Aces clinch series against Sycamores
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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – An exciting back-and-forth contest saw the University of Evansville come out on the winning end of a 7-5 contest against Indiana State on Tuesday afternoon.
Senior Katie McLean was the hero, belting a 2-run homer in the 10th inning to help UE (20-19, 8-12 MVC) clinch the season series against Indiana State (17-23, 10-11 MVC) after the teams split last week’s doubleheader at Cooper Stadium. McLean was 2-5 on the day with three RBI while Jessica Fehr also had two hits. Eryn Gould garnered four walks and scored twice.
Tuesday’s opening two innings were scoreless, but that changed in the bottom of the third when Indiana State scored three times. Bella Peterson hit a 2-run home run to left center to open the scoring. Facing its first deficit of the afternoon, the Purple Aces stormed back with three runs in the top half of the fourth.
Haley Woolf got things started with a leadoff single before pinch runner Mackenzie McFeron entered the game. After Mea Adams reached on an error, a single by Jenna Lis brought McFeron home for the first UE run of the game. Hannah Hood doubled to right center to bring Adams home for the second run before Marah Wood tied it up on a single to left.
Two frames later, Katie McLean put the Aces on top when her double scored Eryn Gould. It did not take long for ISU to respond as Peterson struck again with an RBI double to tie it up at 4-4. Neither team scored in the seventh as the game progressed to extra innings.
Lindsay Renneisen gave UE a 5-4 lead with an RBI single in the 9th, but ISU tied it right back up to send the game to the 10th. Izzy Vetter did a solid job of keeping it tied, getting out of a bases loaded jam. In the 10th, the offense rewarded her when Katie McLean hit a home run that also scored Gould to give UE a 7-5 edge. Vetter got the job done from there, sitting the Sycamores down in order in the bottom of the inning to seal the 7-5 win.
Jaime Nurrenbern threw the first five inning, allowing three runs on six hits while Izzy Vetter recorded the win, going the final five frames. She fanned eight batters on the way to her 11th victory of the year.
This weekend, the Aces welcome Bradley for three games beginning with a noon doubleheader on Saturday.
