Sellout crowd watches Otters down Rascals

0

The Evansville Otters took a 4-0 lead in the first inning and cruised to a 10-3 win over the River City Rascals in front of a sellout crowd of 6,137 at Bosse Field Friday.

Evansville’s scoring outburst in the first started with a Ryan Long single and was followed by Josh Allen’s two-run home run, giving the Otters a 2-0 lead. The homer was Allen’s 15th of the season.

Dane Phillips and Jeff Gardner followed with back-to-back walks and John Schultz’s RBI single extended the advantage to 3-0. Gardner would score on a Brandon Soat RBI single that pushed the lead to 4-0 as the first five Otters reached base before an out was recorded.

The Rascals responded with three runs in the second, starting with Brandon Thomas’ RBI single. After a sacrifice fly made it 4-2, Josh Ludy hit an RBI single that scored Braxton Martinez to make the score 4-3.

The score remained 4-3 until the fifth when Allen tripled and scored on Phillips’ RBI single. Gardner delivered a triple of his own, scoring Phillips and pushing the Otters lead to 6-3.

Allen’s sacrifice fly in the sixth made it 7-3.

In the seventh, Alejandro Segovia hit an RBI double to score Schultz, pushing the Evansville lead to 8-3. Segovia would score on an RBI single by Nick Walker. Christopher Riopedre’s sacrifice fly capped the scoring.

Allen finished a single shy of the cycle, going 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs.

Gardner, Schultz and Segovia each had two hits and an RBI apiece. Walker was 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Luc Rennie picked up his sixth win of the season for Evansville, allowing three runs off six hits while striking out seven.

River City’s Tim Koons took the loss, giving up six runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.

The Otters and Rascals battle again from Bosse Field on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

On Saturday, it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Night at Bosse Field with the game being sponsored by Marathon. Pink bracelets will be handed out to early arriving fans at the gates. Fans will also have the opportunity to bid on themed, game-worn jerseys throughout the game.

The Boonville High School Band will be at the ballpark, performing on the front lawn before the game and playing the National Anthem as well.

Fans can listen live to the game on 91.5 FM WUEV and watch on the Otters Digital Network. Preston Leinenbach (play-by-play) and Bill McKeon (analysis) will provide coverage.

Tickets for Saturday are still available by going to evansvilleotters.com or calling 812-435-8686.