The Evansville Otters (48-28) rallied from an early seven run deficit and brought the tying run to the plate in the final inning of a 7-4 loss to the Schaumburg Boomers (32-44) on Friday night.
With two on and two outs, Evansville outfielder Dane Phillips represented the tying run in the ninth but his groundout to third ended the game.
The 4,759 fans in attendance witnessed a pitcher’s duel through the opening innings. Evansville starting pitcher Trevor Walch worked around a bases loaded jam in the first, striking out seven batters through the first three innings. Schaumburg righty Brett Mabry also was very effective, retiring the first seven batters he faced, yielding just one hit through the first three innings.
Schaumburg broke the scoreless tie with an RBI double in the fourth and three more runs in the fifth.
The Boomers added three more runs in the seventh to increase the Otters deficit to seven runs.
Behind 7-0, Evansville chipped away with a two-run double from outfielder John Schultz in the seventh and two ninth inning RBI singles from Dean Wilson and Josh Allen.
Walch (8-6), the Frontier League leader in ERA, took the defeat. He threw 6.0 innings, yielding four runs, one shy of his season-high. He did record nine strikeouts tying a season-high (June 24).
Schultz ended the night 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Phillips and catcher J.D. Dorgan both totaled two hits each on the evening.
The series continues on Saturday, August 15. It is Breast Cancer Awareness night sponsored by Comfort Inn and Suites and Marathon. The Otters will wear special pink colored uniforms that will be auctioned off at the end of the night. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. CDT at Bosse Field.
