EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Evansville Otters bounced back with a 5-0 win on Saturday night to even the series against the New England Knockouts at Bosse Field.
Pitching dominated throughout the game for the Otters (20-30) as they picked up their second shutout of the year.
Casey Delgado started the game and went three innings while striking out four. Although it was a short day, he worked hard to limit his pitch count and the Knockouts (14-35) offensive production.
Out of the bullpen, Ryan Wiltse (1-0) picked up his first win of the season, pitching in three quality innings with two strikeouts. Following him, Jon Beymer struck out four in two frames of work, while Grif Hughes added another pair of punchouts in the ninth inning, totaling 12 as a staff.
Taking a hard-luck loss was Anderson Comas (0-1), as he went six innings and allowed two runs.
The first three frames were quiet, with both pitchers mowing down the opposition. The scoreless game was broken in the fourth, as Dakota Phillips launched his third homer in as many games over the right-center wall to make it 1-0. His at-bat also broke up a no-hitter from Comas.
In the fifth inning, Delvin Zinn led off with a double, then scored on a throwing mistake from the Knockouts.
The final runs came in the seventh. With the bases-loaded and two outs, Phillips picked up his second hit of the game with a bases-clearing double to the right-center gap.
While the Otters were outhit 6-5, timely at-bats made the difference. Phillips reached in all four of his plate appearances, garnering a pair of walks to go along with his two knocks. Chalking up his second multi-hit game of the year, Zinn went two-for-three with a double and a walk.
Set up for another rubber match, the Otters look to end their final home game before the All-Star break on a high note in the series finale against the Knockouts. The first pitch is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. CT. Coverage is available on the Otters Digital Network and FloBaseball.
