[jksander]

September 16, 2025: Tonight’s game was even colder than the first two, with temperatures looking unlikely to rise out of the 30s, with a 13-miler blowing right to left across the outfield making it feel even colder. Hayden Minton (0-0, 4.82 ERA, 9.1 IP, 13 K’s, 1.50 WHIP) pitched against Adam Seminaris (0-0, 4.82 ERA, 9.1 IP, 8 K’s, 1.29 WHIP). And for the third game in a row we let the Titans take a bottom-of-the-first lead, Grenier hitting an RBI double to put them in the lead 1-0. We loaded the bases in the top of the fourth and got nothing out of it, and they added a run in the bottom of the fourth off an RBI triple by right fielder Jackson Glenn. Betancourt led off with a flyball double in the top of the fifth, advancing to third off a groundout by Alemais, bringing up the top of our lineup. Jasiah Dixon hit an RBI single to get us on the board, advancing to second off a wild pitch, and Arias tied it up with an RBI double to deep left! Minton got us two outs in the seventh, but with a man on first we brought in Matt Ball to get the final out. Still knotted up in the top of the eighth, Delgado hit into a double play to keep us that way, and Ball stayed out for the bottom of the inning. Top of the ninth, we did the same thing, this time with Alemais hitting into the double play to keep us knotted up. Ever the trooper, Ball stayed out and notched two quick outs, only to allow a triple into deep center, putting the winning run on third ... an intentional walk put runners on the corners, and then Edgington came out, only to give up a three-run walkoff homer as we lost this one 5-2.

If we’re going to earn a championship, we’ll have to win both games at home to do it, because we return to Evansville trailing in the series three games to two.

Minton did everything humanly possible to put us in a position to win, allowing just four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts through his 6.2 innings of work, throwing 90 pitches. Ball gave us two innings with a hit, a walk and a strikeout, but the walkoff homer applied two earned runs to his tab and he came out of it with the loss, falling to 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA. Edgington had a hit and an earned run without an out, giving him a 1.86 ERA in the playoffs. They outhit us 6-5 thanks to the walkoff homer, our five hits coming from five different players. Arias and Betancourt each hit and walked, Arias driving in a run while Betancourt scored one. Jasiah Dixon hit, scored a run and batted in one as well but that was the extent of our offense.

As the offseason approaches, I’ve been drawing some interest from clubs at higher levels. The Lexington Legends, holders of a 70-70 record and 5th place finish in the Atlantic League, have offered me a job as General Manager, while the Indianapolis Lookouts (85-47, Carolina League, A level) and the South Bend Cubs (61-71, Midwest League, A+ Level) have offered manager jobs. But I’m not sure I want to leave the Otters organization ... we’ve got a great fan base here, and as difficult as the job is, it’s just as rewarding. I’ll have to make tough decisions in the next week or so, but until then the focus is fully on winning these games and getting a title in Evansville.