Otters lose on walk-off home run by Boomers

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. - Tied 3-3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday, a walk-off home run from Braxton Davidson gave the Schaumburg Boomers a 4-3 win over the Evansville Otters in the series finale.

For the third straight game, Evansville was the team to kick off the scoring. Following a Zach Biermann triple, J.R. Davis drove in the game’s first run with an RBI fielder’s choice in the first inning.

Schaumburg scored off Evansville starter Justin Watland in the third, capitalizing on a pair of Otters miscues for three runs – two unearned.

Cosimo Canella brought in the opening run on an RBI double, a few batters after an error from Zach Biermann allowed a runner on.

Later in the inning, a bases-loaded walk by Braxton Davidson gave Schaumburg their lead. Directly after, Clint Hardy’s sacrifice fly rose the Boomers’ lead to 3-1.

In the fifth, Evansville found offense once again, putting together five straight one-out singles, scoring on the two from Biermann and Davis.

The game remained tied at 3-3 long into the game, both sides leaving numerous men on base. Both squads left the bases loaded in the seventh inning without scoring a run.

In the bottom of the ninth, Schaumburg ended it with a walk-off home run to right field by Braxton Davidson.

The home run was Davidson’s second of the series and marked the third time this season Evansville has fallen in walk-off fashion.

The loss fell to Augie Gallardo, his second of the season. Watland allowed three runs – one earned – on two hits in six full innings. The win was given to Juan Pichardo, his second of 2022. Schaumburg starter Blake Stelzer allowed three runs on 10 hits in his 6.1 innings.

The Otters take the season series over Schaumburg 5-3, as the two will not play again in the 2022 regular season.

Evansville remains one game back of first-place Washington in the West Division, with the Wild Things coming to Evansville this weekend to conclude the pre-All-Star schedule. The three-game set begins Friday night with a 6:35 p.m. first pitch from Bosse Field. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.