BOX SCORE
EVANSVILLE, IN – Dante Maietta did not allow an earned run over seven innings but he was outdueled by Braden Scott as the ThunderBolts fell to the Evansville Otters 2-1 in the series opener at Bosse Field Friday night.
Evansville (36-52) put their first run on the board in the bottom of the second inning. Stephen Paolini reached on an error and came home on a Cohen Wilbanks base hit.
Paolini helped another run score in the third. After Keenan Taylor reached on a two-base error, Paolini doubled him home to make it 2-0.
Pitching dominated after that. Evansville stranded five base runners in the first two innings, but after the second, Maietta held their batters in check. He didn’t allow another hit after the third.
The ThunderBolts (35-53), meanwhile, couldn’t find a rhythm against Scott. Through the first seven innings, they only twice had a runner reach second base and never got anyone to third.
They broke the shutout in the eighth inning. With two outs and nobody on base, Carlos Pena came up as a pinch hitter and homered the first pitch he saw into center field. It was Pena’s second home run in as many days and his third in just seven games this season. But it was also the last hit of the game for the Bolts as Scott and Garrett Crowley combined to retire the last four batters.
Scott (7-4) struck out 11 and didn’t walk anyone over eight innings as he earned the win. Maietta (4-3) struck out seven and allowed only four hits but was the tough-luck loser. Crowley secured his sixth save
Bryce Hellgeth (0-4, 5.32) starts game two of the series for the ThunderBolts as they look to rebound on Saturday night. First pitch from Bosse Field is scheduled for 6:35 CDT and the broadcast details can be found at wcthunderbolts.com.
