Evansville’s bats struck early again, scoring in the first inning for the ninth time in eleven games this season. Kona Quiggle hit an RBI double and Jomar Reyes followed with an RBI base hit for a two run first inning.
Dakota Phillips padded the lead with a three run blast in the second inning. Reyes added to the home run party with a two run shot for his second straight day with a homer.
A 7-1 Evansville lead evaporated in the bottom of the fifth. The Jackals scored five runs to cut the lead to one, highlighted by a three-run home run from Keon Barnum.
Noah Myers provided some insurance for the Otters with a solo blast in the sixth. Evansville hit three home runs Wednesday and eight so far this week in Paterson.
James Krick pitched two innings of scoreless relief for Evansville. A Barnum solo home run for the Jackals in the eighth cut the lead back to one. The home run ended the Otters bullpen’s scoreless streak at 34.1 straight scoreless innings, which dated back to opening day.
Starter Justin Watland earned the win for the Otters. He allowed six runs in five innings with seven strikeouts.
Reyes extended his hit streak to nine games with a four hit day. Quiggle finished with three hits and catcher Jake Green had a two hit day.
The Otters have hit 16 home runs on the season, good for third in the Frontier League.
The Otters look to make history with a ninth straight win Thursday evening in the series finale against the Jackals in New Jersey. First pitch from Hinchliffe Stadium is slated for 5:35 p.m. CT. A win tomorrow would tie the franchise record of nine consecutive victories set in 2008 and matched last season.
All Otters games this season are televised on FloSports with audio-only coverage available for free on the Evansville Otters YouTube page.
