EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – A school-record-tying six home runs would not be enough on Wednesday evening as the University of Evansville baseball team fell 11-10 to host SIUE at Simmons Baseball Complex.
“Having six games in six days really took its toll on our pitching staff, and it showed tonight,†UE head coach Wes Carroll said. “After taking the lead, we weren’t able to put zeroes on the board when it came down to the last three innings.â€
Things could not have started off better for the Aces (8-9) as Shain Showers and Eric McKibban picked up back-to-back hits to open the game and push across the opening tally. A single from Trey Hair and a Jonathan Ramon sacrifice fly plated another before Josh Jyawook became the first UE player to homer on the night with a one-run blast later in the frame.
After SIUE reclaimed a pair of scores in the bottom of the second, it would be Hair’s turn to leave the park, plating a pair in the third to put the Aces up 6-2. However, the four-run advantage wouldn’t last as the Cougars (1-12) put up three runs in the bottom half of the frame.
Boomer Synek, Ramon, McKibban and Jyawook would each homer in the fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, respectively, but the Cougars mounted an impressive response each time, scoring six runs down the stretch to hold on for the win.
Jyawook, who finished 4-for-5 at the plate with a pair of solo homers, led the Aces on the day, and he’s the second UE player this season to homer twice in one game. McKibban, who is now riding a 17-game on-base streak, ended 3-for-5 with three scores, and Ramon’s homer, which was his second in as many days, was his only hit of the game.
For the Cougars, seven different players logged hits on the day, led by three-hit showings from both Dustin Woodcock and Alec Skende
On the mound, Alex Gould was pegged with the loss, his first decision of the season, and SIUE’s Brandon Tatum picked up the win as he moved to 1-0 on the year. Zach Malach earned his first save after allowing a run in the top of the ninth.
NOTES: The six home runs ties a mark set by the Aces at Ball State on May 9, 2001 … Jonathan Ramon, who hit just eight home runs in his first three seasons wearing a UE uniform, has left the park a career-best five times in the first 17 games of the season … Overall, UE has homered 20 times this year … Since 1978, the Aces are 16-7 against SIUE … Against Illinois schools, UE owns a 220-197 record, including a 3-1 mark this year after the NIU sweep.
