Aug 25, 2015 4 min read

The Frontier League ruled late Monday the Evansville Otters must forfeit 10 wins for using an ineligible player. Eight teams, including Washington, were awarded victories.

In a two-paragraph statement released on its website, the Frontier League did not identify the player, which was Will Oliver. A right-handed starting pitcher, Oliver was in his second season with Evansville and appeared in 13 games this year with 10 of those games being won by the Otters and subsequently forfeited.

According to the website, Frontier League Rules and Regulations state the use of an ineligible player will result in the forfeiture of any games in which the player participated. Washington and East Division-leader Southern Illinois each will receive two wins via forfeit. Florence, Gateway, Lake Erie, Normal, Traverse City and Windy City each receive one win.

The Frontier League’s ruling came a day after Evansville apparently clinched a Frontier League playoff berth. Now, the Otters have dropped to a 43-41 record and are in the final wild-card spot, only one game ahead of Florence (42-42) with 12 games remaining in the regular season. The Wild Things’ record improves to 38-46.

Oliver was dropped from the Evansville roster three weeks ago when questions about his eligibility were brought to the attention of league officials. He is currently playing for the Somerset Patriots in the Atlantic League.

The Frontier League has an age limit of 27. Oliver signed with Evansville in August of 2014 as a 27-year-old. The league does allow one player per team to exceed the 27-year-old age limit if he was on a Frontier League roster for at least 100 regular-season games over the previous two seasons. Those players are classified as Veterans on the roster and can play in the league until age 30. Oliver had been with Evansville for less than 30 games when the 2015 season began and did not qualify for Veteran status as a 28-year-old this season.

There were several inconsistencies in Oliver’s date of birth on rosters released by Evansville.

For example:

• When Evansville played in the final series of 2015 at Washington, Oliver’s date of birth was listed as July 4, 1990, on the Otters’ roster, which would have made the pitcher 24 years old.

• When Evansville played a three-game series in Washington during May of this year, Oliver’s date of birth was listed as July 4, 1988, on the Otters’ roster. That would have made Oliver 26 years old.

• On a roster Evansville distributed July 28 of this year to other teams in the league, Oliver’s date of birth was listed as July 4, 1987, which is correct, but shows he is 28 years old. This was about the time the league was made aware of Oliver’s potential ineligibility.

Oliver was one of the best pitchers in the Frontier League this year. He was leading the league in wins (9) and ERA (1.59) at the time he was dropped from the Evansville roster.

Washington manager Bob Bozzuto was in favor of the league’s ruling of forfeits.

“If you have an ineligible player and he plays, then that game has to be forfeited,” Bozzuto said. “Because Oliver was so dominant, he impacted more than just the games he pitched in. By pitching deep into games, he was able to save wear and tear on Evansville’s relief pitchers and give them a full bullpen the next game or night. They’re lucky it wasn’t a position player who was ineligible.”

It is not know what other sanctions, if any, were levied against Evansville. One Frontier League manager told the Observer-Reporter Evansville should not have to forfeit wins because there are players older than Oliver (Veterans) currently in the league.

All statistics accumulated in the games Oliver pitched will count. Oliver pitched two games against Washington. He gave up three runs (one earned) in seven innings during Evansville’s 5-3 win at Consol Energy Park on May 21. The Otters scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning to win that game. Oliver pitched a complete-game, five-hit shutout in the Otters’ 1-0 victory over Washington at Evansville’s Bosse Field on July 26.

Evansville contended the Frontier League approved Oliver’s contract in April and the pitcher should not be ruled ineligible. It is unknown what date of birth was listed on Oliver’s contract this year or last season. The Frontier League does not require any kind of identification to be provided by a player with his contract, though teams do require a photo ID from each player for payroll purposes.