Rascals steal game form Otters, win 5-3
Published on June 12, 2006 under Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
O'Fallon, MO-For the second time in their three game series with the River City Rascals (10-8), the Evansville Otters (8-10) took a lead late in the game and handed the ballgame over to the bullpen. For the second time in the series however, the bullpen could not hold the lead as the Rascals plated four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to steal away the rubber game of the series and pulled off the 5-3 win at T.R. Hughes ballpark on Monday.
Early on it was a matchup of solid starting pitching as Casey Abrams and Brian Keating, both left-handers, were trading zeroes through four innings. The Rascals scratched across a run in the fifth to take a 1-0 lead, a lead they would hold until the seventh.
Evansville scored three times in the inning, keyed by a Ty Bubalo two run single to take a 3-1 lead. Bubalo's knock was preceded by back-to-back singles to start the frame, and after a Mike Spry sacrifice bunt, the Otters were in good shape for Bubalo's clutch hit.
Abrams started the bottom of the inning by walking a batter, and after a fielder's choice, Casey left the game with a 3-1 lead as Chad Gillis was summoned from the pen. Gillis (1-1) would face four batters, retiring just one, as he allowed a single, an RBI groundout, an intentional walk and an infield single to tie the game.
Donny Langdon was brought into face the left-handed hitting Eric Chevalier, and after jumping ahead 0-2, it looked as if the Otters fate would be determined in the following innings. Chevelaier crushed a double to deep left field however to plate a pair and give the Rascals a 5-3 lead, a lead they would not relinquish.
Evansville did have some chances late however, as they had three singles in the span of four batters in the eighth, but lost a base runner on some simple miscommunication as Mike Spry was caught in no man's land, rounding the bag too far at second and getting caught in a rundown that would result in his demise.
Against the Rascals' closer Pat Evers in the ninth, Evansville got a pair of singles with two outs from Jeff Goldbach and Matt Edwards, but the game ended on a fly out to right to put a cap on a roller coaster evening of baseball in O'Fallon. The save gives Evers six on the season.
Reliever Derrick Landavazo (2-1) got his second win of the series, going an inning and a third, allowing no runs on three hits in his time on the mound.
The Otters return home to spark a season high six game home stand on Tuesday as right hander Chris Pillsbury (1-0, 1.53) will get the start for the Otters.
Otter Tracks: Evansville is now 1-2 in rubber games this year.
Frontier League Stories from June 12, 2006
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