J.J. Cruz reached on a slow roller up the middle and then Graham Brown doubled and scored him to start the game. G. Brown scored on a wild pitch during the next at-bat to give Evansville a 2-0 lead.
Parker Brahms made his 15th start of the season and started his outing with a 1-2-3 first. A one-out single followed by a triple put Mississippi on the board but a great defensive play at third allowed Darryl Jackson to throw out a runner at home. The Mud Monsters struck for two in the third to give them a 3-2 lead.
Brahms settled in after the third. He set down 12 of the next 13 Mud Monster batters to get through the seventh inning. Evansville was mostly stifled offensively, but they did put runners in scoring position in the fourth and seventh. Both times the runners were stranded at second.
Brahms went back out for the eighth, but a leadoff hit ended his day and brought on Nolan Thebiay. Thebiay surrendered a single that gave Mississippi a 4-2 lead, but got the next two batters he faced. Pearl native Gunnar Dennis entered to get the final out and struck out the only batter he faced.
The Otters came to the ninth needing two runs and for the second straight game, they didn’t go down without a fight. Logan Brown led the inning off with a single and J.T. Benson walked. For the second straight game, Jackson came up with two outs in the ninth and once again, he singled to keep the game alive, scoring L. Brown. The tying run was stranded in scoring position as Evansville fell 4-3.
The Otters send out Joan Gonzalez for his first start against the Mud Monsters this season tomorrow. As a reliever this season, he has seen 20 Mississippi batters and sent them all down. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT at Trustmark Park.
