FL Evansville Otters

Otters Pull Out a 4-3 Victory Behind Two Kurt Wertz, Jr. Home Runs

Published on August 12, 2015 under Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release


Rockford, IL- Coming into tonight's action, Kurt Wertz Jr. had been stuck at four home runs on the season since June 28th. However, after tonight, he now has six long balls as he hit two solo shots including the go-ahead game winner in the top of the ninth and John Schultz tallied three hits with his third base knock his 271st as an Otter, most All-Time, and the Evansville Otters (48-16) took down the Rockford Aviators (41-33) by a 4-3 score.

Tyler Vail started on the mound for the Otters and allowed a run in the bottom of the first inning, but Wertz Jr. waited on a 2-1 fastball in the top of the second and deposited it over the right-center field wall, tying the game 1-1. The Otters took the lead in the next inning on an RBI groundout by Chris Sweeney and a two-out double by Nik Balog, his second double of the series.

Vail would keep the Otters in the lead until the bottom of the sixth when he allowed a leadoff homerun, cutting the lead to 3-2. He walked the next batter and after throwing two wild pitches a sacrifice fly tied the game at 3-3.

The Game stayed tied through the next couple of innings thanks to the combination of Shane Weedman and Connor Little, giving Wertz Jr. a chance to provide the heroics. After falling behind in the count 1-2, he fouled off two straight pitches and then sailed a ball down the left field line, dropping it over the wall at the corner and giving the Otters a 4-3 lead.

Edgar Lopez came on to pitch in the bottom of the ninth, and despite allowing a two-out single, struck out the final batter of the game, securing the win and handing the Otters the series after taking the first two contests of the three game set.

John Schultz has five hits in the series and passed Denver Stuckey for most hits all time with his ninth inning single. Shane Weedman went one inning of work and stranded two runners while Connor Little faced four, stranding the two inherited runners he received from Weedman, as well as striking out the side in order in the eighth, picking up his second win of the season. With his save in the ninth, Edgar Lopez is now 19-for-20 on the season in save situation, picking up two strikeouts in his inning.

The Otters and Aviators will finish off their series tomorrow night with the series finale starting at 6:35 pm CDT and the pregame show featuring Jake Donnelly starting at 6:15 pm CDT. The Otters will return home on Friday for a three game series against the Schaumburg Boomers. Fans can listen to all three games in the Evansville area on 91.5 WUEV or online at EvansvilleOtters.com. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the team's front office at 812.435.8686 or online at EvansvilleOtters.com. For all of the latest information on the Otters, log on to EvansvilleOtters.com or follow the team's twitter account @EvilleOtters.

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Frontier League Stories from August 12, 2015


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