Empire State All-Star’s Zak Whalin and J.R. DiSarcina had an eventful week in Windy City. The two not only played in the All-Star Game Wednesday, but also partook in some of the Skills Competitions during Tuesday night’s festivities.

DiSarcina competed in the first of Tuesday’s competitions, Bunting Accuracy Challenge. In this challenge he was tasked with trying to bunt the ball onto a target and earn points based on how close to the bullseye the ball landed. J.R. had a great showing and came in third place.

Whalin was a part of the Catcher Accuracy Challenge later in the night. Five different barrels were set up at second base and depending on which one was hit, or if the ball went into it, determined the number of points. Zak, like J.R., put on a valiant effort and earned himself third place in the competition.

On Wednesday, the two entered as replacements for the second half of the game. DiSarcina went 0-0 with two walks while Whalin went 0-2 but hit the ball hard. Both played big parts in closing out the game defensively and helped the East defeat the West 10-4.

Troy, NY—The Empire State Greys (10-35) have defeated the Tri-City ValleyCats (27-19) 7-2 behind a great all-around team victory.

In the top of the 3^rd inning, the Greys were the first to strike. Leading off the top of the frame Zac Whalin singled and was immediately followed by a John Mead double down the right-field line. With runners on second and third with no one out, Eric Jenkins drove in the first run of the game with a fielder’s choice off of ‘Cats starter Rafi Vazquez (L, 3-3). Right after Jenkins’ RBI, Jaylen Smith got in on the action with a 2-run shot to deep left field. Two batters later, Josh Sears capped off the inning with an opposite-field blast to give Empire State a 4-0 lead.

Tri-City cut the deficit to 4-1 in the bottom of the 4^th. Robbie Merced hit a sharp one-hopper past a diving Manny Garcia to drive in Jaxon Hallmark from first base. This run was the only blemish on a great Michael Barker (W, 3-4) start. The Empire State southpaw’s outing was cut short due to rain, but went 5 innings, allowed just 1 run on 4 hits, and struck out 5.

Following the rain delay and firework break, the Greys got the run back in the 7^th. Quentin Holmes drove a deep line drive over the centerfielder’s head to score Eric Jenkins and increase the lead to 5-1.

The ValleyCats threatened to come back once again in the bottom of the 8^th. A fog aided double by Pavin Parks started the ValleyCats rally. Aaron Altherr drove in Parks with a double down the right-field line to cut the deficit to 5-2.

Empire State quickly struck back in the top of the 9^th for much-needed insurance runs. With the bases loaded and two outs, Manny Garcia delivered. Garcia hit a double past the diving ValleyCats left fielder to increase the lead to 7-2.

Tanner Propst entered the game for the Greys to pitch the bottom of the 9^th. Propst was great, facing just one batter over the minimum, and secured the Greys’ 10^th win of the season.

Clarke Davenport and the Empire State Greys will look to take the series in Troy tomorrow night at 6:30 EST.

The Empire State Greys are happy to announce 3B/SS J.R. DiSarcina and C Zak Whalin have been named to the 2023 Frontier League All-Star Game. The two will compete for the Eastern Division in the All-Star Game Wednesday 7/12 in Chicago.

DiSarcina was selected due to his defensive prowess, versatility, and timely hitting. The infielder has slashed .260/.319/.433 with 3 home runs and 17 RBI in the first half of the season. Defensively, J.R. started off the year playing a phenomenal 3^rd base and slid over to his natural position of short stop after the activation of Josue Herrera.

Whalin has been dominant behind the plate for the Greys this season. Making the roster as a late spring training addition, he has made a great impact. Defensively, the coaching staff praises his pitch calling and has been a rock behind home plate all season. Offensively, Zak has slashed .282/.344/.541 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI so far this season.

Watch your Greys All-Stars compete Wednesday 7/12 at 5:30 EDT/6:30 CDT as they take on the Western All-Stars in Chicago.

Washington, PA—The Empire State Greys (8-22) have defeated the Washington Wild Things (13-18) 8-4 behind a strong outing by Michael Barker.

