The Evansville Otters have signed outfielder Elijah MacNamee and pitchers Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Spring, and Jacob Bowles to contract extensions for the 2022 season.
Elijah MacNamee, from Cypress, Texas, is entering his third season with the Otters. In 2021, MacNamee hit .292 with 62 runs, 15 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 45 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases in 92 games played.
MacNamee joined the Otters in July 2019 following his senior season at Mississippi State. While with Mississippi State, MacNamee was a member of two College World Series appearances in 2018-19, and a member of a Super Regional appearance in 2017.
In his collegiate career at Mississippi State, MacNamee batted .287 with 113 runs, 37 doubles, 17 home runs, 116 RBIs, and 60 walks in 170 games played and 154 games started. He also had a career .441 slugging percentage and a .367 on-base percentage.
Ryan O’Reilly joined the Otters for his first season in professional baseball out of the University of Illinois – Chicago in 2021. O’Reilly went 5-4 in 12 starts with a 2.89 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 84 innings pitched.
O’Reilly, a Mokena, Illinois native, started 13 games for the UIC Flames in 2021, compiling a 4-5 record over 68.0 innings pitched, allowing 46 earned runs off 72 hits, 30 walks, and 53 strikeouts.
Prior to his tenures at UIC, O’Reilly threw for two seasons at Triton College in River Grove, Illinois. While with the Trojans, Triton College won back-to-back regional championships in 2017 and 2018.
Tyler Spring is entering his second season with the Otters. In 2021, Spring was 6-0 with one save and a 2.54 ERA in 40 appearances and 56.2 innings pitched. He struck out 62 batters.
Spring, from Wiggins, Miss., played collegiately at Southern Mississippi and at Mississippi State, where he teamed up with MacNamee. He started his college career at Jones College, where he was a NJCAA first team All-State and national team member in 2018.
Jacob Bowles joined the Otters for his first season in professional baseball in 2021. Bowles posted a 2.57 ERA with 20 strikeouts and a save in 11 appearances and 28 innings pitched in 2021 for the Otters.
Bowles, a University of Southern Indiana product, is a native of Mount Washington, Kentucky. In five seasons with USI, Bowles compiled a winning record of 12-8, with a 4.98 ERA.
Bowles pitched in 11 games for the Screaming Eagles in the 2021 season, while making eight starts. Over 58.1 innings, Bowles threw to a 4.47 ERA.
