EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In the final Thirsty Thursday of the year at Bosse Field, the Evansville Otters pulled out the brooms against the Windy City ThunderBolts, completing the sweep with a 4-2 victory.
The Otters (40-48) jumped ahead early and never trailed in the ballgame. More good pitching highlighted the contest as the staff kept the ThunderBolts (34-54) at bay.
Right-handed starter Parker Brahms (6-6) went seven innings on the hill, throwing just 83 pitches. He allowed both runs with no walks and six strikeouts in a dominating win. Grif Hughes (Sv. 1) came out of the bullpen for the final two innings and worked clean frames, picking up two strikeouts. ThunderBolts starter Michael Barker (3-8) took the loss and allowed all runs in five innings.
Opening the scoring in the first, David Mendham flared an RBI double down the left field line to make it 1-0.
Windy City tied the game in the fourth, but the Otters punched right back in the home frame.
Leading off, Randy Bednar walked. Three batters later, a two-out rally was sparked by a single from Amani Larry. JJ Cruz then hit a base hit to score a run and Clayton Keyes followed by smoking one off the left field wall for a two-RBI double.
For the first time all year, Evansville has won five games in a row. They out-hit the ThunderBolts 7-6, led by Keyes with a two-hit night and as many RBI.
The Otters look to keep momentum going tomorrow as they invite the Gateway Grizzlies into town for the final home series of the year. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. CT. Coverage is available on the Otters Digital Network and FloBaseball.
