Game Recap

Late Inning Struggles Topple Y’alls in Series Opener

FLORENCE, KY – The Florence Y’alls (35-53), presented by Towne Properties, hung tough with the Evansville Otters (48-39) deep into their series opener at Bosse Field but ultimately fell 8-4 to start the weekend with a defeat.

In their second trip to Bosse Field this month, Florence scored first in its first game back. The Y’alls saw Evansville starter Braden Scott (6.1 IP, 1 H, 4 ER, 7 BB, 7 K) walk the bases loaded with two outs before facing right fielder Harrison DiNicola, who drew the inning’s fourth walk to force in a run. Evansville answered back with a run in its half of the first when second baseman Ethan Skender tripled with one out, then scored on catcher Dakota Phillips’ RBI groundout.

After a troubled first, Scott settled down into a groove and allowed just a single hit to the Y’alls over his next five innings of work. The lone knock came off the bat of third baseman Brian Fuentes, who hit a go-ahead solo home run in the top of the third inning to put Florence ahead 2-1. Evansville responded with a home run of its own in the third when Dakota Phillips hit a two-run blast to hand Evansville a 3-2 lead.

Entering the seventh inning, Scott reached a streak of 12 consecutive hitters retired before walking left fielder Hank Zeisler and second baseman Jeremiah Burks back-to-back. The wildness spelled the end of his day and yielded the game to righthander Kein Davis, who walked shortstop Ed Johnson to load the bases and promptly allowed a go-ahead two-RBI single to left fielder Lane Hoover. Heading to the bottom of the seventh, Florence led 4-3.

The Y’alls saw their lead slip away against a persistent Otters’ offense. Evansville rallied against Y’alls’ righthander Ross Thompson with two outs in the seventh. Center fielder Noah Myers’ go-ahead two-run home run put Evansville ahead for good before right fielder Bryan Rosario added on an RBI single. In the eighth, Evansville added two more insurance runs against Florence lefthander Kent Klyman and closed out the ninth inning without issue.

The win gives Evansville a 6-4 advantage on the season series. Florence tries to even the series tomorrow in Game 2 from Bosse Field. First pitch is schedule for 6:35 p.m. CT.

The Florence Y’alls are Northern Kentucky’s professional baseball team, and are proud members of the independent Frontier League, an MLB Partner League. With a purposeful focus on entertaining our fans, the Y’alls provide affordable, family-friendly entertainment. Y’alls home games are played at Thomas More Stadium, located at 7950 Freedom Way in Florence, Kentucky. More details can be found online at florenceyalls.com (http://florenceyalls.com/) or by phone at (859) 594-4487.