The Washington Wild Things used an eight-run fifth inning to take control of Sunday’s series finale, beating the Evansville Otters 12-7 in front of 1,030 at Bosse Field.
The Otters took a 7-1 lead into the fifth, but after 14 batters came to the plate for the Wild Things, the six-run lead had turned into a two-run deficit.
Brett Marr got the scoring started for Washington in the decisive inning by hitting an RBI double that scored former University of Evansville catcher Kyle Pollock to make the score 7-2. James Harris hit a two-run double and two batters later, Carter McEachern’s two-run double cut the deficit to one run at 7-6.
Hector Roa and Reydel Medina followed with back-to-back RBI singles, giving Washington a 9-7 advantage.
The Wild Things added insurance runs in the seventh when Pollock hit a two-run home run to extend the lead to 11-7. Medina’s RBI ground out in the ninth capped the scoring for Washington.
Evansville’s offense had another solid showing early as Toby Thomas’ solo home run in the first gave the Otters a 1-0 lead.
After Pollock tied the game on an RBI double in the second, Luis Vilorio’s RBI double in the bottom half of the inning allowed Evansville to retake the lead at 2-1.
In the third, Evansville scored five times, capped by Caleb Eldridge’s three-run home run, which gave the Otters a six-run advantage. Brandon Dulin and Travis Harrison also had RBI singles in the five-run third.
Tyler Vail started the game and took a no-decision, pitching four innings while allowing seven earned runs on nine hits. Randy Wynne came on in relief and took the loss, giving up two earned runs on three hits in a 1/3 of an inning.
Aaron Burns got the victory for Washington, pitching four scoreless innings in relief and allowing just four hits.
Harrison finished 2 for 3 with two runs scored and an RBI for Evansville while Thomas went 2 for 5 and Zach Welz 2 for 4.
Washington improved to 2-1 and Evansville fell to 1-2. The Otters will travel to Joliet, Ill. to play the Slammers for a three-game series, beginning Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.
The Otters return to Bosse Field Friday for a three-game weekend series against Normal. Tickets are still available at evansvilleotters.com or by calling 812-435-8686.
