By WJBC Staff
NORMAL – The Normal CornBelters dropped a back-and-forth series opener to the Evansville Otters 10-6 on Tuesday night at the Corn Crib.
The Otters struck first in the second inning after two were out when Nik Balog singled, went to second on a passed ball and scored on a base hit to center by Kurt Wertz Jr.
The CornBelters tied the game in the bottom of that frame when Dillon Haupt led off with an infield single and went to third on a throwing error, then was driven in on a ground out by Nolan Meadows.
Evansville took a 3-1 lead with a pair of runs in the third inning when Josh Allen led off with a walk, went to third on a Dane Phillips double and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Chris Sweeney. Phillips moved to third and scored on a wild pitch.
The CornBelters scratched out two more runs in the third to tie the contest at 3-3 when Ty Morris and Mike Fish led off with singles, moved to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on a liner to right by Aaron Dudley. Haupt scored Dudley with a bouncer to the hole on the left side of the infield to give the Belters a 4-3 lead.
Balog clobbered a two-run homer high onto the right field lawn in the top of the fourth inning to give the Otters a 5-4 lead. Phillips clubbed a two-run home run in the fifth inning to extend the guests’ lead to 7-4.
The Belters got two of the runs back in the sixth inning when R.J. Perucki singled and Dylan Kelly doubled to lead off the frame, with a Mike Fish RBI ground-out and a Santiago Chirino double accounting for the runs to cut the Otters lead to 7-6.
The Otters put three more runs on the board in the eighth inning, two unearned, to extend their advantage to 10-6.
Evansville starter Payton Baskette (1-0) earned the win with five innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Normal starter Jake Negrete (0-1) took the loss with four innings of work, giving up five runs (four earned) on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
The series continues Wednesday morning with a special 10 a.m. start time at the Corn Crib on Education Day. Right-handers Ben Eckels for the CornBelters and Max Duval for the Otters make their season debuts on the mound. The game can be heard on WJBC.com with pre-game at 9:50. The home stand continues through Sunday.
