TROY, N.Y. – The Evansville Otters evened the series on Wednesday afternoon against the Tri-City ValleyCats with a 6-1 win at Joseph L. Bruno stadium.
The Otters (10-19) had a terrific performance from the pitching staff on a bullpen day to limit the ValleyCats’ (15-14) offense.
Tristan Harvin (1-1) took the win after tossing five and one-third innings. He dominated on the rubber, creating weak contact while giving up five hits and striking out three.
Leaving the game in the sixth frame after allowing a run, the starter had the bases loaded with one out but got help from Jon Beymer and the bullpen. Beymer struck out the first two men he faced to get out of the jam, buckling down in a huge spot to preserve Evansville’s one-run lead at the time.
Pavin Parks and Michael McAvene also threw scoreless innings.
In the fourth inning, Evansville drew first blood. After a one-out walk from Randy Bednar, Parks launched a two-run shot over the right field fence to put the Otters up 2-0.
Later in the ninth, the bats exploded for four runs on as many hits. Parks notched a one-out single to left before David Mendham crushed a two-run missile over the right field wall.
Jomar Reyes followed up with a walk and Justin Felix also roped a double down the left field line with two outs. The next batter, Glenn Miller, pieced a two-run single into right field, finalizing the scoring and solidifying the lead for Evansville.
Parks led the offense with three hits. He and Mendham each registered two RBI, with the Otters’ first basemen also garnering two hits.
The Otters have forced a rubber match, which will take place tomorrow against the ValleyCats. Evansville has an opportunity to win their first road series of the year, with a 5:30 p.m. CT first pitch. Coverage is available on the Otters Digital Network and FloBaseball.
