The Evansville Otters (18-10) and 4,058 fans celebrated the 100th Anniversary of Bosse Field on Wednesday night, but the visiting Windy City Thunderbolts (13-13) claimed a 6-5 win in a game that ended on Thursday morning.
After on field ceremonies with local dignities and celebrities, as well as a rain delay of three hours and 10 minutes, the historic game on the 100th Anniversary of the ballpark’s opening did not begin until 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday and conclude until 12:48 a.m. CDT the following morning. The evening also featured a rare pregame fireworks show, due to the late unscheduled start time. It was still the longest fireworks extravaganza in Otters franchise history.
Evansville leapt ahead in the second inning with an RBI double from catcher J.D. Dorgan and a run producing groundout from infielder Josh Allen.
Down 2-0, Windy City drew a run closer in the fourth with a double from Marquis Riley.
Trailing by a run, the Thunderbolts tied the contest in the sixth on a throwing error from pitcher Preston Olson. Tied at two, Windy City pulled ahead later in the frame on a two-run single from Tyler Clark and tacked on another run following the third Otters’ error of the inning. Behind 5-2, Evansville tallied a run in the bottom of the sixth on a single from infielder Cory Urquhart and evened the score on a two RBI single from outfielder John Schultz.
Even at five, Windy City regained the lead with a Max White sacrifice fly in the seventh. Evansville got the tying run to scoring position on a ninth inning double from Schultz, but Windy City closer James Jones retired the last two hitters to complete the Thunderbolts victory.
Olson did not factor into the decision, yielding five runs (one earned) in 6.0 innings. Evan Mott (1-2) received the loss, going 2.1 innings but allowing an unearned run in the seventh.
With his two hits, Schultz has tied Nick Schwaner (208) for sixth place in franchise history. The double was the 40th of his Evansville career, only the fourth player in an Otters uniform to reach that plateau.
The Otters and Thunderbolts complete the three game series with a doubleheader on Thursday, June 18. It is Budweiser Thirsty Thursday with first pitch set for 5:35 p.m. CDT and both games are scheduled for seven innings each. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the team’s front office at 812.435.8686 or online at EvansvilleOtters.com.
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