Jones Drives in Four as Otters Extend Streak to Eight
FL Evansville Otters

Jones Drives in Four as Otters Extend Streak to Eight

Published on August 22, 2025 under Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release


WASHINGTON, Pa - The Evansville Otters (35-52) extended their Frontier League-leading eight-game win streak with a 7-6 extra innings victory over the Washington Wild Things (47-40) Thursday night. They now have two straight sweeps and have completed their first one on the road.

Evansville jumped out in front early after a mistake from the Washington defense. LJ Jones started out his big game by knocking in the first run of the game.

Ryan Wiltse made the start, but a three-run home run put Evansville behind early.

Stephen Paolini hit his second home run during his young Otters career to lead off the second and Evansville followed with a big third. After two quick outs, JT Benson got his 100th professional hit. Jones followed with a long home run to jump the Otters out in front 4-3. Keenan Taylor followed with a home run of his own to double the lead.

Wiltse settled in with a couple of scoreless innings but Washington struck for two in the fourth. Jackson Malouf relieved Wiltse and used one pitch to get out of the fourth. He stayed in the game, shutting down Washington for three innings without allowing a hit.

Nolan Thebiay entered and finished the seventh and got the first two batters of the eighth. Gunnar Dennis was called on to get the final out of the inning and did just that.

Both bullpens stifled the offense as we got into the ninth inning still tied at five. Darryl Jackson made himself 3-3 in ninth inning at-bats with a lead off single. After stealing a bag and a couple of outs, Washington intentionally walked Benson to set up a clutch at-bat with Jones for the second straight night. Jones came through with a rocket through the infield, scoring Jackson and giving Evansville a 6-5 lead.

Alex Valdez came in to pitch the ninth and after two quick outs, a two-strike single kept the game alive. A pinch hit double tied the game and sent the Otters to extra innings for the third time this year in Washington.

Paolini led off the tenth and laid down a sacrifice bunt with the help of some heads up baserunning from Taylor. JJ Cruz squeezed a ball just inside the first base bag to jump the Otters out in front 7-6.

Nick McAuliffe entered the tenth and gave up a single to start the inning. He followed that with back-to-back strikeouts and got a groundout to secure Evansville's eighth straight win. He earned his third save of the year as Valdez received the win.

Benson and Jones both finished off their big series with big performances. Benson's three-hit game finished off his nine hit series and he reached in 13 of his 14 plate appearances. Jones' four-RBI night finished his nine RBI week.

After securing their second straight sweep, the Otters return to Evansville for their final six home games of the 2025 season. A win Friday night would tie the franchise's all-time win streak at nine games. It's Otters Era Night at the ballpark tomorrow night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT. The Bosse Field gates open at 5:30 p.m.

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.

Check out the Evansville Otters Statistics

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Frontier League Stories from August 22, 2025


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