By: Braeden Jones
TROIS-RIVIERES, CANADA – It would’ve been hard for the Joliet Slammers (40-56) to lose Sunday’s game against the Trois-Rivieres Aigles (35-61) after Ben Vitas went a perfect 18/18 on batters to start the game, and the win is exactly what Joliet left Canada with. The Slammers pick up the 7-4 win before heading back to the states.
The Slammers would be the first to get on the board in the top of the 3rd inning. Patrick Ward would get on base with two outs off of a double, setting up a big play for Blake Berry. In his 100th hit of the season, Berry slammed a 2-run homer to get his team on the board first. Joliet would begin the action in the lead at 2-0.
The Slammers would continue their slamming ways in the top of the 4th. After Olivier Basabe hit a single and Brandon Heidal was walked, Kadon Morton would deliver a 3-run shot to clear the bases for Joliet as they now led 5-0.
Trois-Rivieres would finally break through with some scoring in the bottom of the 7th inning. After six innings of perfection from Slammers starting pitcher Ben Vitas, Lizandro Rodriguez got the Aigles’ first hit on a single. After a wild pitch pushed Rodriguez to second base, Drew Barragan would score his teammate with an RBI single. Emmanuel Tapia would then hit a 2-run shot to bring himself and Barragan around the bases. The first hitting stretch for Trois-Rivieres shifted the score to 5-3.
The Slammers would take a few of those runs back in the top of the 8th. After Jackson Beaman and Tyler Cerny were walked back-to-back, Heidal would knock down a 2-RBI single to bring the pair home. That gave Joliet a 7-3 lead heading into the final stretch of the ballgame.
Trois-Rivieres would deliver their final response in the bottom of the 9th inning. Sam Franco would open up this half-inning with a solo home run to kick-start some scoring for the Aigles. Unfortunately for the home team, that would be all the scoring they could muster, allowing Joliet to take the 7-4 victory.
Now at 40 wins on the season, the Slammers will head back to the United States for their last home series of the season, starting against the Mississippi Mud Monsters at Slammers Stadium on Tuesday. The Aigles may have been unable to sweep the series, but they still leave this home stretch with two wins. They will now head on the road to play the Ottawa Titans, beginning Tuesday.
