EVANSVILLE, Ind – For the first time this season, the Evansville Otters are walk-off winners in a 3-2 extra innings finish over the Washington Wild Things at Bosse Field.
On the first pitch in the bottom of the tenth inning, Pavin Parks launched a blast into the night sky that cleared the right field wall to send the Otters (22-26) home with a series-opening victory.
Drawing first blood in the opening frame, the Wild Things (38-19) jumped ahead 1-0 before starting pitching took over the game.
Parker Brahms settled down after a rocky start and finished the night going eight innings, allowing one run on four hits, four strikeouts and no walks. He battled against Dariel Fregio, who also pitched into the eighth, but the Otters gave Brahms the offensive edge to make the difference.
The bats took until the eighth inning to get a run on the scoreboard, but it shifted the momentum of the game. Parks led off with a double. After moving to third on a flyout, he was brought home with a sacrifice RBI from Mason White.
No team could score in the ninth, but Washington jumped ahead again in the tenth inning with a run. Despite giving up the lead, Jon Beymer (4-1) left the bases full to limit the damage, as he would later earn the win because of the walk-off in his two frames of work.
Parks’ home run tonight was his fourth of the year. It was the club’s third extra-inning victory this season.
Gyeongju Kim (3-3) was dealt the loss after pitching in the final frame.
Evansville has a chance to win their first series of the year against Washington with the series middle game tomorrow. The first pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. CT. Coverage is available on the Otters Digital Network and FloBaseball.
