Otters Set Home Run Record – Sit Tied for Third in East Division

The Evansville Otters find themselves in one heck of a dogfight to remain in playoff contention as the regular season winds down.

After being swept in a series for the first time all season last Thursday against the Traverse City Beach Bums, the Otters were back on the winning track over the weekend taking two of three from the Rockford Aviators, and setting a new franchise record for most home runs in a single season with 81.

Forced by Mother Nature to play a double-header on Sunday after Saturday's game was washed out by rain, the Otters jumped on the Aviators early in game one when Rockford starter, Ryan Bonnot walked Chris Sweeney with bases loaded to put the Otters up 1-0. A two run shot by the Frontier League leader in home runs, Shayne Houck gave Evansville a 3-0 lead in the third in route to a 7-2 win.

The exact opposite took place in game two as it was the Otters who found themselves down early after starter Cody Boutte gave up four runs in the bottom of the second. Evansville cut the lead in half in the fifth, but were unable to get any more runs on the board, losing 4-2.

Three straight wins by the Wild Things, and two straight by the Miners put them in first and second place in the Frontier League's East Division, respectively, dropping the Otters into a tie for third place with the Lake Erie Crushers. With the way the League playoffs work, Evansville is still in the playoff picture, however with only 10 games left in the regular season, the final three on the road against Washington next Tuesday through Thursday, they'll need to play nearly mistake-free baseball down the stretch.

The team has today and tomorrow off before playing seven-games-in-five-days at home starting Wednesday evening with a double-header against the Windy City Thunderbolts, who currently sit in last place in the West Division. First pitch is scheduled for 5:35 pm.