Sophomore throws eight shutout innings in win
Behind sophomore Shane Gray’s brilliant performance on the mound, the University of Evansville baseball team captured a 7-0 shutout victory in its series opener with Butler on Friday evening at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.
“Outstanding effort from Shane Gray tonight. I felt like he was in command all night,” said Aces head baseball coach Wes Caroll. “Our offense was able to put a 5 spot up on a very talented pitcher for Butler. It’s great to have your 3 and 4 hitters provide 4 RBI’s like we got tonight from Tanner Craig and Mark Shallenberger. I also thought Ben Komonosky had a great game.”
Gray pitched a dominant eight innings, allowing just two hits and striking-out seven in a return to form for the West Jefferson, Ohio native.
Evansville was able to drop five runs on Butler starter Connor Schultz in the third inning, fueled both by strong offense and struggling defense. The Aces loaded the bases in the inning without an out and generated runs on consecutive at-bats from junior Tanner Craig, freshman Mark Shallenberger, and freshman Simon Scherry.
The five runs in the third helped provide Gray a comfortable lead as four times on the night Gray pitched clean innings, sitting the Bulldogs down in order, including key innings in the top of the fourth and fifth following Evansville’s five-run third.
Down the stretch, Evansville added single runs in the seventh and eighth to help pad the advantage as the game entered the ninth. With a seven-run lead, the Aces turned to junior Drew Dominik in the ninth, who picked-up where Gray left off, dealing back-to-back strikeouts to open the inning before producing a groundout to secure Evansville’s shutout win.
Senior Ben Komonosky continued a recent hot streak, going 2-for-3 at the plate, scoring twice, and driving in another run. Joining the catcher with multiple hits on the night were Shallenberger (2-for-4, two RBI) and second baseman Brent Widder (2-for-3).
Butler’s defense plagued the Bulldogs all night, committing four errors and spoiling a 10 strikeout effort from pitcher Connor Schultz.
The Aces and Bulldogs continue their series at 1 PM on Saturday at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.
