Otters sweep Slammers, head into All-Star break

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The Evansville Otters swept Saturday’s doubleheader against the Joliet Slammers, earning a series sweep heading into the All-Star Break.

Evansville beat Joliet 2-0 in game one before winning 3-1 in the series finale.

In game one, starting pitching for both teams threw three scoreless innings to begin the game.

The Otters offense broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning with two solo home runs.

Josh Allen led off the inning with a home run to give the Otters a 1-0 lead and it was his sixth home run of the season.

Two batters later, Alejandro Segovia left the ballpark with his ninth home run of the season, extending the Evansville advantage to 2-0.

With the lead, Evansville held the Slammer offense in check.

Left-hander Hunter Ackerman went 5 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts in his return to the active roster as he improved to 5-2.

Kyano Cummings closed out the seventh for the save.

Joliet starter Luis Cruz took the loss, pitching all six innings and allowing two runs.

In game two, the Slammers took an early lead in the first as Chaz Meadows scored on a wild pitch from Evansville’s Luc Rennie.

The Otters tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second off an RBI ground out from Brandon Soat, scoring Christopher Riopedre.

Riopedre gave the Otters a 2-1 lead in the fourth with an RBI triple that scored Ryan Long.

Evansville added an insurance run in the sixth as Nick Walker scored off a defensive error by Joliet, making the score 3-1.

Rennie settled in following the first inning, earning his third win of the season as he allowed one run in five innings with five strikeouts.

Shane Weedman also pitched two scoreless innings for the Otters in the doubleheader sweep, pitching an inning in both games.

Cummings finished game two with his second save on the day, striking out the side in the seventh. Cummings now has four saves this season.

The Evansville Otters will look forward to the All-Star break during the coming week as seven Otters players will head to Joliet, Ill. for the Frontier League All-Star Game.

Evansville resumes the season next Friday, beginning a road series at the Gateway Grizzlies.

The Otters will return home to Bosse Field on July 21 against the Washington Wild Things at 6:35 p.m for Indianapolis Colts Night and postgame fireworks.

Tickets are still available for upcoming games by going to evansvilleotters.com or calling 812-435-8686.

Fans can listen live to upcoming games on 91.5 FM WUEV and watch on the Otters Digital Network.