New England Knockouts 14 at Evansville Otters 2 (Frontier League) - July 7, 2024

The main destination of the first week of our road trip was Evansville, where I could see the Frontier League's Otters, who play at Bosse (pronounced Bossy) Field, one of the most historic ballparks in the land. 

I drove over from my crosstown hotel and despite arriving early, found the lot next to the stadium to be quite full. Fortunately, you can park at the Aquatic Center lot across Main Street, which is also named Don Mattingly Way. Hey, a Blue Jays connection! I saw the sign above and walked inside to buy a ticket, but unbeknownst to me, had actually entered the stadium. I guess the person scanning tickets had taken a short break, but whatever the case, it was free baseball.

Bosse Field opened in 1915 and is third-oldest ballpark still in regular use for professional baseball, behind only Fenway (1912) and Wrigley (1914). Having seen Rickwood Field (1910) just two weeks prior, it was so cool to compare the two.

Of course, this was just a normal Frontier League game, so the experience was more authentic than the MLB-sponsored event at Rickwood. There is a large exterior concourse here and there are posters on the brick wall, including one showing the construction of the field. There are several concession stands out here, including a large beer truck selling 12 kinds of draft at $6 for 16 ounces or $9 for 32 ounces. These prices are $3 and $5 on Thirsty Thursday, which suggests very poor planning by me as it was Sunday.

There are various plaques in other spots along the walls. The stadium has seen a lot of history and actually hosted an NFL team back in 1921-22.

The stadium is named for Benjamin Bosse, Evansville's mayor from 1914-22 and it is fantastic that the name has remained over the entire life of the ballpark. Capacity is 5,181 seats, but this can expand to over 8,000 with standing room.

The seating bowl itself is just a long semi-circle, with about 20 rows to the top. There are poles supporting the roof, but you can move around to avoid one that blocks the key points of action.

There are a couple of rows of seats in front of the walkway as well, which offer unobstructed views.

You can walk down to the end of the seating bowl but not into the outfield. As you can see, the sun sets behind home plate, so in the early innings of the 5:00 starts, batters might be at a disadvantage as the ball comes out of the sun.

This was one of two stadiums used in filming 'A League of Their Own' (1992) and there is still signage on the back wall from those days. The other ballpark used in the movie is League Stadium in nearby Huntingburg, which was built in 1894 and is home to the DuBois County Bombers. Looks like another trip to Evansville is necessary. Here, the interns wear uniforms reminiscent of those from the all-women's league.

There are picnic areas at both corners that seem to be for private events.

I moved down to this area to take a picture without the protective netting.

The mascot race features three local legends, from left to right: William Henry Harrison (first governor of the Indiana territory, also the 9th president who served the shortest term, dying one month after assuming office); Francis Joseph Reitz (a leading businessman in the area), and the aforementioned Mayor Benjamin Bosse.

The centerfield fence has a few vines on it, but I wouldn't want to crash into it at any rate. 

Overall, Bosse Field is a fantastic place to watch a game. It seems almost unchanged from its first game almost 110 years ago. Evansville is not a typical tourist destination, but those with a love of ballpark history must make the trip to see Bosse Field and nearby League Stadium if the schedule works out.



The Game

Both teams are near the bottom of their division and had split the first two games of the series. Evansville sent Indiana native Braden Scott (below), who was in the Blue Jays farm system in 2022-23, while the New England Knockouts, the newest team in the league, countered with Liam O'Sullivan, who has had a peripatetic career that saw him play in both Australia and Mexico.

Dakota Phillips opened the scoring with a solo shot in the bottom of the second, but New England got unearned runs in the third and fourth to take a 2-1 lead. Phillips tied it up with an RBI single in the fourth and things moved quickly to the 7th.

Scott continued and gave up three singles to load the bases before a passed ball gave the Knockouts the lead. A double from Austin White made it 5-2 and ended Scott's evening. Grif Hughes came on and allowed White to steal third before walking Luis Atiles. The Knockouts then executed a double steal to add another run, followed by a walk and two singles that plated yet another.

Hughes left without recording an out and was replaced by Jacob Meyer, who walked in the 8th run before giving up a grand slam to Ramon Jimenez. Another walk ended Meyer's brief time on the mound as Chip Korbacher came on, only to give up a homer to Jerry DiSarcina. That's 12 runs without an out being recorded, something that I had not seen before. Kormacher eventually got three outs, and Pat Miner pitched the final two innings for Evansville, retiring all six batters he faced. Maybe Miner should have pitched the 7th.

Meanwhile, O'Sullivan walked just one as struck out 10 as he threw a complete game, his third of the season (he pitched another one the following week and leads the league with four) as New England romped to a 14-2 win. Every New England player scored at least one run in the shellacking.

Notes

The Knockouts play at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, the only stadium in the league I have yet to see, but I plan to do so on August 9th to complete the Frontier League.

Best,

Sean