 The Evansville Otters took game one of the series against the Gateway Grizzlies thanks to a walk- off homer by John Schultz.
The Otters offense struggled all night long, compiling only three hits going into the bottom of the third, thanks to Gateway pitcher Dakota Smith and his nine strikeouts, and to stellar defensive play by the Grizzlies. One of the highlights from the Grizzles defense was left fielder Sam Fischer’s diving grab.
In the third, the Grizzles took an early 2-0 lead after an RBI-double by Craig Massoni and an RBI-single by Tyler Tewell. The Otters would answer back in the bottom of the third to bring the game within one after an RBI-double from Christopher Riopedre to score Chris Sweeney.
In the fourth, both teams would put up one run. Josh Bunselmeyer’s RBI-double would score Logan Davis. For the Otters, Nik Balog’s single would bring in Josh Allen to make the score 3-2.
The game would stay scoreless until the ninth inning. Jordan Wellander came in to pitch for the Grizzles and allowed a single by Josh Allen, then blew the save when John Schultz blasted the walk-off homer over right field for the 4-3 win.
Tyler Thompson was given the win on the night to move his record to 4-2 on the season. Jordan Wellander was given the loss and the blown save to move his record to 2-1 on the season.
Looking ahead, the Otters will play a doubleheader against the Grizzlies on July 9th to wrap up the homestand. First pitch is at 5:35 PM, with the doors opening an hour beforehand.
