Otters Fall in First Sudden Death Game of 2026
Published on May 29, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Evansville Otters (12-7) were one strike away from securing a win, but couldn't pull it off as the Windy City ThunderBolts (10-10) won game one of the short two-game series in sudden death.
It was another great pitching performance for the Otters and starter J.D. Encarnacion, with Dante Maietta toeing the rubber to start for the 'Bolts.
It was a true pitcher's duel, as no one scored through the first five and a half innings.
Windy City would break the scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Daryl Ruiz poked a bloop single into shallow right field that brought home Carlos Pena from third base.
The Otters would respond the next half-inning. T.J. Salvaggio continued his hot hitting in clutch situations, driving in Blake Robertson with two outs to tie the game at one.
That would remain the score as the game would head into extra innings, the second game with bonus baseball this season for the Otters and the first for Windy City.
Salvaggio would strike again, bringing in J.J. Cruz from second to give the Otters the lead.
Junior Cerda would come into the bottom of the tenth and was one strike away from giving the Otters the win before Josue Urdaneta hit a single into right field to tie the game back up at two.
In sudden death, Windy City chose to play defense. Carter Delaney, in his third inning of work, didn't allow the commissioner's runner, Amani Jones, to even reach second base. He would shut down the Otters in order, giving the 'Bolts the victory.
The Otters hit into five double plays in the contest and fell to 2-5 on the road and 12-7 overall.
Evansville will look to finish May on a high note against Windy City tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. at Ozinga Field.
All games can be heard on 96.9 WYIR and the Otters Digital Network and can be viewed live on the Frontier League Network on HTN.
The Evansville Otters are the 2006 and 2016 Frontier League champions.
The Otters play all home games at EVSC's 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.
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