Evansville, Ind. – Kona Quiggle hit a two-run walk-off home run in the ninth inning as the Evansville Otters beat the Gateway Grizzlies 4-3 in game one of the Frontier League West Division Series.
Evansville plays Gateway in game two of the best of three series on Saturday night in Sauget, Illinois.
Trailing 3-2 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, Dakota Phillips worked a leadoff walk. After an out, Quiggle stepped to the plate.
On an 0-1 count, Quiggle hammered a moonshot walk off blast over the right field wall to give Evansville their first walk-off win of the season.
Thursday’s ballgame, the first playoff game at Bosse Field since 2019, was a seesaw battle all night.
Evansville scored the first run in the first inning. Ethan Skender hit a single, stole second and Jeffrey Baez drove him in with an RBI single.
Gary Mattis evened the game at 2-2 with a single to right in the fourth, scoring Kona Quiggle.
Gateway briefly tied the game at one with a single and RBI double in the top of the fourth. Baez helped Evansville respond by hitting a triple to center in the bottom of the frame. A Quiggle single scored Baez to make it 2-1 Otters.
Gateway retook the lead 3-2 scoring two in the eighth with three straight two out singles.
Braden Scott dealt from the mound in his start for Evansville. He threw seven innings allowing just four hits and one run with eight strikeouts.
Leoni De La Cruz earned the win for the Otters, pitching an inning and a third scoreless in relief.
Quiggle finished the night with two hits and three RBIs. Baez and Skender added two-hit nights.
Evansville is a win away from the Frontier League Championship Series. The Otters and Grizzlies play in game two of the division series from Sauget, Illinois on Saturday evening with a 7:05 PM CT first pitch. If needed a game three will be Sunday evening at Grizzlies Ballpark.
