Otters Drop a Tough One in Series Opener, Lose 4-3
September 1, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
Normal, IL- The Evansville Otters (48-43) let a 3-0 lead slip away to the Normal Cornbelters (57-34), eventually losing 4-3 as the Cornbelters clinches the West Division title.
The Otters and Cornbelters traded series in the first couple of frames before Chris Elder came to the plate in the third with one out ripped a ball down the first baseline, hustling into second for a double. Cory Urquhart followed with a single to center to plate the first run of the game for the Otters. After a Rolando Gomez single moved Urquhart to third, John Schultz singled to left for an Otters 2-0 lead before Shayne Houck bounced a ball up the middle for the Otters 3-0 advantage.
The score would stay that way until the bottom of the sixth inning when Brett Marshall, who had been coasting up until that point, walked the first three batters of the inning. A sacrifice fly to right, a single and an artificial turf double down the left field line gave the Cornbelters a 4-3 lead, which they would not relinquish.
Efrain Nieves returned from the disabled list to pick up three outs without giving up a run and Connor Little went 1.2 innings pitched, retiring all five batters he faced while picking up a strikeout. Brett Marshall ended up allowing 5.1 innings pitched and four earned runs while dropping to 5-2. On the offensive side, John Schultz, Cory Urquhart, and Rolando Gomez all collected a couple of hits.
Lefty Hunter Ackerman, who is 0-2 despite a 3.04 ERA, will try to even up the series and the Cornbelters will respond with another righty, Mike Schweiss (8-7, 3.24). The Otters are back in action tomorrow night with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35 pm CDT and the pregame show featuring Jake Donnelly will begin at 6:15 pm CDT. For all of the latest information on the Otters, log on to EvansvilleOtters.com or follow the team's twitter account @EvilleOtters.
• Discuss this story on the Frontier League message board...
Frontier League Stories from September 1, 2015
- Miners Fall to Gateway - Southern Illinois Miners
- Aviators Best Greys, 10-7 - Rockford Aviators
- Tewell Powers Grizzlies to Win as Spencer Shines on Mound - Gateway Grizzlies
- Sam Eberle Smashes Baseballs as Freedom Win Again - Florence Y'alls
- Otters Drop a Tough One in Series Opener, Lose 4-3 - Evansville Otters
- Boomers Pull Away from Washington - Schaumburg Boomers
- CornBelters Clinch Division with Win over Otters - Normal CornBelters
- Wild Things Fall to Boomers 9-3 - Washington Wild Things
- Ninth inning rally falls short in 5-3 loss - Lake Erie Crushers
- ThunderBolts Fall in Opener at Florence - Windy City ThunderBolts
- RC Rascals Stadium Naming Rights Now Available - River City Rascals
- Former Cardinals Slugger Jack Clark to Visit GCS Ballpark on Saturday - Gateway Grizzlies
- September 1 Florence Freedom Game Notes - Florence Y'alls
- Tonight: Help the Freedom Fight the Heroin Epidemic - Florence Y'alls
- Normal CornBelters Game Tonight - Normal CornBelters
- Ozzie Guillen to Manage CornBelters on Wednesday, September 2nd - Normal CornBelters
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.
