Ragin' Cajun, John Coker is Otter here
John Coker thought he was finished as a baseball player.
On Monday, he went 3-for-5 and stole his first base and drove in his first two runs for the Evansville Otters during a rainy and windy 11-2 victory over the River City Rascals at Bosse Field.
No wonder Coker was smiling afterward.
"I was getting ready for football," he said.
Coker had used up his baseball eligibility at the University of Louisiana but had one year left in football. Then the Otters called.
Batting in the sixth or seventh spot in the order, the speedy Coker has collected five hits in 14 at-bats (.357) in three games. On Monday, he got his first RBI during an at-bat he probably shouldn't have had.
In the third inning with runners on first and third and two outs, Otters catcher Rickey Clinton hit an infield fly. But Rascals shortstop Justin McKinley, with the help of a strong wind blowing across the diamond, misjudged the ball and dropped it for an error. Denver Stuckey, who had led off the inning with a double, scored Evansville's first run.
Next up was Coker and the continuation of a four-run rally.
"Sometimes errors start big innings," he said.
"It just takes a little mental (mistake) and then things happen," said Otters manager Greg Jelks. "You have to play every pitch and every out as if they were your last."
Coker did. He bounced a 1-and-0 pitch from Rascals righthander Tony Marsala over the third baseman's head for a single, driving in Trask Munoz from second for his first RBI.
"You take what they give you," said Coker. "I just beat the ball on the ground."
He came through again in the fourth. With runners on first and third and two outs, the righthanded-hitting Coker sent a 1-2 pitch from lefthander John Kars into right field for a single. That drove in Juan Downing with the Otters' sixth run.
Although the game began about 20 minutes late in a downpour, it didn't seem to bother the Otters. They collected 17 hits during the two-hour, 49-minute game in front of an announced crowd of 1,869. In addition to Coker's three singles, Denver Stuckey when 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs scored; Brian McKenna went 4-for-5 with an RBI; and Frank Scott went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Also, Jeff Goldbach hit a bases-loaded triple.
On the mound, lefthander Ben Foster (6-2) gave up two runs, one of them earned, despite allowing seven hits and throwing more than 100 pitches in six innings. Then again, he had to contend with a muddy mound and a soggy ball to earn his sixth victory in his last seven starts.
"On a day like today, I was very pleased," said Jelks. "I'm at the point where Foster can go out there and I know I'll get six or seven strong innings from him."
Righthander Anthony Del Prete pitched the final three innings, permitting just one hit while walking nobody.
The victory boosted Evansville's record to 25-20. River City is 26-18.The source of the story
By DAN KORB
Courier & Press
464-7502
dkorbjr@evansville.net
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Re: Ragin' Cajun for Life, John Coker is Otter here
Originally Posted by DaddyCajun
