The Otters sent Garrett Simpson to the mound for his second professional start and he bounced back in a big way. He allowed a leadoff single followed by a soft fly out and a double play. Thanks to the double play, he faced the minimum through the first three innings.
Evansville jumped out in front for the third time in this series with a Devid Mendham two-out double. Parks Bouck, who reached in front of him with a walk, made a crafty slide at home to avoid the tag.
Simpson pitched a clean fourth, but ran into some trouble in the fifth. A one-out walk followed by a bloop double scored the tying run. Simpson finished the fifth clean and worked a quick sixth to finish his day. He secured his first professional quality start, only allowing three hits and one run.
Nolan Thebiay followed Simpson and, while working through slight command issues, pitched 1.2 innings without allowing a run. Nick McAuliffe came in to finish the eighth, recording the final out.
After a scoreless ninth from Evansville, Alex Valdez came on in the ninth. He allowed a leadoff double, followed by a sacrifice bunt. Valdez fielded the ball but overthrew first and the runner from second scored, giving Gateway a 2-1 victory.
Though Evansville’s bats struggled a bit, Mendham stayed hot, going 2-for-3 with a walk. The defense recorded three double plays after they had four Wednesday night, helping Evansville record their fourth straight quality start.
The Otters are back in action tomorrow night at 6:35 p.m. CT as they host the Florence Y’alls for the first time this year. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. for Video Game Night, sponsored by Meijer and the Boys & Girls Club, with postgame fireworks to kick off the homestand.
