Alex Canney made his fifth start and his first at Bosse Field but got off to a shaky start. Florence, who is second in the Frontier League in home runs, hit a three-run home run to jump out early.
The Otters’ offense didn’t take long to respond as Graham Brown hit an opposite field solo shot to get a run back. After JT Benson walked, LJ Jones launched a two-run home run to tie the game.
A couple of baserunners early in the second led to a run but Cohen Wilbanks threw out a runner at second to help avoid any more damage.
After a scoreless frame in the top half of the third, Dennis Pierce led the bottom half with a double. Brown found an open hole on the right side to put runners on the corners. Benson turned on the first pitch he saw to jump Evansville out in front 6-4 with a three-run home run.
After the second inning, Canney found his groove. He struck out seven straight from the fourth to the sixth, ending the sixth with another strikeout, ending with nine on the night. He earned his fourth straight win on the mound.
The Otters strung together hits in the fourth and fifth to jump out 8-4. Gunnar Dennis followed his former Ole Miss teammate with two strikeouts of his own in the seventh. Alex Valdez worked a perfect eighth, striking out two as well.
Newly signed Chase Waddell got his first professional hit to lead off the bottom of the eighth. Benson then hit his second home run of the night to extend Evansville’s lead to 10-4.
Nolan Thebiay came on to pitch the ninth, using a strikeout and a double play to secure the 10-5 Otters win.
The Otters have had a player hit two home runs in back-to-back games after Justin Felix did so in the series finale against Windy City on Sunday. It is also the fourth time in August the Otters have had a player with a multi-home run game.
The Otters are back in action tomorrow night against the Florence Y’alls at 6:35 p.m CT for Fan Appreciation Night. Gates open at 5:30 for the penultimate home game of the 2025 season.
