CRESTWOOD, Ill. – The Evansville Otters struggled to find hits in the series finale against the Windy City Thunderbolts, dropping the game 6-1.
Tanner Craig got the scoring started in the third, sending a solo home run over the left-field wall. But the Thunderbolts immediately responded in the bottom half when Jonathan Nieves doubled home a run.
Windy City broke the game open in the third, capitalizing on a two-run home run from Bren Spillane, bringing the T-Bolts ahead 3-1.
The lead grew in the fifth when Dan Robinson doubled to right, scoring Jarius Richards. A few batters later, a sacrifice fly from Peyton Isaacson added another tally for Windy City.
The Thunderbolts found the run column once more in the sixth, using a throwing error from Justin Felix to score Brynn Martinez.
From there, the Evansville bullpen arms of Jake Polancic and Augie Gallardo stepped up, shutting down the Windy City offense. But the Otters’ bats could not respond themselves as the ThunderBolts cruised on to their 6-1 win.
The win belonged to Adam Wheaton, his first professional win, allowing just one run on five hits, striking out seven in 8.1 innings of work. Ryan O’Reilly received the loss, allowing five runs on four hits in just 4.1 innings.
Zach Biermann had the only multi-hit game for Evansville while Miles Gordon extended his hitting streak to 19 games.
The Otters continue the road trip Friday night at nearby Joliet. First pitch from Duly Medical Group Field is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Audio-only coverage is available for free on the Evansville Otters YouTube page.
The Evansville Otters are the 2006 and 2016 Frontier League champions.
The Otters play all home games at historic Bosse Field, located at 23 Don Mattingly Way in Evansville, Ind. Stay up-to-date with the Evansville Otters by visiting evansvilleotters.com, or follow the Otters on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
 For more information, visit evansvilleotters.com or call (812) 435-8686.
