Joliet, IL – The Slammers added another victory to new manager Mike Pinto’s record as the winningest manager in Frontier League history with a 10-3 win over the Evansville Otters.
Spencer Griffin kickstarted the offense with a two-run double in the bottom of the second. Jeissy De La Cruz and Giovanni Garbella followed up with back-to-back singles to build a 4-0 lead.
Mason House responded for the Otters (0-1) with a solo shot out to right field in the top of the fourth. Joliet quickly regained the four run lead after Liam McArthur scored on a sac fly by Matthew Warkentin in the bottom half of the inning.
The Slammers (1-0) extended their lead to 7-1 after an error from Otters left fielder Donivan Williams, scoring two on a fly ball by Jeissy De La Cruz in the bottom of the fifth. Matthew Warkentin made it 8-2 with a moonshot solo home run to center field in the bottom of the sixth.
Joliet made it a double digit game with two runs in the bottom of the eighth. The Slammers closed out the 10-3 victory with a shutout inning by Nick Bautista in the top of the ninth.
Zac Westcott pitched a quality start in his Slammers debut, striking out eight and allowing two earned runs over six innings pitched. Victor Nova led the charge offensively, going 3-4 with 1 RBI and two runs scored.
The Slammers will look to stay undefeated in the second game of the series against Evansville tomorrow at 6:05 p.m.
