QUEBEC CITY (NEWS10) — The Tri-City ValleyCats’ most successful season since joining the Frontier League came to an end Saturday night in Quebec City. The ‘Cats fell 10-5 to the Quebec Capitales in Game 4 of the best-of-five Atlantic Conference Finals. Quebec, winners of three straight league championships, earned a three-games-to-one series victory to eliminate Tri-City and advance to the Championship Series.
The ‘Cats looked poised to force a Game 5, racing out to a 5-0 lead after just two-and-half inning. But the Capitales showed their playoff experience and poise, rattling off 10 unanswered runs to put the game and the series away.
Tri-City got the scoring started in the top of the first. Oscar Campos followed up a two-out single from Chris Burgess with a double down the left-field line. Burgess managed to score on an error from the left fielder Jarrod Belbin, and ‘Cats took an early 1-0 lead.
David Glancy added to the lead with a three-run home run in the top of the second, and Burgess followed that up with solo shot to lead off the top of the third.
But the Capitales quicky turned the tide of the game in the home half of the third. Kyle Crowl got his team on the scoreboard with a bases-loaded, two-run double to left. That gave way to Marc Antoine Lebreux, whose sacrifice fly brought Quebec within two runs at 5-3.
A walk to Justin Gideon put two runners on for Anthony Quirion, and he tattooed the first pitch he saw from ValleyCats starting pitcher Wes Albert for a three-run home run that moved the Capitales in front, 6-5.
The champs never looked back, tacking on one run in the fourth and another three in the seventh, while the Quebec bullpen held Tri-City scoreless for six straight innings to close the game.
Despite ending the year on a sour note, the 2025 campaign was Tri-City’s best since 2018. The ‘Cats won a franchise-record 62 games during the regular season, and won their first postseason series in seven years, taking down the Sussex County Miners in the Wild Card Round.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
