Preston Olson Dazzles, Leads Evansville into First Place
August 22, 2014 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
(LOVES PARK, ILLINOIS) - The Evansville Otters (49-33) snapped a season-high three game losing streak with a 7-2 victory at the Rockford Aviators on Friday night.
Right handed pitcher Preston Olson (8-3) went 8.0 innings, allowing just two runs on four hits in the Otters five run victory. He also struck out six hitters, giving him 99 strikeouts this summer.
Both teams had a chance to score early. Evansville loaded the bases in the first inning against Rockford lefty Tony Butler only to leave three men on base. The Aviators also put men on the corners in the bottom of the inning against Olson, only to strand two runners as well.
The game stayed scoreless to the sixth inning when Evansville scored three runs without a single hit. Outfielder J.R. Higley walked to start the frame, went to second on a wild pitch and over to third on a stolen base. After a Nik Balog walk, Evansville had two men on base with one out. Outfielder Chris Sweeney hit a swinging bunt to third that pitcher Eric Cedejas threw wildly to the plate. The Otters went ahead 1-0 on the error and put two more men in scoring position. Cedejas then balked, plating Balog for the 2-0 lead. Chris Elder then added a fly ball to left field that Edgar Corcino overran, leading to the third run.
Rockford scored two runs in another unorthodox manner in the bottom of the inning. After a one out hit by pitch, Dusty Robinson hit a fly ball to left that Elder overran as the ball landed down for a double. Corcino came up later in the inning and looped a two-run double to left field to pull within a single run.
Olson held the 3-2 lead to the end of his night. He retired the final six batters he faced, taking the one run lead to the ninth. The Otters added two separate, two run singles in the inning from Cory Urquhart and Higley to pull away for the 7-2 win.
Higley finished the night 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Elder also added two hits in the Otters victory.
Game two of the series is Saturday night at Aviators Stadium. The Otters have former Rockford pitcher Connor Little (1-0, 0.64 ERA) on the mound against current Aviators LHP Ryan Bonnot (team debut). First pitch is set for 7:05 pm CDT. The game will be broadcast live on WUEV 91.5 FM. Play by play announcer Mike Radomski has the pregame show beginning at 6:45 pm CDT.
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