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RECAP | Otters finish regular season with win, face Schaumburg on Wednesday in FLWC
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (Sept. 6, 2026) - The Evansville Otters (62-40) ended the regular season on a high note with an extra-innings win against the Down East Bird Dawgs (48-54) on Sunday evening, 5-3.
Landon Willeman took the bump to become the first player in Otters history with 21 starts in a season. He was rivaled by Jace Miner in a rematch of game one on Tuesday.
The Otters brought a run in to start, with LG Castillo’s single scoring Dennis Pierce. Down East responded with two runs to take the lead early.
After four scoreless innings from both Willeman and Miner, the Otters took the lead on a two-run home run from Blake Robertson. The Bird Dawgs brought a run home in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game 3-3.
The Otters bullpen put together another great performance. Anthony Tomczak started by facing four batters and retiring them all.
Chase Kriebel had his best outing of the season, striking out five in two innings. It is the highest strikeout total from a reliever in a game this season.
Down East would also throw three scoreless frames and game six needed extra innings. The Otters brought in two runs in the top of the tenth inning, with Robertson and Jon Ponder recording an RBI single each.
Junior Cerda got the bottom of the 10th, loading the bases but retiring three straight to strand them all and earn his 21st save of the season, finishing the regular season tied for most saves in the Frontier League.
Evansville finishes the regular season 62-40, splitting the six-game series with Down East. The two-through-six hole hitters all recorded multi-hit games. Castillo went 3-for-5, his third 3+ hit game of the series.
The 2026 Frontier League Playoffs start Wednesday as the Otters host the West Division Champion Schaumburg Boomers in game one of the Frontier League Wild Card Series at 6:35 p.m. CT at EVSC’s Historic Bosse Field. More information can be found at https://www.evansvilleotters.com/playoff-hq.
All games can be heard on 96.9 WYIR and the Otters Digital Network and can be viewed live on the Frontier League Network on HTN.
The Evansville Otters are the 2006 and 2016 Frontier League champions.
The Otters play all home games at EVSC’s Historic Bosse Field, located at 23 Don Mattingly Way in Evansville, Ind. Stay up to date with the Evansville Otters by visiting evansvilleotters.com, or follow the Otters on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For more information, visit evansvilleotters.com or call (812) 435-8686.
