EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Evansville sophomore first baseman Troy Beilsmith delivered a walk-off, two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 12th inning Wednesday to help the Purple Aces’ baseball team extend its winning streak to four games with a 3-2 extra-inning victory over visiting Bowling Green State University at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville, Indiana.
“I am really proud of the effort tonight by the guys to find a way to win a close game,†said UE head baseball coach Wes Carroll.  “We didn’t play our best tonight, but we found a way to come through with a clutch hit by Troy Beilsmith there in the 12th inning to win it.â€
After winning relief pitcher Dalton Horstmeier (1-1) opened the 12th inning with a triple down the right-field line offensively, UE would load the bases against BGSU reliever Daniel Buratto (1-1) thanks to a pair of walks.  Falcons’ third baseman Gama Martinez would snare a pair of ground balls to force back-to-back runners at home plate to keep BGSU alive in the 12th before Beilsmith roped a 1-1 pitch off the wall in left field for the game-winning hit to cap a two-hit performance.
Evansville opened the scoring in the fifth inning on a solo home run to right field by freshman third baseman Tanner Craig, his first collegiate home run.  The Falcons would answer back with a pair of runs in the sixth inning before UE rallied to tie the game at 2-2 in the ninth inning on an RBI single by Horstmeier, who opened the game as UE’s right fielder.
In addition to picking up the victory on the mound with two scoreless innings, Horstmeier also paced the UE offense with a 3-for-5 effort at the plate with an RBI.  Beilsmith, Craig and senior catcher Andrew Tanous also had two-hit efforts for UE.  Offensively, four BGSU players pounded out two hits each.  On the mound, six of the seven UE pitchers who saw action did not allow a run.
“I thought that the pitching staff did a tremendous job tonight,†said Carroll.  “They really gave us a chance to win this game.â€
With the victory, Evansville evens its record at 5-5 on the 2018 campaign.  BGSU, meanwhile, falls to 3-10 with the loss.  Evansville will travel down to Fort Meyers, Florida this weekend to battle Florida Gulf Coast University in a three-game series.  The series begins on Friday night with a 5:30 pm central time contest.
