Otters and Thunderbolts Square Off For Final Time This Season
July 2, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
Evansville, IN- Two games at Bosse Field last night resulted in two wins for the Evansville Otters (26-15) as the Otters swept the Windy City Thunderbolts behind two great starts from Efrain Nieves and Trevor Walch.
While Nieves fell one out shy of a complete game in Game One, there was no such issue for Trevor Walch in Game Two as he went the full seven innings while allowing just three runs, only two earned, to capture his fifth win of the season. Walch, who has been with the club for the past three seasons is now eight all-time in wins with 13, seventh all-time in strikeouts with 160, and after his third complete game of the season last night is now fifth in the record books with five finished starts.
The righty from Eufala, OK is now 5-2 on the season and his ERA is a scintillating 1.28. Walch was so dominant out on the mound that at one point he retired 13 batters in a row from the end of the second to the leadoff batter in the seventh.
The man who pitched in Game One for the Otters, Efrain Nieves, kept the Thunderbolts off the board through the entirety of his outing, only being pulled with a man on first and two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Max Peterson, the pitching coach for the Otters, turned the ball over to Edgar Lopez who notched his eleventh save in as many chances to seal the 1-0 Game One victory. Nieves allowed just six hits in his performance while striking out three and walking one.
As a pitching staff, the Otters now have recorded five quality starts in a row, and have done so in seven of their last eight. The man tasked with continuing that trend is Will Oliver who has turned in a quality start in six of his eight starts this season and is coming off back-to-back exceptional outings. Oliver has not allowed an earned run in his last two starts, going 14 innings and allowing just two unearned runs to the tune of 13 strikeouts against just three walks. Oliver is 4-2 in the 2015 campaign with a 1.91 ERA.
He will be going up against Danny Jimenez for the Windy City Thunderbolts in the season finale between the two teams. Jimenez is 2-2 with a 3.3.7 ERA, but did not get out of the third inning in his last start. He went 2.2 innings pitched against the Florence while allowing five runs, however only one of those was earned. He was particularly wild on the mound, walking four and not striking out a batter in addition to relinquishing five hits.
Offensively for the Otters, Dane Phillips went 2-for-6 in his Otters debut including an RBI double. Shayne Houck continues to hit, collecting three hits in seven at bats while driving in the only run of Game One; Houck is now 7-for-15 with three doubles, an RBI and a run scored after missing seven games due to an oblique strain. Kurt Wert Jr. came up with the eventual winning hit in Game Two, stepping to the plate at as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning and two outs and driving a ball through the hole between third and short, turning a 2-2 game into a 4-2 Otters lead.
Game One's first pitch is scheduled for 6:35 pm CDT at Bosse Field and the pregame show with Mike Radomski, Bill McKeon and Jake Donnelly slotted for 6:15. 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 July 2, 2015
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