Tobey Ray Tyler
Hansen’s walk-off wins series opener for the Otters
With Hunter Cullen on third and an intentional walk to Ryan Long, Mitchell Hansen ripped an RBI single through the hole at second base, as the Otters won in walk-off fashion Friday night by a score of 4-3 against the Florence Freedom.
Cullen led off the bottom ninth with an infield bloop single in front of Florence shortstop Austin Wobrock, using his speed down the first base line to beat the throw to first.
David Cronin laid a sacrifice bunt to move Cullen over to second with one out. Keith Grieshaber advanced Cullen to third on a deep fly ball to centerfield, making it two outs in the inning.
After Long’s walk, Hansen, who was 0-4 with three strikeouts heading into the ninth, swung at the first pitch he saw over the plate, scoring Cullen, and was mobbed by his teammates shortly after.
The game did not start too well for the Otters, as the Freedom jumped on Otters starter Patrick McGuff early, scoring three runs after two.
Cullen got the Otters on the board with a solo home run deep to right field to make the score
3-1 Freedom in the third.
McGuff was smooth sailing from that point on, throwing five of his 10 strikeouts, exiting the game in the seventh.
Down 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Taylor Lane smacked a lead-off double to centerfield. Rob Calabrese worked a walk to put runners on first and second with no outs. Cullen laid a sacrifice bunt to move Lane to third.
A sac-fly by Cronin scored Lane, making the score 3-2.
Grieshaber, who was leading the Frontier League in batting average and hits coming into the game and 0-3 from the plate going into the seventh, crushed an RBI single to score Calabrese from second to tie the game at three.
Grieshaber’s hit would take out Florence starter Scott Sebald, who went 6.2 innings, with seven strikeouts, four walks, giving up three runs on four hits.
Otters reliever Danny Hrbek pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth, with a strikeout, three flyouts and two groundouts.
The Otters and Freedom will continue their series from Bosse Field Saturday at 6:35 p.m.
The game can be heard on 91.5 FM WUEV and viewed on the Otters Digital Network via YouTube.com with David Nguyen (play-by-play) and Bill McKeon (analyst) on the call. Game updates can also be found on the Evansville Otters’ Facebook and Twitter pages as well as Pointstreak.com.
The Otters are having many promotions in honor of celebrating their 25th anniversary season in 2019.
Saturday’s game will be Military Appreciation Night, Boy Scout Night, and the Old National Bank Attendance Awards ceremony, and sponsored by Brentwood Springs, YMCA, and the Buffalo Trace Council. Sunday’s series finale will be Bark in the Park presented by It Takes A Village. Fans can purchase their tickets now.
Aces ride strong starting pitching. offensive explosion to victory
The Aces raced out to a big lead on the Redbirds, led by senior center fielder Troy Beilsmith, who hit a pair of home runs, to take the team lead in round trippers with seven. For the night, Beilsmith went 4-for-6 from the plate, driving in four runs, while scoring three time himself. Sophomore first baseman Tanner Craig and junior catcher BenKomonosky were alo part of the power parade, with Craig hitting his fifth of the season, while Komonosky blasted the first of his Evansville career.
Meanwhile, senior right-hand pitcher Justin Hayden combined with the defensive exploits of freshman second baseman Danny Borgstrom. among others, to hold the potent Illinois State lineup scoreless through the first six frames.
Leading 11-0 in the bottom of the seventh, a pair of singles would end Hayden’s night, and the Redbird offense would ignite for eight unanswered runs on the UE bullpen, cutting the Aces lead to just three headed to the final frame.
In the ninth, Evansville turned to senior closer Austin Allinger, who delivered, striking out a pair and sealing his sixth save of the season.
The victory improves the Aces’ overall record to 24-26 and 11-9 in Missouri Valley Conference play, while the loss drops ISU to 31-22 overall and 13-7 in MVC play.
The regular season and series finale is Saturday back at Normal’s Duffy Bass Park, with the first pitch moved up to 12 p.m. central time, due to inclement weather predicted in the area later in the afternoon.
“READERS FORUM” MAY 18, 2019
We hope that today’s “READERS FORUMâ€Â will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way.
HERE’S WHAT’S ON OUR MIND TODAY
Why In The World Did The Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office Ask The  Case To Be Dismissed Of Accused Of Child Molestation
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND TODAY?
Case To Be Dismissed Of Accused Of Child Molestation
Case Dismissed for Evansville Man Accused of Child Molestation
Due to a scheduling issue, a child molestation case in Evansville has been dismissed. Patrick Adams was arrested on child molestation charges back in January but was released Friday.
According to court records, the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office asked for the case to be dismissed.
44News is told the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office will be reviewing the court’s ruling, in consultation with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, to consider options moving forward.
They refused to comment further on the matter.
Stay with 44News for more information on this case.
Book Signing with Joe Jack Wallace Today At BarLouie
 Meet and Greet and Book Signing with Joe Jack Wallace Today Starting Today At  11:00 am to Noon at Bar Louie, 7700 Eagle Crest Blvd, Evansville, IN 47715
The City-County Observer is pleased to announce that today is the “Meet And Greet And Book Signing” with Joe Jack Wallace who has just published his first book “Living Outside the Box”.  This book had its origins in Evansville’s Innovation Pointe.  Mr. Wallace was the past editor of the City_County Observer just before the move to the greater Palms Spring, California area.
“Living Outside the Box” debuted on Amazon in mid-April and was named #1 New Edition in three categories including Green Business and Intergovernmental Policy.
Mr. Wallace will discuss the inspiration that launched the book and explains the content of the book from its opening chapters about dispelling myths with science, through the habits that poise people to be highly impactful and how vision followed by execution lead to establishing a state of the art technology center in Greater Palm Springs California.
He currently serves as the CEO and Chief Innovation Officer of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership.
Wallace graduated from Stanford University and the University of Evansville with Masters and Bachelor Degrees in Mechanical Engineering. He also holds certifications in Cybersecurity and The Internet of Things from Harvard and MIT. He is a sought after speaker on topics from entrepreneurship to politics and will be available to autograph books during this event.
The event Chairman Steve Hammer said, “this event excessed all expectations and we are excited that Mr. Wallace’s followers and fans are showing up and paying tribute to one or our own.”