EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team stayed hot at the plate and rode some solid relief pitching to a 9-5 victory over SIU-Edwardsville at Charles H. Braun Stadium Wednesday night.
After falling into a 4-0 hole in the second inning, freshman right-hand pitcher Sam Steimel came in to toss a scoreless third and fourth frame, scattering a pair of hits while striking out a batter. For his efforts, Steimel picked up the first victory of his college career.
Meanwhile, the Aces bats ignited. After a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the frame got Evansville on the scoreboard, sophomore first baseman Tanner Craig drilled a one-out solo home run to left in the third, cutting the Cougar lead down to two.
Then in the third, UE overtook SIUE. Tanner Craig continued his sudden warm-up at the plate, drilling a shot to deep left with the bases loaded, just missing out on a grand slam. Instead, it was an RBI single, driving in junior right fielder Troy Beilsmith, cutting the deficit to 4-3. Then, senior center fielder Nate Reeder continued his torrid start to the season with a bases-loaded single, driving in both freshman designated hitter A.J. Fritz and junior shortstop Craig Shepherd, giving the Aces the lead, 5-4.
The Cougars would come back to knot the game up in the top of the fifth, but in the bottom of the sixth, the Aces snap the deadlock. Craig Shepherd would tally on a bases-loaded wild pitch, giving UE the lead, 6-5. Nate Reeder would follow that up with an RBI single deep in the hole at shortstop, scoring Shepherd for an insurance tally, 7-5.
Freshman left-hand reliever Michael Parks would take it from there, tossing three straight shutout frames to close out the game, earning him the third save of his young collegiate career.
The win improves Evansville’s record to 11-9 on the season, while SIU-Edwardsville falls to 8-14.
The Aces now head to Peoria, Illinois to open the Missouri Valley Conference schedule on the road at Bradley, beginning Friday at 6 p.m.
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