Free bases were a killer for the Bombers on Tuesday, as late offense and unearned runs led to a 7-3 loss to Evansville Funkhouser Post 8 to open up the week.
Owensboro was able to strike first, as a two-out single from Easton Blandford sparked a rally in the bottom of the first. The very next at-bat Owen Payne put the first run of the game on the board, singling to right to score Blandford who had made his way to third thanks to a stolen base and a wild pitch.
Dayton Brown followed Payne up with a double, before Cayden Crabtree singled to right as well to make it a 2-0 ballgame. An error then plated the final run of the inning when Aiden Wells sliced one to third, giving the Bombers an early 3-0 lead going into the second.
Meanwhile Payne helped the game reach a stalemate, as he held Evansville scoreless through the first five innings of play. But Owensboro’s offense had been stifled after the first inning, as they still found themselves out in front 3-0 going into the sixth.
Funkhouser Post 8 did eventually get to Payne in the top of the sixth, as a one-out walk and single gave them runners on first and second. An error then loaded the bases, before Kaden Waugerman singled to right to cut it to a 3-2 ballgame going into the bottom of the sixth.
The Bombers nearly closed out the win in the top of the seventh, but walk and a dropped third strike that didn’t turn into an out came back to bite them. With runners on the corners, Jackson Wannemuehler hit an RBI single to knot things up at 3-3.
Ethan Stolz then gave Evansville its first lead of the night, singling to right to make it 4-3. Following a walk to load the bases a hit by pitch let a run in, before Funkhouser Post 8 was given a 7-3 lead thanks to a two-run single from Matthew Herrmann.
This would be the proverbial dagger in the game, as Owensboro couldn’t muster up anything more than a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh and fell to Evansville 7-3. The Bombers didn’t have their best stuff on the mound, as six of Funkhouser Post’s runs were unearned.
Owensboro falls to 10-5 overall with the loss, as they will look to bounce back after a day off when they take on Rockport at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
