Evansville Otters Win 7-6 in 10
May 19, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
WASHINGTON, P.A.- Three times the Otters found themselves down to the Washington Wild Things. Three times the Otters came back to tie the game. The Otters made sure there would not be a fourth thanks to the bullpen combination of Connor Little and Blake Monar, and the bats of Chris Sweeney and Josh Allen. Little and Monar combined for four innings of scoreless relief and Sweeney and Allen each drove in a run in the top of the tenth to give the Otters the runs they would need en route to a 7-6 extra inning victory.
Things did not start off well for the Otters as Tyler Vail, making his Frontier League debut, allowed two runs in the bottom of the first inning, the first on a home run to David Popkins. The Otters though would respond in the next half-inning, as Josh Allen battled Tim Flight, the starter for the Wild Things, for seven pitches and on the eighth sent a ball well clear of the right field wall to cut the deficit in half 2-1.
But, the Wild Things would extend their lead in the bottom of the third inning on an error by John Schultz, and an RBI single by Matt Ford.
Their comfortable led would get less so in the top of the fourth inning when Allen yet again broke through for the Otters, cutting the deficit in half again, this time on a single to center with runners on first and second and two outs. With the lefty Flight on the mound, Allen took off for second and despite the pickoff attempt, slid under the attempted tag of short stop Austin Wobrock, allowing Kurt Wertz Jr. to come on home from third on the double steal and make it a 4-3 game.
It would be the Wild Things turn in the fifth inning to plate a run. With a runner on base, Matt Ford came through yet again for the Wild things, pushing the lead back up to 5-5.
But they say the third time is the charm and in this case, the third time was the final time for the Otters to be down and Ronnie Richardson was the man to erase the deficit. With runners on first and second, Richardson sliced a double down the first base line, past the dive of Lee Orr and tying the game at 5-5. Richardson would end up at third on the play with nobody out, but the Otters left him stranded.
Connor Little came on to replace Vail in the bottom of the sixth inning and proceeded to pitch 2.2 of scoreless baseball. He could not get out of the bottom of the eighth inning, as a double chased him from the game. The Otters called on Blake Monar to get them out of the jam, and the lefty from Rockport, IN did just that, inducing a grounder to short to end the threat.
The two teams would trade zeroes in the ninth inning with Monar picking up two strikeouts. Schultz would leadoff the top of the tenth inning and make up for his earlier gaffe out in left with a double to right. After both Shayne Houck and Nik Balog failed to move him, Chris Sweeney came up and gave the Otters their first lead of the game with a single to center. After another walk to Wertz Jr., Allen came to the plate and for the third time in the game came through for the Otters, plating the seventh run.
That last run was pivotal for the Otters because Edgar Lopez allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the tenth, but worked around the trouble to close the door and pick up his second save in as many chances.
The Otters bring their record back up to .500 at 2-2 on the season while the Wild Things drop to 1-3. Josh Allen finished the night 3-for-5 with three RBI including a home run. Ronnie Richardson plated two and collected his first double of the season while Blake Monar improves his record to 1-0 on the season, grabbing the win in relief.
The team is right back at it tomorrow night in Washington, PA with the game time at 6:05 CDT and the pregame starting at 5:45 CDT. You can listen live on our website and of course at 91.5 F.M. WUEV.
The Otters will not be back to the friendly confines of Bosse Field until Friday for a three game home stand against the Florence Freedom. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the team's front office at 812.435.8686 or online at EvansvilleOtters.com.
Frontier League Stories from May 19, 2015
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