The Evansville Otters dropped the series opener of a three-game set against the Schaumburg Boomers Friday night by a final of 8-6.
The Otters took the first lead of the night in the bottom of the first, when three runs scored after back-to-back RBI singles from Bryce Denton and Dakota Phillips and a sacrifice fly to centerfield from Cristopher Pujols.
The Boomers quickly brought the Otters’ lead within one thanks to an RBI groundout from the recently acquired Matt Bottcher and an RBI single from Gian Martellini.
The Boomers took the lead in the top of the third inning, when reigning Frontier League Player of the Week Quincy Nieporte hit a three-run blast off of Otters starter Marty Anderson to right field. The Boomers then led 5-3.
The Otters answered with a run of their own in the third thanks to a two-out, RBI double from Josh Henderson.
Schaumburg pulled away again in the fourth by scoring two in the inning, after a double from Clint Hardy set up runners in scoring position with only one out — both would score, putting the score at 7-4 in favor of the Boomers.
Marty Anderson settled down again on the mound to pitch 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Otters came back within striking distance on an RBI hit from Andy DeJesus and sac fly from Riley Krane.
The Otters remained within one until Luke Becker scored in the top of the eighth on a Justin Felix passed ball.
Evansville managed to bring the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth after Elijah MacNamee walked to lead off the inning, but Darrell Thompson managed to strike out Dakota Phillips — who homered off Thompson last Sunday — to end the game.
Thompson earned the save, while Rozek earned the win and Anderson took the loss.
The Otters fall to 10-5 on the season, and will look to even the series with a win Saturday night. They send left-hander Anthony Arias to the mound. First pitch will be at 6:35 p.m. CT.
Saturday is Deaconess Employee Night and Superhero Night at the ballpark. For Superhero Night, fan-favorite characters will be in attendance, there will be themed hero music, and kids are invited to join the fun by wearing their favorite superhero costume.
