Otters Explode for 12 Hits, But Fall Short to Freedom
June 4, 2017 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
FLORENCE, Ky.- The Evansville Otters tallied 12 hits against the Florence Freedom, but fell short 10-3 to drop the series.
Evansville (10-11) struggled to put runs on the board, scoring single runs across the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings.
Florence (16-5) also saw their offense spike. The Freedom posted 10 runs on 17 hits in the series finale.
Two of Evansville's runs came on solo shot home runs from Jeff Gardner and Dane Phillips.
Phillips hit his home run in the seventh inning off of the batters eye in center field above the centerfield wall.
Initially, the umpires were unsure of whether or not it had clear the wall, holding Phillips up at second.
However, home plate umpire Manny Gonzales ruled it gone for Phillips sixth home run this season.
Otters manager Andy McCauley was unhappy with bases umpire Don Hudson, getting in a heated exchange that led to an ejection.
The Freedom wasted no time getting out to a lead after falling behind in the first two contests.
A Jordan Brower two RBI double scored Daniel Fraga and Ozzy Braff, and Connor Teykl hit his own RBI double to score Brower.
Florence led 3-0 to open the ballgame.
In the third inning, Teykl had his second RBI, knocking in Collins Cuthrell to make it 4-0.
Then again in the fourth, the Freedom got on the scoreboard.
An RBI single from Fraga scored Mike Morris who doubled for his only hit of the night to make it a 5-0 Florence lead.
Shane Weedman struggled again for the Otters.
He went five innings giving up nine hits and the opening five runs of the ballgame.
Weedman took the loss to move his record to 1-2 on the year.
In the sixth inning, Jeff Gardner opened up the scoring for Evansville with a home run to make it 5-1. It was Gardner's sixth home run in 2017.
Phillips home run in the seventh inning put the Otters back within striking distance.
However, the Freedom responded with a three-run eighth inning.
RBIs from Teykl, Austin Wobrock, and Fraga made it an 8-2 Florence lead.
Evansville scored their final run in the eighth.
Chris Riopedre opened up the frame with his first double of the year and Mitchell Ho delivered with an RBI single.
The Freedom added on two more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth on a two RBI single from Jordan Brower that scored Jose Brizuela and Cuthrell.
Despite giving up nine hits and four walks, Jordan Kraus earned his fourth win of the year for Florence.
On June 6, the Otters will host Teacher Appreciation Night powered by the Public Education Foundation. On June 7, Deaconess is hosting Nursing Home Night and the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a collectible poster. June 8 is a Bud Light Thursday and Working Distributors Night.
Tickets for June 6-8 are still available by going to evansvilleotters.com or calling 812-435-8686.
Subscriptions are now available for the Otters Digital Network. More information can be found at http://evansvilleotters.com/news/?article_id1572.
The Evansville Otters are the 2006 and 2016 Frontier League champions. Group packages and season tickets are now on sale. For more information, visit evansvilleotters.com or call 812-435-8686.
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Frontier League Stories from June 4, 2017
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- Offense Struggles, Grizzlies Drop Series Finale to River City - Gateway Grizzlies
- Otters Explode for 12 Hits, But Fall Short to Freedom - Evansville Otters
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- Three-Hit Day from Roa Not Enough in Series Finale - Washington Wild Things
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- Windy City Comes from Behind for Sixth Straight Series Win - Windy City ThunderBolts
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