Empire State got its offense going early. In the top of the 3^rd the Greys struck for 4 runs off of Wild Things starter Robert Gonzalez (L, 0-1). Eric Jenkins drove in the first run of the game with a triple to left center field. The next batter, Quentin Holmes, promptly drove in Jenkins with a single to center field. Josh Sears capped off the inning with a sharp 2 RBI single to left center field.

The Greys got to Gonzalez again in the 4^th. With the bases loaded, Quentin Holmes drove in a run on a fielder’s choice to short stop. The out was made at second, but Holmes was too quick and beat the throw to first. For the second time in the inning the bases were loaded for the Greys, this time for Cristopher Cespedes. Cespedes lined a base hit up the middle for a 2 RBI single and in doing so gave Empire State a 7-0 lead.

In the 6^th, the Greys added on an insurance run to make it 8-0 before Washington got their first bit of offense in the game. In the bottom half of the inning, Melvin Novoa drove in the first run of the game for the Wild Things with a ground rule double off of Greys starter Michael Barker (W, 2-2). Washington then scored two more runs on a balk and Wagner Lagrange sac fly cutting the deficit to 8-3.

Michael Barker’s outing came to a close following the 6^th, but the south paw was remarkable for the Greys. He started off the game by retiring the first 12 Washington batters he saw. Along with this feat, he struck out five, allowed just 3 hits, and earned a quality start.

Washington struck again in the 7^th, this time on a Greys error. The momentum that the Wild Things garnered was short lived as they did not score a run the rest of the night. Nick Trabacchi and Tanner Propst teamed up to throw scoreless 8^th and 9^th innings to secure the 8-4 victory.

Ryan Sandberg and the Greys will look to take the series tomorrow night in Washington at 7:05 EST.

The Empire State Greys (7-19) have defeated the Florence Y’alls (16-11) 10-8 behind six home runs, two of which by John Mead.

In the top of the second inning, John Mead continued his recent power stretch hitting a solo home run off of Tommy Siemer (L, 0-1) for the first run of the ball game. Siemer entered the ballgame with no preparation other than some warmup pitches on the field. He replaced starter Jake McMahill halfway through the first at-bat of the inning due to injury.

Florence was the next to strike. With the bases loaded, Sam Plash hit a grand slam off of Greys starter Ryan Sandberg (W, 1-3) giving the Y’alls a 4-1 lead after the 3^rd. Plash’s home run was the only blemish on an otherwise fantastic outing by Ryan Sandberg. Sandberg did not allow another run throughout the rest of his outing.

Empire State’s bats were electric in the 5^th inning. Quentin Holmes got the rally going with a 1-out double and was immediately driven in by a Jordan Scott single. Back-to-back home runs by Josue Herrera and Josh Sears immediately followed Scott. Two batters later, John Mead went deep once again, giving the Greys a 6-4 lead.

Following his double in the 5^th, Quentin Holmes was responsible for the Greys’ offense in the 6^th. With Mike Gulino standing on third, Holmes delivered with a 2-run home run increasing the Greys lead to 8-4. The Y’alls did get one back in the bottom of the inning on an Andres Rios sac fly cutting the deficit to 8-5.

For the 3^rd straight inning, the Greys hit a home run. Steve Barkmakian joined the power surge with a 2-run home run of his own and extended the Greys’ lead to 10-5. Florence responded with a home run of their own in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, and two on, Marcos Castillo hit a 3-run home run making it a 10-8 ballgame.

That score held up the rest of the game due to the valiant effort of Tanner Propst (SV, 2). Tanner recorded the last 7 outs of the game for the Greys. Throughout his 2.1 innings of work, Propst did not allow a hit and struck out three.

Troy, NY—The Empire State Greys (6-12) defeated the Tri-City ValleyCats (9-10) 9-3 behind an efficient Andres Rodriguez start and team wide power surge. 

