Early Runs Doom Otters in Series Opener Defeat
Published on July 7, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Evansville Otters (31-19) dropped game one of the series against the Gateway Grizzlies (24-27) on Monday night, 16-1.
Landon Willeman got the start for the Otters against Ben Gregory for Gateway.
Gateway started the scoring with one run in the second inning and one in the third to make it 2-0.
The Grizzlies opened the game up in the fourth with nine runs on eight hits. Brennan Orf, Mitchell Sanford and Darryl Lee made it 11-0 with a trio of home runs.
Three more runs came in the sixth inning and two in the seventh made it 16-0.
The Otters avoided the shutout with a tally in the ninth inning on an RBI single from Blake Robertson.
Marcos Gonzalez and J.J. Cruz both tallied multi-hit games in the opener, each picking up 2-for-4 days at the plate.
While this is their third straight loss in a series opener, the Otters have come back to win both of the two prior series against Washington and Joliet.
Evansville will look to even the series tomorrow with some morning baseball against the Grizzlies at 10:45 a.m. CT at Arsenal BG Ballpark.
All games can be heard on 96.9 WYIR and the Otters Digital Network and can be viewed live on the Frontier League Network on HTN.
The Evansville Otters are the 2006 and 2016 Frontier League champions.
The Otters play all home games at EVSC's 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.
Frontier League Stories from July 7, 2026
- Back-And-Forth Battle Ends in Sudden-Death Loss for the Slammers - Joliet Slammers
- The Jackals Celebrate America's 250 with a 14-6 Win over the Dawgs - New Jersey Jackals
- Jackals Drop Series against Bird Dawgs - New Jersey Jackals
- De La Rosa's Big Day Leads Mud Monsters to Sudden Death Road Walk-Off - Mississippi Mud Monsters
- Boomers Drop Opener at Windy City in Extras - Schaumburg Boomers
- Grizzlies Crush Otters in Series-Opening Rout - Gateway Grizzlies
- Jackals Drop Series Opener to Bird Dawgs - New Jersey Jackals
- Early Runs Doom Otters in Series Opener Defeat - Evansville Otters
- Eight-Run Fifth Powers Titans to Victory - Ottawa Titans
- Hensey Throws a Shutout, Miners Stomp Crushers - Sussex County Miners
- ValleyCats Power Past Aigles with USS Marinette Crew Visiting The Joe - Tri-City ValleyCats
- Wild Things Take Opener in Florence, Win Fourth Straight - Washington Wild Things
- Florence Stifled in Series Opener - Florence Y'alls
- Alexander Robs Grand Slam as Crushers Fall to Miners - Lake Erie Crushers
- Jay Pecci Joins 2026 Frontier League All-Star Game Staff - Mississippi Mud Monsters
- NY Boulders Manager TJ Stanton Tabbed to Manage Frontier League All-Stars - New York Boulders
- Hockey Takes the Mound with Cleveland Monsters Night with the Lake Erie Crushers on July 18th - Lake Erie Crushers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
