Trailing 2-0 entering the sixth inning, the University of Evansville softball team rallied for four runs in that frame on their way to a 4-2 victory over Indiana State on Sunday afternoon at Cooper Stadium.
“This was huge for us to find a way to get the win. Our bats have been a little quiet this weekend and I feel like we were pressing just a little bit,†Purple Aces head coach Mat Mundell said. “When Deja came to the plate and got that hit, it really gave us some life. Morgan’s home run was obviously huge too, she has evolved a real clutch hitter for us.â€
Evansville (20-26, 11-9 MVC) registered two hits on the day, but they came at the biggest time. Indiana State (20-25, 5-15 MVC) picked up nine hits while Kenzie Ihle heled UE hitless through five innings.
The top of the third inning featured great defense by the Purple Aces. After the Sycamores put a runner on third with one out, Morgan Florey connected with Hayli Scott for the out at the plate. After the next ISU batter singled to shallow center, Michal Luckett threw out another Sycamore runner at home to end the inning.
Indiana State threatened in each inning and finally came through in the fourth as Gabi Carter laced a 2-run single to center field for the first scoring of the contest.
Evansville was held hitless until the bottom of the 6th inning when Deja Shelton doubled to left field to lead off the inning. She advanced to third on a Brittany Hay sacrifice before coming home on a sac fly by Florey.
Two hit batters put a pair of runners on for Morgan Lambert, who responded with her 7th home run of the year, a 3-run shot, to give UE a 4-2 lead. That proved to be the difference as Florey finished it off in the top of the seventh for UE.
A trip to Carbondale, Ill. awaits UE on Tuesday as they finish their season series with Southern Illinois. The final home games of the year are on tap next weekend as the Aces welcome Illinois State.
