August 20, 2007 - Evansville, Ind. - Bosse Field may be the third oldest ballpark in the country, but the RiverHawks haven't had much history in winning there. All that changed as the RiverHawks defeated the Evansville Otters 7-3 on Monday night. The win is Rockford's first at Evansville since June 18, 2006.
The RiverHawks started out of the gates early, as Joe Anthonsen and Matt Sauls hit singles to start off the ballgame. Matt Hagen then drove in Anthonsen with the third consecutive single in the top half of the first. Brad Dutton led off the second inning with a triple, and scored on a Justus Kimbrough groundout to short. Then, in the third inning, Sauls started it off with a single, advanced to second on an error by second baseman Kyle Smith, and then stole third. Justus Kimbrough grounded out to short, bringing Sauls home. The Otters came within a run in their half of that same inning, when Tanner Watson walked in Tony Roth with the bases loaded, and then hit Ryan Sickles to force in the second tally of the inning.
Rockford extended their lead in the fourth inning when Joe Anthonsen grounded out, sending Kimbrough across the plate. In the fifth inning, Matt Hagen led off with a single, stole second, and advanced to third as Evansville catcher JC Field committed an error attempting to catch Hagen stealing. Andrew Sweet then grounded into an unassisted ground out to first base that scored Hagen. The Rockford first baseman's day wasn't done, as he hit a two-run home run in the top half of the seventh after Matt Sauls began the inning with a single.
Tanner Watson (10-1) pitched seven innings for the RiverHawks, giving up three runs, walking four, and striking out three, but still earned his tenth win of the season. The victory ties him with the single-season record set by Josh Tomsu in the championship season of 2004. Jake Haggerty (5-7) was tagged with the loss for Evansville. Matt Hagen was the hot bat for the 'Hawks, going 4-for-5, with three singles, a home run, and three runs batted in.
The RiverHawks and Otters resume their series at Bosse Field on Tuesday night at 7:05. You can catch all of the action with Bill Czaja in Evansville on 1330 AM WNTA and the Rockford RiverHawks radio network. The broadcast starts at 6:50 with the Miller Lite pregame show live from Bosse Field.
The RiverHawks are members of the Frontier League, a 12-team independent professional baseball league in its 15th season. Advertising and ticket information is available by calling the box office at (815) 885-2255. Most games are broadcast live on WNTA (1330 AM) and the internet. Fans can also visit the RiverHawks online at www.rockfordriverhawks.com.
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