The Evansville Otters shut out the New Jersey Jackals 12-0 in the Silk City.

Shut ‘Ott’ at Hinchliffe

May 23, 2023
PATERSON, N.J. – When the Evansville Otters disembarked their charter bus at Hinchliffe Stadium from
their hotel in Denville, Evansville’s starting pitcher Tim Holdgrafer had to formulate a plan, after all, he
was about to take the hill at what has been referred to as, “The Launching Pad.”

“I knew I had to keep the ball down out of the top of the strike zone,” said Holdgrafer, a pitcher in the
Detroit Tigers organization last season. “Worked all parts of the plate. Once I figured out my fast ball
command, I kept the ball down, and my defense helped me out.”

Not only did Holdgrafer get help from his defense, but the offense came through early as the Otters shut
out the New Jersey Jackals 12-0 in the Silk City. Evansville scored in the first inning by way of an error by
New Jersey second baseman Nilo Rijo. The Otters’ 1-0 lead would be all that was needed as Holdgrafer
held the Jackals to only five hits, and one walk, with five strikeouts in six innings of work.

“He’s a quality pitcher. He’s very cerebral, he knows how to pitch, real high baseball IQ,” said Evansville
manager Andy McCauley. “Honestly, that’s a great lineup over there…I think we jumped them a little bit
with the early game. We were lucky enough to come in Monday, and have a day to kind of get our feet
under us before jumping into this. Tomorrow’s another day, and I’m sure they’re going to be hungry.”
 

New Jersey’s designated hitter Keon Barnum, and catcher Justin Mazzone both went 2 for 4 to account
for four of the Jackals seven hits on the day. John Baker took the loss for New Jersey. The series
continues with two more games against the Otters, Wednesday, at 10:35 a.m., and Thursday at 6:35
p.m. before the Jackals begin a weekend series with the Ottawa Titans.

GAME NOTES:
Through two games, Hinchliffe Stadium has seen 15 home runs.
On Hinchliffe Stadium:
“Bobby Jones, hats off to him. He put a lot of time and effort in this. A lot of respect for Bobby on the
field and what he has done off the field. I know it’s a work in progress…I like what he doing with the
stadium. It’s nice.” - Andy McCauley, Evansville Otters manager
“When they told me it was a historic Negro Leagues ballpark. I was just infatuated by it. It’s a cool
ballpark. A lot of character it seems like.” - Tim Holdgrafer, Evansville Otters manager
In the top of the seventh inning, home plate umpire Mike Williams was hit in a rather sensitive place.
Although Williams fell to the ground immediately, the stalwart arbiter continued with his plate duty.