EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Evansville Otters suffered a tough defeat after leading most of the game against the Gateway Grizzlies, falling 4-3 in extra innings on Saturday night at Bosse Field.
The Otters (41-49) had their six-game win streak snapped and the loss officially removed Evansville from playoff contention.
Opening the scoring in the first inning, Evansville jumped ahead first with a pair of runs. Pavin Parks had a sacrifice fly to left field and Logan Brown followed with an RBI double. Their final run came in the fifth on the second sacrifice fly of the night from Parks.
The Grizzlies (55-33) jumped on the board in the seventh inning, before tying the game in the ninth with two runs on Parks, who was on for the potential save.
In the 10th, Gateway added another on a base-hit to right field to take their first lead of the contest at 4-3. Despite opening the bottom of the tenth with a hit by pitch, the game ended with the Otters grounding into a double play.
Michael McAvene (1-6) took the loss. Former Otter Leoni De La Cruz (2-1) picked up the win after a scoreless ninth inning. Matt Hickey (Sv. 4) picked up the save in the tenth.
The Otters out-hit Gateway, but left 10 men on base including twice with a runner on third and just one out. Brown led the offense with a 3-for-5 night and a trio of doubles.
Forcing a rubber match, Evansville and Gateway will battle one final time this year with a 12:35 p.m. CT first pitch tomorrow. The Sunday matinee is the final home game of the year for the Otters. Coverage is available on the Otters Digital Network and FloBaseball.
