Otters Fall in Series Opener at Joliet
Published on July 3, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Evansville Otters (29-18) lost a lead in the later frames and dropped game one of the series against the Joliet Slammers (21-26) on Friday night, 8-5.
Garret Simpson got the start for the Otters against Ryan Daly for Joliet.
The Slammers struck first in the opening inning, Jackson Valera bringing in a run to give Joliet an early lead.
The Otters tied the game in the top of the third after an error from the Slammers' defense, but Joliet instantly got the lead back in the bottom half.
Evansville took the lead again in the top of the fourth, scoring three runs. LG Castillo's two-run home run tied the game and Sam Linscott put the Otters up 5-4 with an RBI single.
Castillo hit his second home run of the day in the sixth inning to put Evansville up by two.
The Slammers tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. Ian Battipaglia singled to right-center field and two total runs scored on the play.
Joliet would take the lead an inning later, taking advantage of some free passes to take an 8-5 lead into the eighth inning.
The bullpen tandem of Carlos Soto, Ben Catrambone and Casey O'Dell took Joliet the rest of the day, combining to hold Evansville scoreless in the last three innings.
The Otters will try to even the series tomorrow against the Slammers at 6:05 p.m. CT at Slammers Stadium.
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.
For more information, visit evansvilleotters.com or call (812) 435-8686.
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