CRESTWOOD, Ill. – The 96-game Frontier League season has come to a close as the Evansville Otters wrapped up the year with a 6-0 loss to the Windy City ThunderBolts on Saturday night at Ozinga Field.
For the second night in a row, the Otters’ (41-55) pitching staff gave up three runs in the first inning and the club was put in an early hole. The ThunderBolts (40-56) added another in the third and two more runs in the fifth inning.
In a tough night with the bats, the Otters were held to just seven hits, three of which were accumulated by Evansville native Mason White. Windy City totaled 11 knocks.
Right-hander Casey Delgado (2-2) took the loss tonight. The starter went three innings allowing four runs on seven hits. Ruddy Gomez (4-4) pitched six strong innings of shutout baseball for the Bolts, striking out eight and allowing five hits.
Out of the bullpen, Grif Hughes, Alex Valdez and Michael McAvene pitched scoreless innings.
Finishing the year, David Mendham led the team in batting average with a .309 mark. He finished with five homers and a team-high 49 RBI.
Leading in the long bombs, Randy Bednar knocked 13 over the fence for the club. In a close second, Dakota Phillips hit 12 homers in just 36 games for the team, breaking the Otters’ all-time career home run and RBI records this season.
With a team-leading 121 innings, Braden Scott set the second-most single-season strikeouts in Otters history with 128. Zach Smith finished the year just three K’s behind him and led the club in ERA for qualified starters with a 3.81 mark.
In the bullpen, the Otters used Jon Beymer in 56 and one-third innings, and he finished with a 3.83 ERA. Hughes finished with a 3.07 ERA and a team-high 12.48 K/9. Jakob Meyer, a former Evansville Aces product, had the lowest ERA on the team at 2.05 with 26 and one-third innings pitched.
As a team, the Otters slashed .249/.337/.374 throughout the year, with 72 homers and 431 RBI. The pitching staff finished with a 4.50 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP and a 9.00 K/9.
The team’s best month was saved for August as they finished an even .500 at 14-14.
The lengthy offseason begins for Evansville and their focus on getting back to the playoffs begins. For updates regarding the 2025 season, please keep an eye on Otters’ social media and team website.
