Prior to Saturday’s game, Evansville honored four seniors who have left an indelible mark on the baseball program and the University as a whole. Troy Beilsmith, Nathan Croner, Ben Komonosky, and Craig Shepherd have accumulated 565 appearances, 1,607 at-bats, 181.1 innings pitched, 185 RBI, and 156 strikeouts thrown. In all, Evansville’s group of four seniors have experience 87 wins and helped the Aces earn their 26th winning season in program history in 2021.
The Aces offense was rolling in the early going, striking four four runs in the first and four more runs in the second to open up an 8-0 lead.
After facing the minimum in the first two innings, the top third spelled trouble for Aces starter Caleb Reinhardt as the Sycamores struck for five runs before Reinhardt’s day ended after 2.2 innings.
The Sycamores continued to generate offense in the fourth as Indiana State tied the game with three runs in the inning. The two sides traded runs in the fifth and sixth innings, entering the eighth tied at 10.
Indiana State, needing the win to earn the No. 2 seed in the Conference tournament, surged down the stretch tallying two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth as the Sycamores captured the 13-10 win.
The offensive explosions from both teams saw each sides’ entire starting lineup, for those that recorded a plate appearance, record a hit in the series finale. Evansville was led by the top of its lineup with Simon Scherry, Brent Widder, and Tanner Craig each recording a pair of hits.
Despite the loss, Evansville earned the No. 7 seed in the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Championship and will face sixth-seeded Illinois State at 2:30 PM on Tuesday at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale, Ill.
