OFFICIAL FRONTIER LEAGUE BOX SCORE

Pomona, NY - The Ottawa Titans (35-26) saw early opportunities erased and a seven-spot posted against them, in a 9-1 loss to the New York Boulders (37-25) on Thursday - dropping the series.

The offence got off to a hot start in the top of the first against right-hander Brandon Backman (win, 7-3) - as a single and a walk stood aboard for Jamey Smart, who tagged an RBI single to right. The base hit for Smart was RBI number 42 on the season - which scored AJ Wright to get the Titans off to a solid start.

After taking the early lead, Shane Gray (loss, 4-4) saw the advantage quickly evaporate - as ten came to the plate in the second, seeing the Boulders post a seven-spot to take a 7-1 lead. One of the top offensive teams in the league saw Isaac Bellony tie the game with a solo homer - before Austin Dennis plated two with a double, later setting up a grand slam by David Vinsky.

With the game seeming out of reach, the Titans' offence fell cold - leaving runners in scoring position in each of the first four innings. Overall, the team went just 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the loss.

On the bump for the Boulders, the all-star Backman tossed six quality innings - finishing the day retiring 17 of the final 20 he faced to snap a three-game losing streak.

As for Gray, the righty issued a bases-loaded walk with two down in the fourth to bring home another run - seeing his day end after five innings. The right-hander allowed eight runs, on hits, walking a season-high six, and only fanned two.

Kyle White and Breyln Jones combined to toss three innings out of the bullpen, only allowing one run on a Steve Barmakian single in the seventh.

Against the Boulders' bullpen, the Titans had a great opportunity go for not in the seventh - as Ryan Delorbe walked the bases loaded but threw up a zero.

In the loss, Jamey Smart went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI - while Lamar Briggs posted a 2-for-4 contest.

The Ottawa Titans head home to start a three-game set against the Tri-City ValleyCats on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. from Ottawa Stadium. All the action can be heard on CKDJ 107.9 and 94,5 Unique FM and live-streamed on Flo Baseball.

For information on tickets, group outings, and nine-game mini packs, visit the Titans’ official website at www.ottawatitans.com.