Late SIU rally hands Aces series-opening loss

EVANSVILLE – Leading for much of the contest, one bad inning handed the University of Evansville baseball team a series-opening loss to Southern Illinois, 14-4, on Friday night at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.

“3-2 lead with 6 outs to get and we couldn’t finish it out. We need to keep that into perspective,” said Aces head baseball coach Wes Carroll. “We have been playing great baseball and haven’t had a two-inning performance like that for a long time. SIU’s offense does a great job of making big innings happen by exploiting free bases. We will rebound tomorrow with a competitive effort.”

Tanner Craig and Simon Scherry led Evansville with three hits a piece, while Brent Widder also turned in a multi-hit game with two on the evening. On the mound, Shane Gray was dominant for the Aces, pitching six innings, allowing just one earned run on six hits, while striking-out six.

For the first time all season, the Aces blew a lead in the seventh inning or later as Evansville entered the night with a 12-0 record when leading after the seventh.

A couple early mistakes allowed SIU to plate a run in the top of the first, but the Aces answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the second. Back-to-back RBI singles from Mark Shallenberger and Tanner Craig powered Evansville in front.

In the top of the third, the Salukis tied the game with an RBI base-hit of their own. After a lull in the offense, the Aces would retake the lead in the bottom of the fifth. With Scherry on second and just one out, Brent Widder ripped a single to center, sending Scherry home and earning the Aces a 3-2 lead. In consecutive innings in the fifth and sixth, Evansville loaded the bases with two outs, but was unable to push across any extra insurance runs.

Big innings in the eighth and ninth for the Salukis were the difference in the contest with SIU scoring eight in the eighth and four in the ninth, surrounding a single run for Evansville in the bottom of the eighth as SIU captured the 14-4 win.

Evansville and SIU meet for game two of their weekend series at 2 PM on Saturday at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.