ALTON - The Jackson, Tennessee, Rockabillys edged the Alton River Dragons 15-14 on Thursday night in Prospect League baseball at Gordon Moore Park, with Jake Ottensmeier and Mac Floyd each hitting a home run in the loss. The River Dragons have been very productive offensively in recent outings.
The defeat came one night after Alton rallied past Jackson 9-6, marking the first time this season the River Dragons had won when trailing after seven innings.
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Ottensmeier continued a strong season for Alton. Entering Thursday, the Eastern Illinois product had 41 hits, one shy of tying Joe Connolly for 10th on the team list. His .333 batting average ranked fourth all-time for the club, and his 17 stolen bases left him two short of the top five in team history.
Most of Ottensmeier’s production has come in the second half, when he has hit .426 with nine extra-base hits, a .541 on-base percentage and a 1.159 OPS.
Floyd’s home run added to a season that has already moved him up Alton’s record book. With a homer in Saturday’s game, the St. Louis Community College player reached six on the season, tying him for fourth on the franchise single-season list with Justin Santoyo in 2024 and Trevor Goodwin and Preston Wright in 2025. Ahead of him are Erik Broekemeier with seven in 2024, 10 in 2023 and Eddie King Jr. with 13 in 2022.
Alton entered the stretch run needing to win one of its final three games to avoid setting a new league record for most losses in a season. The current mark is 48, set by the 2019 Springfield Sliders.
The River Dragons will remain at home for their next two games, hosting O’Fallon, Missouri, at 6:35 p.m. Friday, July 31, 2026, and Springfield, Illinois, at 6:35 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026.
Alton also has added several players for the final few games of the season: infielders Adam Hanan of Mid America Christian and Mekhi Maclin of St. Charles Community College, outfielder Roenick Selby of St. Louis Community College, and pitchers Cam Sievers of Illinois College and Dylan Bates of O’Fallon, Missouri.
With the recent additions of Illinois College and Mid America Christian, the River Dragons have now had 114 different colleges represented on the roster since the team’s first season in 2021.