After two scoreless innings by both sides, it appeared offense would be hard to come by. Luis Atiles broke the scoreless tie in the third hitting a solo shot off of ValleyCats starter Garrison Bryant (L, 1-2), his first of the year.

The Atiles home run jolted the rest of the Greys offense, and they exploded the next three innings. In the 4^th Jordan Scott led off the inning with a solo shot to right field and was shortly followed by a Josh Sears 2-run shot to left. Another two runs were scored in the 5^th, Luis Atiles scored on a wild pitch, and Josue Herrera delivered with an RBI single. Luis Atiles delivered for the second time this evening with an RBI single in the 6^th, giving the Greys a 7-0 lead heading into the bottom of the inning.

Carson McCusker broke the scoreless tie in the bottom half of the inning. Swinging on a 3-0 pitch, McCusker hit a two-run shot to left center field. McCusker’s home run was the only blemish on a stellar Andres Rodriguez (W, 1-1) outing.

Rodriguez was brilliant and most importantly efficient. The righty threw seven innings on just 77 pitches. Even though Rodriguez was mainly pitching to contact, he still had swing and miss stuff and amassed three strikeouts in the process.

Empire State’s offense did not let up after the McCusker home run. In the top of the 7^th, Josue Herrera drove in his second RBI of the night with an RBI single. After a long Josh Sears single to deep right center, Cristopher Cespedes doubled down the right field line driving in Herrera and increased the Greys lead to 9-2.

In the 8^th, McCusker provided the remainder of the ValleyCats offense with an RBI double off of Nick Trabacchi making the score 9-3. That score would hold up the rest of the night. Tanner Propst took the mound in the 9^th and set the ‘Cats down 1-2-3.

The Grey’s will take on the ValleyCats in game two tomorrow evening at 7:05 and look to take the series.

Pomona, NY—The Empire State Greys (5-11) have defeated the New York Boulders (9-8) 6-3 behind a phenomenal start by Michael Barker and JR DiSarcina’s offensive explosion.

Empire State continued doing what it has done best this season, early offense. In the top of the 2^nd, JR DiSarcina started his offensive explosion. The shortstop opened the scoring with a 2 RBI double to left field off Boulders starter Ryan Munoz (L, 2-3). Two batters later, he came around to score on an Eric Jenkins single giving the Greys a 3-0 lead. 

Michael Barker (W, 1-2) set the tone for Greys on the bump. The righty went five innings, striking out four, allowed just one run, and earned his first win of the season. What made his outing even more impressive was that eleven Boulders reached base throughout his five innings of work, yet just one came across to score. The lone run-on Barker’s ledger came across on a Thomas Walraven double in the bottom of the 3^rd,cutting the Greys lead to 3-1. 

The Greys brought the lead back to three in the 5^thdue to a throwing error by the Boulders shortstop. Chris Kwitzer swiftly brought the Greys lead back down to two with a single to left field in the 7^th, making it a 4-2 ball game.

JR DiSarcina immediately answered back in the top of the 8^th. He led off the inning with a home run over the short porch in right field for his first home run of the season. DH Josh Sears extended the lead to 6-2, with a ground-rule double to right-center field. 

After Nick Trabacci allowed a run and got the second out in the bottom of the 8^th, the Greys turned to Tanner Propst in an attempt for a four-out save. Propst was up for the occasion not allowing a hit over the 1 1/3 innings, striking out two and earned his first save of the season.

The Greys will face off against the Boulders tomorrow night in the rubber match at 7 pm EST as they look to take the series.

Trois-Rivières, QC—The Empire State Greys (4-9) defeatedTrois-Rivières (5-9) 16-6 in game two of the three game set and got contributions from the whole team.

Once again it appeared as if the Aigles and Greys would be in a back-and-forth battle. Both clubs drove in two runs in the second to open up the scoring. A Mike Gulino fielder’s choice and Steve Barkamkian single drove in the first two runs for Empire State, however, Trois-Rivières immediately responded with a Canice Ejoh 2-run homer off of Greys starter Zach Gettys in the bottom half of the inning.

