The Otters trailed by a run entering the eighth. Jomar Reyes led off with a base hit and after two straight outs, George Callil worked a walk.
Rosario then blasted a ball off the glove of the Crushers’ left fielder to plate both runs and give Evansville the lead.
A Kona Quiggle single scored Rosario to bring the Otters’ lead to two runs.
Jake Polancic worked around a leadoff single and a walk to secure the Evansville victory. The closer earned his ninth save of the season, tied for the most in the Frontier League.
Jeffrey Baez opened the Evansville scoring, hitting a two-run homer over the left field wall in the third inning. The slugger leads the team with 13 homers.
Quiggle joined the power party with a solo home run in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 3-0.
Lake Erie responded with a solo home run in the fifth inning. They took the lead with four hits in the sixth inning, good for three runs and a 4-3 lead.
Starting pitcher Tim Holdgrafer did not factor into the decision. He retired the first eight batters of the game.
Holdgrafer finished with 5.1 innings pitched, allowing four runs on six hits with six strikeouts.
Evansville’s bullpen allowed just three baserunners over 2.2 innings. Jon Beymer pitched four outs. Kevin Davis worked an in-order eighth inning.
Quiggle finished with three hits, two runs and two RBIs. Reyes added three hits including a double.
The win is Evansville’s first victory when trailing after the seventh inning or later this season.
The Otters and Crushers play the middle game of the series Wednesday evening with a 6:35 PM CT first pitch from Bosse Field. Senior fans can enjoy discounted senior GA tickets as part of a Senior Connection Wednesday.
