Otters Mash 18 Runs, 20 Hits in Series Opening Win
Published on June 16, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Evansville Otters (22-11) scored six in the first inning and cruised to a series opening victory over the Lake Erie Crushers (14-20) on Tuesday night, 18-2.
Andres Parra's day on the mound for Lake Erie wouldn't last long while Ben Petschke threw six scoreless for Evansville.
Dennis Pierce got things started for the Otters with a two-run home run to right field. The next six Otters would reach, with LG Castillo, T.J. Salvaggio and Jon Ponder all driving in runs during the first. Parra exited the game after eight batters due to an injury. By the time Petschke took the mound for Evansville, it was 6-0.
After a scoreless second, the Otters were back to their strong offensive game in the third. After Castillo singled to start the inning, Salvaggio hit a two-run home run to dead center field to extend the lead to 8-0.
The lead reached double-digits in the fourth when Evansville capitalized on an RBI single from Marcos Gonzalez and a second run scored via a Lake Erie error.
After Ponder kicked off the fifth with a ground rule double, Logan Brown scored him on a sacrifice fly. Later in the inning, Gonzalez drove in a pair with a single to bring the advantage to 13-0.
The offense continued in the sixth thanks to an error and sacrifice fly that elevated the advantage to 15-0 for the Otters.
Evansville found the run column for the final time in the seventh inning with back-to-back-to-back RBI base hits from Amani Jones, Brown and Pierce.
Petschke's night ended after six complete innings, giving up just two hits and three walks while striking out three and not allowing a run.
Lake Erie scored for the only time in the home half of the seventh on a two-run home run.
Outside of the home run, Nathan Anderson locked in for his three innings. He struck out two and didn't allow a walk on his way to a three-inning save for the Otters, his first professional save.
The Otters are 22-11, 11 games over .500 for the first time this season. Evansville has won five-straight games for the second time this year (won six-straight from May 19-24) and have outscored their opponents 51-11 in those five games.
The series continues in Avon, OH tomorrow with the middle game between the Otters and Crushers starting at 5:30 p.m. CT at ForeFront 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.
For more information, visit evansvilleotters.com or call (812) 435-8686.
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