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The Capitales were hoping to avoid falling into the same trap set by the Tri-City ValleyCats after a poor road trip. However, a series of late errors sank the visitors, who still had to lose 2-1 in a game in which they had only four hits.
The day after a 5-4 defeat, manager Patrick Scalabrini believed that his team “could and should have won” this close match, but that “many mental errors” had cost Quebec the victory.
The scenario repeated itself, however, on Wednesday night. Although the Capitales made a number of good defensive plays, the only two errors of the game were fatal to them.
The 3,509 fans at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium had to wait until the eighth inning to see the home team break the deadlock that had persisted since the third inning. A crucial error by shortstop Kyle Crowl allowed the runner on third base to race home and score the winning run for the ValleyCats, who won the second game of the three-game series. “Tri City is a tough team,” Scalabrini said. “They don’t make too many mistakes, they never give up.”
The player of the game was undoubtedly ValleyCats starting pitcher Easton Klein, who allowed just one run and four hits in seven innings of work.
The loss drops the Capitals to second place in the Frontier League East Division. It’s the first time since May 30 that the Capitals have suffered back-to-back losses.
The surprise of the year
In the loss, starting pitcher James Bradwell once again stood out on the mound. In just over five innings, the “best surprise of the season,” according to his manager, allowed just one run and seven hits, and struck out three batters.
Scalabrini has nothing but praise for his 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher.
“He’s a hard-working kid, he has great skills, he throws really hard. He started his season off impeccably. He’s kind of coming out of nowhere, but he’s even starting to generate interest at the affiliated baseball level.”
— Patrick Scalabrini, on James Bradwell
The “Caps” coach would not be surprised to see Bradwell participate in the next Frontier League All-Star Game, which will be held in Quebec on July 17.
A big challenge
The Capitales will have to quickly regain their composure if they want to regain control of first place in the Eastern Division.
The task is nevertheless going to be complex, because the month of July will be difficult for Scalabrini’s team, which will face one after the other the Trois-Rivières Aigles, the New York Boulders and the Ottawa Titans, three teams that are closely warming up Quebec.
For the Capitales manager, even if it is still too early to focus on the ranking, there is no doubt that the coming weeks will allow him to evaluate the level of combativeness of his club.
“It’s going to be a really good test to see if we have what it takes to win against the good teams.”
— Patrick Scalabrini
The series against the Eagles and Titans will mark the first time this season that Quebec will face the other two Canadian teams in the circuit.
2024-07-04 04:35:11
#Misstep #Capitals
