Otters Complete the Rally, Win 5-3
August 22, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
O'Fallon, MO- For the second time in as many nights at T.R. Hughes Ballpark, the Evansville Otters (52-31) were forced to mount a rally, but unlike last night when the Otters' rally fell just short to the River City Rascals (47-36), they were able to complete the comeback and win 5-3.
The night started off with a bang for the Otters as Rolando Gomez doubled into the right-centerfield gap to leadoff the game. The Otters then used small ball to plate him; both John Schultz and Dane Phillips grounded out to the right side of the infield to move him to third and finally bring him in for the Otters 1-0 lead.
They would remain in the lead until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Rascals got two runs off of starter Brett Marshall. Despite getting into trouble and allowing the first three men to reach and throwing a wild pitch to allow the second run to score, Marshall used a 5-4-3 double play ball to quiet the Rascals, finishing off the inning with a strikeout, but the Otters were down 2-1 after four. Zach Kometani hit his second home run in as many games to push the Rascals advantage 3-1 after six.
Nik Balog got the run right back though in the top of the seventh inning, blasting a solo home run to right field and cutting the deficit to 3-2. Marshall hit the first batter of the bottom of the seventh, but got back on track to give the Otters a chance to take the lead in the eighth and that is when they finally pulled through. The inning started the inning with back-to-back singles by Gomez and Schultz, and Philips followed with a walk to load the bases. The Rascals went to the bullpen, but Chris Sweeney hooked a single into left-center turning the 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead. Balog came up two batters later and bounded a ball right back up the middle, giving the Otters an important insurance run.
Marshall was sent back out in the eighth inning after an elongated wait in the top of the eighth and retired the first batter with a strikeout, but allowed a single to the next batter, which is when he was pulled from the game. Max Peterson, the pitching coach for the Otters, went to the bullpen and called upon Connor Little with the runner on. Little, who had stranded 20 of the 22 inherited runners coming into the game, struck out the first batter he faced and kept the Rascals off the board, eventually winning a 12 pitch battle by striking out Kometani to end the frame. Edgar Lopez came on in the ninth and retired the Rascals in order, striking out the final batter to even the series 1-1.
Rolando Gomez went 3-for-5 in the game with two runs scored and a double while John Schultz went 2-for-4 and scored a run of his own. Chris Sweeney collected the two RBI and now has 45 on the season and Nik Balog has 38 RBI for the season after the solo home run (his fourth of the year) and the RBI single in the eighth. It was just the seventh time in 37 games that the Otters came back when down at any point in the final three innings of a ballgame.
For the pitching staff, they kept their streak of not losing a game when ahead in the final two innings alive; the streak is now at 51 games to start the season. Brett Marshall improved to 4-1 on the season by going 7.1 innings pitched and allowing just three runs and striking out six. Connor Little is now 11-for-11 in holds and has struck out 77 on the season to just 12 walks (two intentional), and Edgar Lopez continues to dominant the ninth, now 21-for-22 in saves on the season.
The two teams will play the rubber match of the series tomorrow night with two great pitchers out on the mound. The Otters will toss Trevor Walch (8-6, 1.78) against Tim Koons (9-0, 3.64). Game time for the series finale is 4:05 pm CDT with the pregame show featuring Jake Donnelly scheduled to begin at 3:45 pm CDT on 91.5 FM WUEV. The Otters will be off after Sunday, taking the field again at 5:35 on Wednesday at Bosse Field for a doubleheader against the Frontier Greys. For all of the latest information on the Otters, log on to EvansvilleOtters.com or follow the team's twitter account @EvilleOtters.
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