a few chances late, getting men to first and third in the eighth but a huge strikeout by right-handed reliever Nick Trabacchi ended the eighth and stranded the runners.
After Trabacchi sat down the first two hitters of the ninth in order, the Capitales let left fielder Lamar Briggs reach on an error by Quirion. After a wild pitch moved the runner up, third baseman AJ Wright managed to get on base after the Québec first baseman dropped the ball on what would have been the final out. Trabacchi then spiked another pitch that rolled to the backstop, allowing Briggs to score and Wright to move up to second. The righty shook it off and struck out O'Donnell to send Québec to the championship.
Left-hander Ryo Kohigashi earned the win for the Capitales while southpaw Jake Dixon took the loss. Trabacchi picked up the save after working the final 1.1 innings.
The Capitales are three wins away from a three-peat, as they now turn their attention towards Washington. The Wild Things will host the first two games of the FLCS at Wild Things Park in Pennsylvania, beginning on Tuesday, September 10th at 7:05 PM EDT.
