Despite home runs from Dakota Phillips and Elijah MacNamee, the Evansville Otters fell to the Southern Illinois Miners in the two clubs’ series opener Tuesday night by a final score of 6-3.
After a 56-minute rain delay pushed back first pitch, the Otters fired first in the opening frame, when J.R. Davis singled to drive in Miles Gordon from second, giving his club an early 1-0 lead.
Evansville would add on in the bottom of the third, when Dakota Phillips smacked a solo home run to right for his ninth drive of the season. After three the Otters led 2-0.
The Miners would have to wait until the top of the sixth inning to score their first run of the game off of Otters starter Tim Holdgrafer when Ian Walters singled home Nolan Earley from second. The tally would be Holdgrafer’s lone blemish of the evening, as he struck out eight batters through six innings of work.
The Otters would answer in the bottom of the sixth when Elijah MacNamee clubbed his seventh home run of the season leading off the inning. After six, the Otters still led 3-1.
The Miners would tie the game in the top of the seventh off of Tyler Spring, when Jared Mang doubled home Luke Mangieri and Yeltsin Gudino brought home the tying run with a safety squeeze up the first base line, knotting the score at three runs apiece.
In the top of the eighth, the Miners would take their first lead of the game facing Taylor Wright, as Luke Mangieri doubled home the go-ahead run followed by a two-run home run from Jared Mang. Scoring three runs in the eighth, the Miners led by the eventual final score of 6-3.
The win went to Miners’ reliever Jake Fisher in his Southern Illinois debut, after he replaced starter Michael Austin to begin the sixth. Taylor Wright suffered the loss, while Ryan Miller picked up the save.
The Otters will look to even the series Wednesday night at Bosse Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., and fans can follow a broadcast of the game on Frontier League LiveTV with a 6:20 p.m. pregame show.
