The University of Evansville baseball team had several opportunities, but couldn’t close the gap, as they fell to Tennessee-Martin 8-4 in a non-conference matchup at Skyhawks Baseball Field. Wednesday night.
UT-Martin got the jump on the Aces early, building a 2-0 lead on UE starter Alex Weigand. However, UE would answer back in the third inning, as junior center fielder Troy Beilsmith came up with a clutch two-out RBI double down the left field line, scoring senior third baseman Sam Troyer, halving the Skyhawk lead to 2-1.
Weigand, who gave up two runs on five hits, would give way to junior reliever David Ellis in the fourth inning, and UT-Martin would get that run back in the bottom of the fourth, then in the fifth the Skyhawks hung four more tallies on the scoreboard, putting Evansville in a 7-1 hole.
The Aces would start to rally from there. In the top of the sixth, Sam Troyer parlayed being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Troyer followed that up by stealing third, then scored on senior designated hitter Nate Reeder groundout to second, cutting the deficit to five.
In the seventh, senior left fielder Matthew Jones drilled a double to left, bringing in sophomore first baseman Tanner Craig from second, getting the Aces back within four at 7-3.
Finally, in the eighth UE seemed poised to catch the Skyhawks, loading up the bases with two outs. Nate Reeder drew a walk, forcing in A.J. Fritz, and the Aces were back within striking distance at 7-4. However, Evansville’s rally would end there. UT-Martin would get one run back in the bottom of the frame.
Down 8-4 in their final at-bat, the Aces would put runners on the corners with two outs, but UE couldn’t take advantage.
The loss drops the Aces record to 19-18, while the Skyhawks improve to 16-24.
Evansville is back in action on Friday afternoon, when they open a Missouri Valley Conference road series with Valparaiso. First pitch is at 3 p.m. Central Time.
