By: Braeden Jones

EVANSVILLE, IN – After a hitless game for both teams for the first three innings, the Joliet Slammers (15-23) broke through first and kept laying it on to beat the Evansville Otters (25-14) with a 5-1 score on Tuesday.

This game had a quick first third of this game, with the only baserunner between both teams being Evansville’s Blake Robertson in the bottom of the 3rd inning.

The first hit for either team came from the Slammers’ Ian Battipaglia in the top of the 4th, as he started that half-inning with a double. Blake Berry then followed that up with a 2-run homer to mark the first scores for Joliet. The Slammers break the hitless and scoreless streak in the same inning, taking the 2-0 lead.

By the time the 6th inning rolled around, the Otters still had no hits and the Slammers just continued to add to their run total. In the top of the 6th, Brandon Heidal started the half-inning with a double before Battipaglia got himself a single. Heidal would score from third base to home off a wild pitch, and Berry scored Battipaglia once again off a single. Joliet found themselves with a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th.

And the bottom of the 6th would be the first time Evansville was able to get a hit, ending the long hitless performance from Slammers starting pitcher Eric Turner. Two straight singles for the Otters could not turn into any scores, however, leaving the score at 4-0.

In the top of the 7th inning, Joliet’s Cam Suto was hit by a pitch and eventually came around to score thanks to a Heidal single. Evansville was getting closer to being shutout with each passing inning, and the Slammers now held a 5-0 lead.

But finally, in the bottom of the 8th inning, the Otters found their way on the board. Robertson got a single, and after a TJ Salvaggio walk moved him to second base, Jon Ponder got the only double for Evansville. The third straight batter to make it on base for the Otters was able to get a hit good enough to score Robertson, and the shutout was no more. The score now showed 5-1 after eight innings.

That was what the score would end at as well, which meant that the first game at Bosse Field went the Slammers way. The first of 10 straight games on the road for Joliet goes down as a win.

The Slammers will look to win the series in two games when they play the Otters in Indiana on Wednesday. Evansville will try to bounce back after being held hitless for five innings when they face Joliet at home on Wednesday.