Ottawa's hometown baseball team is one win away from a championship after the Titans beat the Evansville Otters 8-6 on Friday night in Game 3 of the Frontier League Championship Series, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five matchup.
A record night at Ottawa Stadium
Friday's game drew a sold-out crowd of 10,303 fans, a new single-game Frontier League attendance record by more than 2,000 people. It's the latest sign of just how much this city has embraced the Titans this postseason, and the packed stands got to watch a genuine battle between two teams still very much alive in the series.
How the game played out
Evan Grills started on the mound for Ottawa, while Anthony Tomczak got the ball for Evansville.
Ottawa's bullpen took over from there and shut the door. Reliever Chase Kriebel struck out five batters over three innings of work, and Joe Morrissey came in and retired all seven batters he faced. Evansville was held scoreless over the final three innings, unable to find an answer as the Titans pulled ahead for the 8-6 win.
What it means for the series
Ottawa now leads the best-of-five championship series 2-1, putting the Titans one win away from the Frontier League title. Game 4 is set for Saturday, September 26 at 7 p.m. in Ottawa, and a Titans win would clinch the championship on home turf in front of what's likely to be another packed house.
If Evansville forces a Game 5, that deciding game would be played Sunday, September 27 at 5 p.m., also in Ottawa.
What led here
This run has been building for weeks. Ottawa clinched its playoff spot in late August with a win over the Quebec Capitales, then swept the New Jersey Jackals in the Atlantic Conference Wild Card Series to reach the conference championship. Ottown has followed the Titans' rise as ottown's earlier report and ottown's earlier report detail, and the club's staying power in a tough market for minor-league baseball has been its own story, covered in ottown's earlier report.
For now, all eyes turn to Saturday night. A win puts a Frontier League championship banner up at Ottawa Stadium; a loss means one more game on Sunday to settle it.
Sources: OurSports Central, 14 News (WFIE Evansville), Yahoo News Canada, Ottawa Titans (official)
