Sweeney's Walk-Off Home Run Sets up Three-Way Tie for First Place
August 15, 2014 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
(EVANSVILLE, INDIANA) - The Evansville Otters (47-30) moved into a first place tie in the Frontier League East Division with a 5-4 win over the Washington Wild Things on Friday night at Bosse Field. Evansville, Southern Illinois and Washington are all now tied for first place going into Saturday's games.
Tied at four, Otters outfielder Chris Sweeney led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a solo home run over the left field fence. It was Sweeney's 15th home run of the season and Evansville's sixth walk-off hit of the summer. The contest featured five lead changes and three ties before the Otters won on the final pitch of the night.
Evansville went ahead 1-0 on a fielding error from Washington in the second only to see the Wild Things even up the score on a Garrett Rau double in the third. Tied at one, the Otters took another lead on a third inning RBI infield single from Sweeney. The Wild Things evened up the score in the fifth on a Scott Kalamar sacrifice fly.
Deadlocked at two, Evansville took their third lead of the game on a Chris Elder sac fly in the bottom of the fifth. Trailing 4-3, Washington worked a one-out walk in the sixth to set up catcher Jim Vahalik for the go-ahead two run home run to right field.
Facing their first deficit of the night, Shayne Houck recorded a leadoff double to begin the seventh and scored the tying run on Elder's RBI single later in the inning. Houck ended the night 4-for-4 with three doubles, tying an Otters single game record.
Relievers Evan Mott and Anthony Collazo (2-2) each threw a scoreless inning in relief to set up Sweeney for the game winner in the ninth. Otters Starter Preston Olson did not factor in to the decision. He went 7.0 innings allowing four runs and striking out six in the game. Schultz was 1-for-2 in the game with three walks. He is now on a 10-game hitting streak for Evansville. Balog went 3-for-4 as well, getting his hitting streak to seven. Sweeney was 3-for-5 in the game with two runs scored and two runs batted in.
Evansville will go for the series win on Saturday night. It is Breast Cancer Awareness Night sponsored by Marathon and Comfort Inn. The Otters will wear special pink colored jerseys that will be auctioned off at the end of the night. There will also be postgame fireworks as well. First pitch is set for 6:35 pm CDT. Evansville will have RHP Connor Little (1-0, 0.00 ERA) on the mound. Fans can call 812-435-8686 for tickets. The game will be broadcast live on WUEV 91.5 FM. The pregame show begins at 6:15 pm CDT.
• Discuss this story on the Frontier League message board...
Frontier League Stories from August 15, 2014
- Aviators Struggle; Lose 20-7 - Rockford Aviators
- CornBelters Break Single-Game Team Run Record - Normal CornBelters
- Boomers Edge Grizzlies in Series Opener - Gateway Grizzlies
- Miners Drop Rain-Shortened Game In River City - Southern Illinois Miners
- Otters Edge Washington 5-4 in Walk-Off Fashion - Washington Wild Things
- Sweeney's Walk-Off Home Run Sets up Three-Way Tie for First Place - Evansville Otters
- Boomers Homer Past Gateway - Schaumburg Boomers
- ThunderBolts Walk-Off with 6-5 Win over Frontier Greys - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Multi-Mejia Mejia homers twice in Lake Erie victory - Lake Erie Crushers
- Freedom Silence Slammers - Florence Y'alls
- Crushers Beat Beach Bums 9-1 - Traverse City Beach Bums
- Slammers Lose to Florence 4-1 on Friday Night - Joliet Slammers
- August 15 Florence Freedom Game Notes - Florence Y'alls
- Otters Eye First Place, Host Washington for Weekend Series at Bosse - Evansville Otters
- Rascals Crush Greys, Win Series - River City Rascals
- Burke Blasts Miners To Series Win Over Rockford - Southern Illinois Miners
- Windy City Walks off to 3-2 Victory - Washington Wild Things
- CornBelters Defeat Grizzlies in Normal - Gateway Grizzlies
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
