 Jonathan Ramon made it three games in a row with a home run on Saturday afternoon as the University of Evansville slugger helped power the Aces to a 7-2 victory over visiting Wichita State at Charles H. Braun Stadium.
“I think Jonathan has done a really good job of having the right approach at the plate,†UE head coach Wes Carroll said. “He’s not throwing at-bats away, and he’s showing consistency. We’ve known that he’s had the pop and the bat speed, and it’s all coming together for him right now. It’s fun to see.â€
“It’s been about trusting the preparation that I put in with the coaches in the fall and then in the spring,†Ramon revealed. “We worked a lot on recognizing pitches and being able to handle them in certain situations, and then capitalizing on the opportunities that I get.â€
Ramon, who has nine home runs on the year, has already left the park more in the first 29 games of his senior season than he did in his freshman, sophomore and junior campaigns combined. He finished the day 2-for-4 at the plate with five runs batted in.
The Aces (16-13, 1-1 Missouri Valley) will now head into Sunday’s rubber game looking to pick up a third consecutive series victory.
UE got started quickly on Saturday, crossing the plate four times over the course of a two-out second-inning rally. Josh Jyawook got it going with a double, and back-to-back infield singles from Nate Reeder and Stewart Nelson drew first blood. A bases-loaded walk from Trey Hair later in the frame doubled the advantage before Ramon singled home two more in the ensuing at-bat.
Jyawook and Hair were the only other Aces to pick up multiple hits in the contest, combining to go 4-for-7 with a pair of scores.
From there, Brandon Gomer proved able to limit the Shockers (11-20, 1-1 MVC). The freshman pitcher out of Lenexa, Kan., didn’t allow a run until the sixth, and he finished the game with two earned runs on four hits over 5.2 innings of work. He struck out two, earning his first career victory in the process.
“Brandon’s been throwing well,†Carroll said. “He wasn’t able to get the win with the IU game being called, and for him, he was able to get pitches over the plate when he needed to, despite not having his best stuff. We played some great defense behind him too.â€
Ramon established some breathing room an inning later for the Aces bullpen, sending a three-run blast over the wall in left to become the first UE hitter to log nine home runs in a season since Cody Fick in 2011.
UE and WSU will square off on Sunday at 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
NOTES: Overall the Aces have 29 homers this season, the most for any UE team since 2010 … Since 1978, UE is 28-57 against Wichita State … Last season, the Aces were swept in Wichita, but UE picked up two out of three in the Shockers’ last trip to Evansville in 2014 … The first meeting between the two squads was in 1995, the first year that UE was in the MVC … UE dropped three of four games that season before eliminating the Shockers from the Valley tournament … The first series win for UE was in 2005 … Since 1978, the first season that UE participated in NCAA Division I baseball, WSU is the only team from Kansas that the Aces have played … All-time, the Aces are 8-14 in MVC openers and 33-37 in MVC opening series … This weekend marks the third time that UE started conference play with WSU … Previously, the Shockers took three out of four in both 1995 and 2002.
