Jones Collects Five RBI as Otters Drop First Half Finale
July 13, 2025 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Evansville Otters (21-35) dropped their final game before the All-Star Break to the Gateway Grizzlies (35-20) Sunday evening at Bosse Field, 11-6.
The Otters sent out Garret Simpson for his fifth start and he pitched through the first two innings scoreless and only allowed one hit.
Evansville jumped out in front with a two-out rally in the first, getting three straight hits from JT Benson, Pavin Parks and LJ Jones to take the early lead, 1-0.
Gateway struck back in the third with five runs of their own. Jon Beymer came on in the third to strand two runners in scoring position.
After a leadoff double from Dennis Pierce and a two-out walk from Parks, Jones sent out a three-run home run to cut the lead to 5-4.
Beymer, after getting the final out in the third, worked the fourth and fifth, striking out three and allowing a single run in the fifth to give Gateway a 6-4 lead.
The Grizzlies struck with their second big inning of the night, scoring four runs in the sixth. Ryan Wiltse came on in the sixth to get the final two outs and strand two more runners in scoring position.
After Wiltse worked a clean seventh, Nolan Thebiay worked the eighth, allowing a single run to give Gateway an 11-4 lead. Evansville got one back in the bottom of the eighth off a JJ Cruz single and another run in the ninth from a single from Jones, but couldn't complete the comeback and ultimately fell, 11-6.
Jones' five RBIs ties for the team lead in a single game this season. The Otters will head to the All-Star Break nine games back in the Central Division. The All-Star Game will be played in Troy, NY on Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. CT, which includes Otters outfielders JT Benson and Keenan Taylor as well as left-handed pitcher Braden Scott.
After the break, the Otters begin their longest road trip of the season, a nine-game trip with stops at Lake Erie, Quebec and Ottawa.
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.
Frontier League Stories from July 13, 2025
- Crushers Sweep Washington, Enter All-Star Break Atop Central Division - Lake Erie Crushers
- Bolts Finally Back Home with 11 Games in 13 Days Starting July 19th - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Jones Collects Five RBI as Otters Drop First Half Finale - Evansville Otters
- Stewart, Thomas Lead Grizzlies to Sweep in Evansville - Gateway Grizzlies
- Wild Things Drop Finale to Lake Erie to Close Unofficial First Half - Washington Wild Things
- Jackals Split Twin-Bill with Miners; Head into All-Star Break with a Victory - New Jersey Jackals
- Bird Dawgs Walk off Boulders to Win Series - Down East Bird Dawgs
- Boomers Sweep into All-Star Break - Schaumburg Boomers
- Larson Dynamite, Titans End First Half with Series Win - Ottawa Titans
- Reinisch Goes Deep Twice in Rubber Game Win - Tri-City ValleyCats
- Webster and Staff Bounce Back for Series Win - Florence Y'alls
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.
