Sep 11, 2021

Eighth Inning Drama

Otters seize lead and win from Crushers; All runs marked as unearned

Box Score: pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscoretext.html?gameid=542401

EVANSVILLE, Indiana – The Lake Erie Crushers fell short against the Evansville Otters 3-2 to open the season’s final series. A legitimate pitcher’s duel was settled in the eighth inning by multiple errors.

Ean Walda received the ball for the Crushers (40-54) and was purely fantastic. He tossed five scoreless innings, allowing only two hits while tallying five strikeouts. Tanner Driskill took over for two innings on the mound. Driskill continued the scoreless night for the Crusher staff.

For the Otters, Ryan O’Reilly had the pitching duties for the playoff-hopeful squad. He finished with seven strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings of successful work.

The pitchers mentioned above did not receive a decision in the game. Scoring became a reality in the top of the eighth inning. Shawon Dunston Jr. came home unearned due to an error by Evansville third baseman Gary Mattis. A Steve Passatempo base knock paved the path for Zach Racusin to trot home safely.

The sensation was that Lake Erie would be able to hold on to the 2-0 advantage with six outs left to record on defense. Yet, the Otters asserted themselves on the scoreboard and ultimately in the lead. Evansville followed the same formula as Lake Erie did in its half of the eighth. An error on the Crushers allowed the first run of the night for the Otter offense. Josh Allen would be the hero for Evansville. A bases-loaded two-run single propelled the Otters into the lead 3-2, and that would be all they needed.

Logan Sawyer notched his 24th save of the season, shutting down the Lake Erie attack. Augie Gallardo (1-0) got his first win of the season with Evansville. Daniel Kight (2-5) was on the mound for all three runs scored by the hometown Otters.

All of the runs scored in the game were chalked up as unearned due to errors committed by the two clubs.

Steve Passatempo was the only player on both sides with a multi-hit game in the series opener.

Lake Erie and Evansville go to battle at 7:35 pm EST Saturday at historic Bosse Field.

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