RECAP: Petschke Throws Gem as Otters Take Finale
Published on May 28, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
Evansville Otters pitcher Ben Petschke
(Evansville Otters)
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Evansville Otters (12-6) used great pitching to cruise to a victory in game three of the series against the Gateway Grizzlies (8-10).
The great pitching was mostly the result of Ben Petschke, who got the start against Xander Lovin for Gateway.
The Otters scored early as Amani Jones singled in Jon Ponder in the first inning to give them the early lead.
They brought in another run in the third, as Sam Linscott hit his second sacrifice fly in as many games to make it a 2-0 lead.
T.J. Salvaggio had a career night, starting with a three-run home run in the fourth, his first as a professional. That would put the Otters up by five.
Mark Shallenberger sent one over the right field wall in the bottom half of the fourth, scoring himself and Jose Alvarez to make it 5-2.
The Otters would bring in three more in the seventh inning, Salvaggio becoming the first Otter this season with a multi-HR game; his solo shot, along with Logan Brown and Dennis Pierce's RBI singles, made it 8-2.
Ben Petschke was phenomenal as he became the first Otters pitcher to go more than six innings in a game this season. He went eight innings, giving up just the two runs on Shallenberger's home run while limiting walks and pitching efficiently against the Grizzlies.
Andrew Garcia took the ninth and sealed the deal, moving the Otters to 12-6 on the season.
Evansville will head north to Crestwood and play the first of a short two-game series against the Windy City ThunderBolts starting tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. at Ozinga 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.
Images from this story
 Evansville Otters pitcher Ben Petschke |
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