The Evansville Otters powered their way to a series victory over the Joliet Slammers in a Thursday night rubber match, winning by a final score of 11-6.
The Otters opened the scoring with a six-run inning in the top of the third. After Christopher Pujols led off the inning with a base hit, Miles Gordon and Andy DeJesus followed with back-to-back bunt singles to load the bases with nobody out.
J.R. Davis then took four balls to walk home the game’s first run, facing Slammers starter Adam Zuk.
Riley Krane next stepped to the plate, and delivered a two-run single, collecting his club-leading 26th and 27th RBIs of the season.
Elijah MacNamee followed Krane’s hit with a three-run round-tripper, his second of the season, that capped off the Otters’ scoring in the inning and gave Evansville a 6-0 lead.
The Otters added another run in the following inning, when Dakota Phillips drove in his first run of the day with a two-out single that scored Davis. The tally pushed Evansville’s lead to seven.
Evansville finished off their scoring for the evening in the top of the sixth, when Phillips clubbed a grand slam to left field, collecting his second, third, fourth, and fifth RBIs of the game. The Otters then led 11-0.
Left-hander Braden Scott dominated in his professional debut, throwing seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball, while notching ten strikeouts en route to his first professional winning decision.
To begin the bottom of the eighth, Scott was lifted for Reid Bukowski, who struggled with his command, issuing four free passes between two walks and hitting two batters. Bukowski also allowed two hits and was relieved by Abraham Almonte, who came on in a bases-loaded jam with only one out.
Almonte would get the final two outs, but six runs — all charged to Bukowski — would score in the inning, bringing the Slammers to within five. The score was then 11-6.
Tyler Spring came on out of the bullpen to wrap up the ballgame and pitch a scoreless ninth, striking out two before sending the Otters to their 19th win of the season.
Braden Scott earned the first win of his professional career, while Adam Zuk took the loss.
The Otters will conclude their six-game road trip with a three-game weekend series in Marion, Illinois, as they take on the Southern Illinois Miners at Rent One Park.
The series opens Friday night with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch. Fans can catch an audio broadcast on the Evansville Otters YouTube channel with a 6:50 p.m. pregame show
