The Otters mounted three straight base hits with two outs in the ninth to cut a four-run deficit in half. However, the tying run at the plate struck out to end the game.
Noah Myers led the Otters bats on a three-hit night, plating two doubles and a single with two RBIs.
Joliet broke up a scoreless game with a four-run fifth inning, keyed by a three-run home run.
The Slammers added another run in the sixth to take a five run lead.
Evansville started their comeback in the seventh. Ethan Skender had a leadoff double and would score on a sacrifice fly. Myers hit his first RBI double of the day to score the second run.
Joliet added one more run of insurance in the eighth on an RBI base hit.
Jake Green started the ninth inning rally with a two-out infield single. Myers hit a double to right and Kona Quiggle lined a base hit into center field before the final out of the game dashed the Otters’ comeback.
Jhon Vargas did not allow a run through the first four innings on the mound and struck out seven batters. He took the loss allowing four earned runs in 5.2 innings pitched.
Quiggle moved his hit streak to 10 games with a pair of singles while Jomar Reyes had two hits to extend his team-long on-base streak to 21 games. Bryan Rosario stole his Frontier League leading 32nd base of the season.
Evansville faces Joliet in game two of the series Saturday evening from Duly Health and Care Field with a 6:05 PM CT first pitch. The Otters broadcast will be carried on the Otters Digital Network.
All home and road Otters games this season are televised on FloSports with audio-only coverage available for free on the Evansville Otters YouTube page.
