The Evansville Otters saw a two-run lead disappear as the Florence Freedom rallied for a 7-5 win in front of 1,105 in the series opener Tuesday.
The loss is Evansville’s fourth in a row at Bosse Field
First-place Florence scored in the top of the first inning when Andre Mercurio and Collins Cuthrell hit back-to-back RBI singles, giving the Freedom a 2-0 lead.
In the second, John Schultz hit a solo home run as Evansville cut the deficit in half at 2-1. The homer was Schultz’s 11th of the season and his fourth in the last four games.
An inning later, the Otters scored three runs to take a brief lead.
Josh Allen scored Christopher Riopedre on an RBI single and Dane Philllips followed with an RBI double, which scored Ryan Long and Allen.
The Freedom responded in the fourth as Daniel Fraga scored on an RBI single by Andrew Godbold. Mercurio followed with an infield single but a throwing error allowed Taylor Oldham to score.
Cuthrell picked up his second RBI of the game with a single that scored Godbold. Another error later in the inning allowed Mercurio to score, giving Florence a 6-4 advantage.
Keivan Berges extended the Freedom lead to 7-4 with a solo home run in the seventh.
The Otters brought the deficit back to within two in the bottom half of the inning. Jeff Gardner hit an RBI double but that would be as close as the Otters would get.
Schultz came to the plate in the ninth as the potential game-winning run and flew out to the warning track in left for the final out.
Hunter Ackerman took the loss, going six innings while allowing five earned runs off 10 hits.
Florence’s Steve Hagen earned the victory, pitching six innings and limiting the Otters to four runs off six hits.
Phillips finished 3 for 4 with two RBIs and Long was 2 for 5 with two runs for Evansville.
With the victory, Florence gained a game in the West Division on Evansville and now lead by five games.
Florence and Evansville continue their series Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. as it’s Book Lovers Night, sponsored by Barnes and Noble. Those who bring a book to donate will receive a discounted ticket price.
The game also includes a poster giveaway for early arriving fans in attendance with some fans taking home a 1990s poster highlighting the movie A League of Their Own while others will receive a 2000s poster celebrating the Otters 2006 Frontier League title. The posters are part of a season-long series of giveaways that highlight the history of Bosse Field.
Fans can listen live to the game on 91.5 FM WUEV and watch on the Otters Digital Network. Lucas Corley (play-by-play) and Bill McKeon (analysis) will provide coverage.
