Otters Use Big First Inning to Maul Grizzlies
Published on May 20, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
EVANSVILLE, Ind - The Evansville Otters (6-4) had everything go right for them as they blew past the Gateway Grizzlies (4-6) in game one of the series, 15-5.
It was all Otters from the first pitch, as four of the first five batters of the game would reach. J.J. Cruz hit a sacrifice fly to put them up two, then Mark Black and Blake Robertson went back-to-back with three-run and solo home runs respectively to make it a 6-0 lead in the first.
They would score two more in the second inning, while Garret Simpson retired the first six Grizzlies he saw.
The first six Otters of the third inning reached, five of them getting hits. Logan Brown drove in two runs with a double and Marcos Gonzalez brought him in with a double of his own. By the end of the third, it was 12-0 Otters.
The Gateway bats didn't leave empty-handed, as Gateway scored five runs across the fourth and fifth innings.
The Otters got one more in the sixth to make it 15-5, and it was all pitching from there.
Luke Baker, Nolan Thebiay and J.D. Encarnacion would combine for 3.1 scoreless IP out of the bullpen to keep Gateway at bay.
This was the most runs (15) and hits (17) in a game for Evansville this season. Five players had multi-hit games and four would drive in multiple runs. Amani Jones went 4-5 with four singles on his birthday, while the bottom three in the lineup all hit home runs.
Evansville handed Gateway their second straight loss by 10+ runs, the last on Sunday's series finale against Windy City.
Evansville will try to continue its hot hitting tomorrow in game two of the series against Gateway, starting at 6:35 p.m. at EVSC's Historic Bosse 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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