Otters Outscore Crushers in Eighth Inning to Win
September 10, 2021 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - After seven scoreless innings, the Evansville Otters outscored the Lake Erie Crushers 3-2 in the eighth inning Friday, leading to a win and keeping the Otters in the hunt for the postseason.
Right-handed pitchers Ryan O'Reilly for Evansville and Ean Walda for Lake Erie went toe-to-toe in their performances on the mound Friday.
Both only allowed a single hit each through the first three innings.
O'Reilly retired 11 straight at one point going into the fifth inning with one out.
Through five innings, the two starters had given up only a combined four hits.
Even though Walda was removed after five innings, the game remained scoreless through seven innings.
Both pitching staffs remained strong with runners on or bases-loaded in multiple circumstances.
Neither starting pitcher factored into the final decisions. Evansville's O'Reilly went 7.2 innings with seven strikeouts, while Lake Erie's Walda made it through five innings with five strikeouts.
With a bullpen game in the eighth and still scoreless, the Crushers had the first offensive blow. Lake Erie scored two runs; one on an Otters' defensive miscue, and the second on an RBI single by Steve Passatempo.
Down 2-0, the Otters were not fazed in the bottom of the eighth.
With the bases loaded, Gary Mattis put the ball to force the Lake Erie defense to make a play, and the Crushers' defense committed an error to make it a one-run game.
Then Josh Allen gave the Otters a 3-2 lead with a two-RBI single to score Andrew Penner and Elijah MacNamee.
Evansville's Logan Sawyer closed out the win for his league-leading 24th save of the season.
Lake Erie reliever Daniel Kight took the loss.
Following Friday's games, the Otters remain a half game back of the Florence Y'alls after their win Friday night.
The Otters and Crushers meet again Saturday from Bosse Field at 6:35 p.m.
Evansville Otters broadcast coverage Saturday can be found on frontierleaguetv.com.
The Evansville Otters are the 2006 and 2016 Frontier League champions.
The Otters play all home games at 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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Frontier League Stories from September 10, 2021
- Otters Outscore Crushers in Eighth Inning to Win - Evansville Otters
- Otters seize lead and win from Crushers; All runs marked as unearned - Lake Erie Crushers
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- All-Stars Blast Y'alls to Victory over Boomers - Florence Y'alls
- Gateway Wins Series against Windy with Derby Win - Gateway Grizzlies
- Otters Recognize Boots Day, Come up a Run Shy Thursday - Evansville Otters
- ThunderBolts Lose Home Run Tiebreaker - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Florence Takes First with Blowout Win, Evansville Loss on Thursday Night - Florence Y'alls
- Miners Shut out by Florence - Southern Illinois Miners
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