Beardsley's Strong Start, Run Support by Calabrese and Cullen Give Otters 4-0 Win
May 31, 2019 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
FLORENCE, Ky. - The Evansville Otters posted their second shutout of the week and the season on Friday, beating the Florence Freedom on the road 4-0 behind Tyler Beardsley's strong start.
Beardsley tossed 6.2 shutout innings with five strikeouts, giving up only two hits in the start.
The Evansville right-hander has put together back-to-back quality starts, going 2-0 with 10 strikeouts and one run allowed in 12.2 innings this past week.
Beardsley was in a pitcher's duel with Freedom starter Frank Valentino, as both right-handers had six scoreless innings, allowing five total hits.
In the seventh inning, the offense came alive to back Beardsley on the mound as Dakota Phillips led off with a double down the right-field line.
Rob Calabrese then smacked a double to right-center to score Phillips, knocking in his sixth RBI of the season, giving the Otters the first lead of the game at 1-0.
After Carlos Castro moved Calabrese over to third on a groundout, Jack Meggs hit a single to shallow right field, with the ball falling out of Caleb Lopes' glove on a basket-catch attempt, scoring Calabrese to extend the Otters' lead to two.
Valentino was removed after that hit, going 6.1 innings, surrendering two runs on six hits while fanning nine.
Beardsley was able to get the first two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but after allowing a walk, Taylor Wright entered the game to end the seventh with a strikeout.
Wright retired the side in the eighth with three straight strikeouts, pushing his season strikeout total to 21 in 2019.
With two outs in the top of the ninth and Anthony Maselli on first, Hunter Cullen crushed a two-run home run to right field, making the score 4-0 on his fourth home run of the season, and surpassing his total from 2018.
With runners on the corners in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, Danny Hrbek struck out Taylor Bryant to end the game.
Game two of the weekend series will be Saturday at 5:05 p.m. and can be heard on the radio on 91.5 FM WUEV or on evansvilleotters.com with Dave Nguyen on the call from UC Health Stadium.
Jake Welch will look to earn his first win of the season as an Otter, facing off against Ryan Hill of the Freedom.
The Otters are celebrating their 25th anniversary season in 2019.
Evansville will return home on Tuesday, June 11 against the Windy City Thunderbolts for a three-game series, featuring $2 Tuesday, Splash Day, and Working Distributors Bud Light Thirsty Thursday.
To purchase a season ticket or group outing package, call (812) 435-8686 or visit the Bosse Field front office at 23 Don Mattingly Way, Evansville, Ind. The front office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Evansville Otters are the 2006 and 2016 Frontier League champions.
The Otters play all home games at historic Bosse Field, located at 23 Don Mattingly Way in Evansville, Ind. Stay up-to-date with the Evansville Otters by visiting evansvilleotters.com, or follow the Otters on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Frontier League Stories from May 31, 2019
- Miners Take Series Opener over Schaumburg - Southern Illinois Miners
- Wild Things Take Opener Behind Quick Start in Sauget - Washington Wild Things
- Beardsley's Strong Start, Run Support by Calabrese and Cullen Give Otters 4-0 Win - Evansville Otters
- Grizzlies Drop Opener to Washington - Gateway Grizzlies
- Boomers Edged in Opener at Southern Illinois - Schaumburg Boomers
- Rascals Win Opener Behind Roach's Gem - River City Rascals
- ThunderBolts Fall Short against River City - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Freedom Shutout by Otters in Opener - Florence Y'alls
- Crushers Slam Joliet in Series Opener - Lake Erie Crushers
- Grizzlies Weekend Home Games to Air on 590 The Fan - Gateway Grizzlies
- Davis Walks off Rascals in Eleventh, Miners Win Series - Southern Illinois Miners
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