EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Dane Phillips went 3 for 5 and fell a double short of the cycle, helping the Evansville Otters beat the Traverse City Beach Bums 11-7 Thursday at Bosse Field in front of 3,524.
Ryan Long scored on a wild pitch, giving Evansville an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
John Montgomery of Traverse City tied the game at 1-1 in the second with a sacrifice fly.
In the third, the Beach Bums took their first lead of the series when Steven Patterson doubled, scoring Orlando Rivera.
Traverse City added another run in the fourth when Montgomery hit another sacrifice fly to extend the Beach Bums advantage to 3-1.
For the third straight game, Evansville scored multiple runs in the bottom of the fourth and the comeback started when Alejandro Segovia hit a two-run home run to tie the game at 3-3. The homer was Segovia’s 12th of the season.
Long followed with an RBI single to give Evansville the lead at 4-3.
In the fifth after Traverse City tied the game, Phillips and Jeff Gardner hit back-to-back home runs. It was Phillips 13th homer on the season and Gardner’s shot added to his league-leading mark of 18 on the season.
The Otters led 6-4 heading into the seventh, but the Beach Bums trimmed the deficit to one with a solo home run from Will Kengor.
Evansville responded when Josh Allen led off the bottom half with a triple, which was followed by an RBI triple from Phillips.
Following back-to-back walks, Soat hit an RBI double. Kolten Yamaguchi kept the offense going with a two-run RBI double that scored Segovia and Soat, helping Evansville extend the lead to 11-5.
The Otters went on to bat-around in the five-run seventh.
Alexis Rivera hit a two-run home run in the ninth, making the score 11-7.
Starting pitcher Diego Ibarra picked up his third of the season for the Otters, lasting five innings pitched. He gave up four earned runs off seven hits. He struck out one and walked three.
Brian Bayliss took the loss for Traverse City, allowing six earned runs off eight hits in four innings.
On Friday, it’s Kyndle Night at the ballpark. After the game, fans are encouraged to stay in their seats for a spectacular fireworks show and first pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
Tickets for Friday are still available by going to evansvilleotters.com or calling 812-435-8686.
