Sauget, Ill. – The Evansville Otters survived a late comeback effort to defeat the Gateway Grizzlies 9-7 in game three of the Frontier League West Division Series.
With the win, Evansville advances to the Frontier League Championship Series against the Quebec Capitales. Game one is Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. ET at Stade Canac in Quebec City, Quebec.
The Otters scored in the first inning once again when Kona Quiggle drove in Noah Myers with a double.
The 1-0 lead didn’t last long as Gateway responded with three of their own in the second frame.
The Otters denied the Gateway shutdown inning attempt with an RBI single from Dakota Phillips in the third to bring themselves within one.
Evansville’s offense exploded in the fifth, grabbing four straight RBI hits to take a 9-3 lead. Jeffrey Baez, Ethan Skender, Jomar Reyes, George Callil and Myers all drove in a run during the inning.
Gateway began a comeback attempt in the seventh, striking for a run on a fielder’s choice groundout.
In the eighth, the Grizzlies brought three more runs across, thanks to a solo home run and two-RBI single.
Jake Polancic entered for Evansville in the eighth and shut down the rally, completing his second postseason save of the year in the ninth.
Tim Holdgrafer received the win, allowing three earned runs on nine hits with nine strikeouts.
Gateway emptied the bullpen Sunday night, utilizing six pitchers. Starter Joey Gonzalez went just four innings, allowing four runs on four hits to receive the loss.
Myers, Gary Mattis and Justin Felix all had multi-hit days for Evansville, with Myers and Callil both earning multi-RBI outings.
Evansville now sets sights on the Frontier League Championship Series against East Division regular season champions Quebec on Tuesday night, first pitch scheduled Tuesday night for 7:05 p.m. ET from Quebec City, Quebec.
