Cruz Leads Otters in Offensive Showing
Published on June 25, 2025 under Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
SAUGET, Ill. - The Evansville Otters (18-21) used a seven-run sixth inning to defeat the Gateway Grizzlies (22-17) in game one of the series, 12-8.
The bats for Evansville got started early with a David Mendham single followed later by a Pavin Parks double that put the Otters up 1-0.
Parker Brahms made his seventh start of the year and threw a gem. He pitched through some traffic early, stranding four runners and striking out three through the first two innings.
Evansville used a sacrifice fly from Keenan Taylor and a two-out ground rule double to plate two in the second. After Gateway responded with one in the bottom of the second, Evansville led 3-1.
Back-to-back doubles from Taylor and JJ Cruz added one in the fourth, and another sacrifice fly from Taylor added another in the fifth, leading to a 5-1 Otters lead. Brahms settled in, only facing 10 batters from the third through fifth inning.
Evansville exploded in the sixth, using two hit batters, singles from JT Benson, Parks and a double from Logan Brown to score four runs. Cruz capped off the inning with a three-run home run to right to plate seven in the sixth, pushing the Evansville lead to 12-1.
Brahms worked the sixth, allowing only one more run, to finish with his second straight quality start with five strikeouts and no walks issued. Nolan Thebiay then worked a scoreless seventh out of the Otters' bullpen.
Gateway managed to score three runs in the eighth and three in the ninth, but the Otters ultimately closed the game out, 12-8.
Evansville finished with 16 hits, including three hit games from LJ Jones, Parks, and Cruz. Six of the Otters' starting nine finished with RBI in the contest.
The Otters are back in action tomorrow night at 6:05 p.m. CT before the series finale against Gateway at 10:45 a.m. CT on Thursday morning. Evansville then returns home Friday to host division rivals Florence.
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.
For more information, visit evansvilleotters.com or call (812) 435-8686.
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