Ottawa Stadium erupted as a pitch from Eric Pardinho closed the ninth inning, sealing a historic championship win for the Ottawa Titans baseball team on Saturday night.
After dropping the first game of the 2026 Frontier League Championship Series against the Evansville Otters, the Ottawa Titans made a resounding comeback, winning the next three games and bringing the league’s trophy home.
Pardinho, a Toronto Blue Jays alum, closed the game at 4-0 for Ottawa, with an eliminating throw to Evansville’s Amani Jones.
The Titans and staff alike rushed the field, throwing arms around each other and celebrating the franchise’s first-ever Frontier League championship.
The crowd erupted early on in the game as Jackie Urbaez gave Ottawa an early 1-0 lead in the first inning with a 114-metre hit across Ottawa Stadium.
A double from Wright sent Myles Smith from second to home, and increased Ottawa’s lead soon after. The lead extended to 3-0 as Jake Steels lobbed a double to left field, seeing Urbaez score << drive >> his second run of the night.
AJ Wright and Urbaez went 3-for-4 and 2-for-4, respectively, in RBIs.
Ottawa pitcher Ky Hampton sent 16 Evansville batters back to the dugout as he struck out seven and capped off eight scoreless innings.
<<The sixth inning saw Evansville attempt a comeback, as a runner was put into scoring position, but a hard line drive from Myles Smith ended the Otters’ hope of breaking Ottawa’s shutout.>>
Hampton accepted the Frontier League Playoff MVP award with tears in his eyes and soaked in champagne. Then, he handed the trophy to Urbaez, a five-year veteran of the team, in a sign of comradery.
“I don’t think I can accept this award, this is my first year here,” Hampton said. “I want to give it to a guy who’s been here for five years, he’s the heart and soul of the team.”
Urbaez accepted the award as teammates cheered “Jackie, Jackie, Jackie,” pointing to the fans in Ottawa Stadium. “You guys have been amazing for five years, getting better every single year,” he said.
The atmosphere in the stadium on Saturday was unlike anything he had ever seen, security guard Emmanuel Tshilombo told Ottawa Compass News.
Tshilombo, who has worked a number of sporting events for Capital Security & Investigations, said that Ottawa fans came out in full force, describing young fans clamouring for souvenirs or balls. He also described the game as an important moment for sports in the city.
“It’s a good stepping stone for Ottawa, and I just see a lot of young talents, a lot of kids playing on the sidelines, and they look up to this,” he said. “Seeing them win, it’s a great achievement and it’s gonna help this city a lot.”
The team set an MLB Partner League attendance record in the third game of the series on Friday, with 10,303 tickets sold. Game four was played before a crowd of over 9,000.
Many in attendance on Saturday said the night was a big moment for Ottawa sports, especially as the Ottawa Redblacks are facing a particularly difficult season. Notably, many in the stands wore Toronto Blue Jays jerseys.
The game occurred the same week the Blue Jays were knocked out of playoff contention in the MLB.
“The Ottawa sports world needed this a lot,” Titans fan Sam Hartt told Ottawa Compass News. “I think everyone needed this. It was an amazing game and an amazing night.”
“Since the first inning, the atmosphere of the game was unbelievable. It was great to see everyone coming out, families and kids all coming out to see this Ottawa team pull it together,” Hartt said.
“What a heck of a team,” the Titans’ manager, Bobby Brown, said during celebrations on the field.
“This doesn’t happen anywhere else. Come back next year, we’re after [the championship] again,” Brown said.
Next season, the Ottawa Titans will return to play in the National Association of Professional Baseball, the rebranded Frontier League. A new schedule will be released in the coming weeks, the team said in a news release.
