Evansville Otters Doubleheader Preview
August 19, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
Evansville, IN- When you are down to the Evansville Otters (50-28) in the final two innings of any game, you lose. That is not hyperbole, that is not a statement of bravado... it is statistical fact. The Otters are 49-0 (one walk-off) this season when leading at any point in the final two innings of a game, and there are two reasons for that perfect record: Connor Little and Edgar Lopez.
The Otters are back atop the East Division of the Frontier League, a half game ahead of the Southern Illinois Miners, after the Otters blanked the Schaumburg Boomers 5-0 on Sunday. It was a stellar pitching performance by Brett Marshal (3-1, 2.02) who went eight innings of four hit ball while striking out seven. He handed the ball over to Connor Little in the ninth inning and Little faced three batters, retiring all three, and striking out the final batter to secure the Otters 900th franchise victory.
For Little, it was the second time in as many games he took the mound and faced the minimum amount of batters. In fact, Little has sent down the last 19 batters to try their luck against him, amassing eleven strikeouts in that span. In terms of facing the minimum in his outings, Little has done so 15 times this season and racked up an astonishing 23 multi-strikeout appearances.
Yesterday he was named the Frontier League Pitcher of the Week by Pointstreak for his amazing week where he picked up two wins, faced 15 batters, retiring them all, and struck out ten. But Little is not simply a "one-inning, hold the lead, low-pressure situation," reliever; the 6'6 righty from San Diego, CA has stranded 20 of the 22 runners he has inherited this season, including every single inherited runner this past week. Max Peterson, the pitching coach for the Otters, has called on Little 37 times this year, and Little has picked up four or more outs in 20 of this appearances.
The pitching line on Little is staggering; he has a 3-5 record and a 1.38 ERA in 52 innings pitched and opponents have collected just 33 hits off of him, walking eleven (two intentionally) while accumulating 72 strikeouts on the year. While Little has been docked with five losses on the season, he has yet to give up the lead when the Otters are ahead, going 10-for-10 in holds and 2-for-2 in saves.
This is made all the more impressive because the Otters have the best closer in the Frontier League slotted to come into games immediately after Little cleans all up the mess in the person of Edgar Lopez. Lopez, who hails from Hermasillo, Mexico, has blown just one save in 21 chances this season, and that came down to a routine fly ball home run at GCS Ballpark when the Otters were one out away from victory.
Lopez is no slouch himself anchoring the bullpen for the Otters; there have been ten instances this season where Lopez has faced just the minimum and struckout multiple batters. With these two stalwarts at the back end of the bullpen for the Otters, it should come as no surprise that the team is a perfect 49-0 when leading at any point in the final two innings of a game.
Little and Lopez will look to continue their lights out performances in their upcoming series against the Rockford Aviators as the Otters finish off their six game homestand with two games in three nights, starting with a doubleheader tonight. Neither team has solidified who will pitch in what game, but the Otters will have Trevor Walch and his 8-6 record with a 1.71 ERA out on the mound for one of the games, and Hunter Ackerman (1-4, 6.93) for the other one. The Aviators have only decided on one of their pitchers, Tony Rizzotti (6-2, 3.07) who gave up three runs in seven innings last week in an Otters win where Kurt Wertz Jr. homered twice at Rockford, IL.
First pitch of game one of the doubleheader on Berry Recycling Night is scheduled for 5:35 pm CDT with the second game of the doubleheader starting roughly a half hour after the conclusion of game one. The pregame show for Game One of the doubleheader will start at 5:15 pm CDT and will feature Jake Donnelly and Bill McKeon with the pair on the call for Game One, and Mike Radomski and Bill McKeon will be the broadcast pairing for the second game. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the team's front office at 812.435.8686 or online at EvansvilleOtters.com. For all of the latest information on the Otters, log on to EvansvilleOtters.com or follow the team's twitter account @EvilleOtters.
Frontier League Stories from August 19, 2015
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- ThunderBolts Fall in Washington 12-4 - Windy City ThunderBolts
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- Otters Walkoff Aviators in Game 1, Game 2 Postponed in Evansville - Rockford Aviators
- Wertz Jr. Wills Otters to Comeback Win with Walk-Off Home Run in the Rain - Evansville Otters
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