Paolini's Three-Run Home Run Lifts Otters to Win
Published on August 15, 2025 under Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
EVANSVILLE, Ind - The Evansville Otters (30-52) took down the Joliet Slammers (38-44) in the opener Friday, 6-5. The win marked the first three-game win streak for the Otters since June.
Ryan Wiltse got the start tonight, but had to work around some early trouble as Joliet put up three runs in the first.
Dennis Pierce led off the bottom of the first with a single that he extended to second after a defensive mistake. Logan Brown scored him with a sacrifice fly to bring the score to 3-1.
After the first inning, Wiltse settled in and started to deal. He worked through the fifth inning, allowing just two baserunners and finished with four strikeouts. Jackson Malouf entered and worked a scoreless sixth inning.
Evansville had been mostly stifled offensively, but that changed in the sixth inning. Graham Brown started it all with a walk. L. Brown and Keenan Taylor followed with singles to score G. Brown and bring Evansville to within one. Stephen Paolini, who was in his Otters home debut, stepped in and hit a three-run, 391-foot home run to give Evansville a 5-3 lead.
J.T. Benson followed that with a single and stole two bases to put himself on third. After a walk, Benson scored on a wild pitch, making the score 6-3.
Malouf started the seventh and got a couple of outs, but allowed a run. He left the game in-line for his first career victory. Gunnar Dennis, after his excellent series in his hometown of Pearl, Miss., came in to finish the seventh and stranded a runner. He worked the eighth, but allowed a run to bring Joliet within one.
The Otters stranding the bases loaded in the eighth and entered the ninth up one run, setting up Alex Valdez to earn his sixth save of the season. After getting the first out of the inning, a couple runners reached. Valdez followed that with back-to-back flyouts to secure the 6-5 victory.
Evansville returns tomorrow night for the second of three against the Slammers. Princess Night at the ballpark will begin as the gates open at 5:30 p.m. CT for the 6:35 p.m. first pitch.
All games can be heard on 96.9 WYIR and the Otters Digital Network and can be viewed live on the HomeTeam Network.
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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