Sunday’s result gave the Rascals their third series win against the Otters this season. They will meet one more time in the regular season at Bosse Field.
River City’s Trevor Achenbach started the game with a solo home run to give the Rascals a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
After quiet second and third innings, Braxton Martinez hit a solo home run in the fourth inning to double the Rascals’ lead.
In the top of the sixth, the Otters had a chance to get their first runs of the game off Rascals starter Brendan Feldman when David Cronin and Ryan Long both reached base to put runners on first and second with two outs.
Feldman was able to get out of the inning as Mike Rizzitello grounded out into a fielder’s choice as Martinez threw to Achenbach at second base for the third out of the inning.
After Achenbach and Kameron Esthay led off the bottom of the sixth with singles, Martinez ripped a two-run double to extend the Rascals’ lead to four.
Evansville’s Tyler Beardsley finished with six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while tossing seven strikeouts. He earned the loss, his third of the season.
The Rascals scored five runs in the seventh, which was capped off by a grand slam off the bat of Esthay to gain a commanding 9-0 lead.
The Otters scored their first run of the game in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by Keith Grieshaber.
The Rascals tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the eighth, giving them a 13-1 advantage, but the Otters did not go down without a fight.
Hunter Cullen hit a two-RBI single to score Rizzitello and Carlos Castro, and then scored on a two-run homer by J.J. Gould, his second of the year.
Feldman was strong, throwing seven of eight shutout innings, and allowing one run with 10 strikeouts. He earned the win, moving his record to 3-0.
