Cruz Homers Three Times as Otters Fall in Opener
July 4, 2025 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Evansville Otters (21-27) fell on Friday night against the Schaumburg Boomers (29-20) in walk off fashion, 9-8, despite three home runs from JJ Cruz.
The Otters sent out Braden Scott to start and he worked well early. He battled through the first inning and collected his first strikeout of the night to end the frame.
The Boomers were able to score in the second on an RBI double. Their offense was stunted in that inning, as Scott struck out two of the next three he faced to end the second.
The Otters did fight back in their half of the third. They scored one to tie it thanks to a Cruz RBI single.
Scott would take that scoring and run with it. The next two innings he did not allow a run and got up to seven punchouts.
The fifth inning saw some more Otters runs. They scored on a two-run home run from Cruz to take the lead in the inning. In the bottom half of the fifth, Schaumburg responded with one to make it 3-2.
The sixth also saw Evansville score. Keenan Taylor came up big and hit an RBI double after three straight walks. This put the lead to 5-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth.
Scott would exit the game in the home half of the seventh. He finished with five and two thirds innings pitched, nine strikeouts and only two runs allowed.
In the seventh, the Otters stayed red hot. Cruz hit his second homer of the day, a solo shot, to get the inning started. Dennis Pierce then singled and eventually came in on a wild pitch making the score 7-2.
Schaumburg began their revenge in the eighth. In the bottom half, Schaumburg mounted a comeback and scored five runs to tie the game at 7-7.
Cruz was once again due up in the top of the ninth to lead it off. He launched his third home run of the game to give Evansville the lead 8-7.
The lead didn't last long enough for the Otters, as the Boomers scored two in their half to walk it off and win 9-8.
Cruz finished the day going 4-for-4 with three runs scored and five RBI.
The Otters play again tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. against the Boomers for the middle game of the series.
All games can be heard on 96.9 WYIR and the Otters Digital Network and can be viewed live on the HomeTeam Network.
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.
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