After both clubs scored a run in the third, the Greys turned on the gas in the fourth and fifth. Zak Whalin led off the fourth inning with a solo shot off of Sam Pollquin (L, 0-2) to give the Greys the lead in which they wouldn’t let up. Two batters later, Mike Gulino followed up his homerun from last night with a 2-run blast. In the fifth, John Mead delivered a 3-run home run giving the Greys a 10-3 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.

The middle innings were highlighted by Greys relief pitcherWilber Perez (W, 2-0). Coming off earning the save last night, Perez was excellent throwing the sixth and seventh innings. Over the course of the two innings, Wilber struck out three and allowed just one hit and one walk.

Empire State rallied once again, scoring six runs across the seventh and eighth innings. Trois-Rivières attempted a comeback in the eighth, scoring two on two-out Nate Scantlin triple that narrowed the deficit to 16-6. Following the triple, the Aigles offense could not get anything going. Tanner Propst shut the door in the ninth throwing a 1-2-3 inning.

An additional story for the Greys tonight comes from Zach Gettys. Gettys, who typically works in relief for the Greys, was not intended to start tonight’s game. Down two starters and two relievers, the Greys needed somebody to step up and Zach rose to the occasion. He kept the club in the game by throwing a strong four innings and allowed just three runs in the unfamiliar role. 

Ryan Sandberg will take the bump for the Greys at 1:05 tomorrow afternoon and will look to sweep the series in Trois-Rivières.

The Empire State Greys (3-9) traveled to Trois-Rivières (5-8) and opened the series with a dramatic 8-7 victory.

Empire State started the game off hot offensively taking a 3-0 lead in the first. The first three Greys singled to start the game including a Cristopher Cespedes RBI single to centerfield to drive in Eric Jenkins. Josh Sears and Zack Whalin added offense in the following at-bats with a sacrifice fly and RBI single respectively. 

The Aigles answered back in the second for three of their own and set the tone for a back-and-forth affair. Sadler Goodwin hit a sac fly to get their offense going and Nate Scantlin tied up the game with a 2 RBI single.

Over the course of the middle innings the two clubs scraped together different rallies resulting in a 5-5 tie heading into the bottom of the seventh after Mike Gulino took an inside pitch and sent it to the lounge area in left field for a solo shot for the Greys. But, With runners on first and second, Steve Brown delivered for the Aigles with a 2 RBI double giving them a 7-5 lead.

After scratching one back in the eighth, the Greys trailed 7-6 heading into the ninth. With runners on first and second, Josh Sears tied the game with a hard-hit double. The next two Greys struck out and it appeared as if the Greys would strand the two runners in scoring position with nobody out. JR DiSarcina would not let that happen as he roped a single off Jesen Therrien (L) to drive in the go-ahead run giving Empire State an 8-7 lead.

Wilber Perez entered the game for the Greys in the ninth to close it out. Working around a pair of walks, Perez was able to get the job done earning his first save of the season and got Tanner Propst his first win of the season in the process.

The Greys will square up against the Aigles tomorrow night at 6:05 EST in game two of the three game set.

Joliet, IL – The Empire State Greys (2-7) left Joliet with a great series performance by their staff. Andres Rodriguez went 6 innings striking out 8 and was followed by another 6 inning performance from Alejandro Arteaga who set a single game franchise record by striking out 10 batters in a game.

Arteaga, who is one of the teams veteran players, was dominant in his second start of the season. He allowed just 2 runs on 5 hits while walking 2. Although the team had a couple of defensive miscues, Arteaga’s performance goes down as one of the best in teams short history.

The offense struggled to put up runs for Arteaga and for the most part the entire series. Even with Arteaga’s quality start, he would be credited with his first loss of the season.

The Greys travel to Quebec City to take on the Capitales where the team looks to get out of its funk and back into the mix.

Watch all Greys games live on Flosports.tv and stay up to date with player stats, results, standings and more right here on empirestategreys.com

Article by Greys Media