 In the end, a fourth comeback was not in the cards for the University of Evansville baseball team as the Purple Aces fell 8-6 in 10 innings to visiting Illinois State on Sunday at Charles H. Braun Stadium.
The loss, which was the first in a rubber game this season for UE, handed the Aces (24-17, 7-5 Missouri Valley Conference) their first conference series loss of the season, and the team will now enter next weekend’s conference clash with league-leading Dallas Baptist looking to make up a 1.5-game deficit.
ISU, on the other hand, picked up their first series win of the year to improve to 14-28 with a 4-7 league mark.
For the fourth straight week, the Aces turned to Alex Weigand on the mound to win the series, and for the most part, the freshman southpaw excelled. He bounced back from allowing a run in the first to hold the Redbird bats silent for much of the game before surrendering a score in both the fourth and the seventh innings. It marked the first time the Bourbonnais, Ill., native had allowed multiple runs in a start since April 2.
After playing a role in driving home the early equalizer in the second inning, Jonathan Ramon loudly announced his presence in the fourth inning with a game-tying solo blast to make it 2-2. It marked the 10th homer of the season for the senior, and the Jackson Heights, N.Y., native is now the first Aces hitter to record double-digit homers since the NCAA adjusted its bat standards prior to the 2011 season.
Ramon was one of six different Aces hitters to record multiple hits on the day. He finished 2-for-4 at the plate, and Josh Jyawook led the team with a 4-for-5 outing.
UE would take the lead with a Trey Hair single an inning later, but it was short-lived as the Redbirds touched home four times over the course of the seventh and eighth innings to grab the 6-3 edge.
A lead-off triple from Ramon got things going for UE in the bottom of the eighth, and an Eric McKibban single as well as Stewart Nelson flyout brought the Aces within one. Ramon followed up an inning later with a ninth-inning sac fly to make it even at 6-6.
However, ISU would surge ahead once again in the 10th as Brian Jestice surrendered a hit and a pair of walks to load the bases with one out. A sliding defensive play from McKibban at first base nearly helped the Aces get out of the jam, but ISU’s Owen Miller delivered a two-out bases-loaded single to left to plate the game-winning scores.
Miller finished with a 4-for-6 showing at the plate with five runs batted in, handing Jestice (2-1) his first loss of the season.
UE will be back in action later this week as the Aces are slated to close out the homestand with games against Murray State and Belmont before next weekend’s conference showdown in Dallas.
NOTES: The Aces are now 2-2 this season in extra-innings games … Jonathan Ramon’s homer marked the 40th of the season for the Aces, the most since 2010 … Since 1978, the Aces are 52-59 all-time against Illinois State … The first meeting between the two schools was a 1-1 tie in 1948 … Last season, the Aces took home two out of three in a series that was staged in Normal … UE won all three meetings by a combined 27-6 score in 2014, which was the previous trip to Evansville for the Redbirds.
