Brendan Hord and Danny Borgstrom hit homers as UE Baseball Bounces SEMO, 14-8

HORD, BORGSTROM HOMER AS BASEBALL ACES BOUNCE SEMO, 14-8

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – University of Evansville junior catcher Brendan Hord (Lexington, Ky./Paul Dunbar) and fifth-year outfielder Danny Borgstrom (Morris, Ill./Morris) both launched home runs on Wednesday, and UE used a six-run third inning and five-run eighth to blast past the host Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, 14-8, at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

“It was great to get a win on the road against a good SEMO club,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “The offense was able to put up a couple of big innings, and our pitching staff did well enough to get the win.

“Top to bottom in our lineup, we had guys contribute and we got a couple of big blasts from (Brendan) Hord and (Danny) Borgstrom in some key spots.  We also got an outstanding performance from Jakob Meyer in relief, which was great to see.  Now, we have a big weekend ahead, with four games back at home.”

It took Evansville just two batters to score the game’s first run on a day where UE set season-highs for runs and hits.  After junior second baseman Kip Fougerousse (Linton, Ind./Linton-Stockton) led off the game with a walk and advanced into scoring position due to an error, current Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week Chase Hug drove him home with an RBI single to left field to give UE a 1-0 lead.

After the Redhawks answered back with a run of its own in the second inning, UE would explode for six runs in the third inning to grab a lead it would never lose.  Hug led off the frame with a single and advanced to second on an error by the outfielder.  Junior shortstop Simon Scherry (Santa Claus, Ind./Heritage Hills) would then follow with an RBI double down the right field line, and scored on a two-run home run by Hord, his third home run of the year.

After a pair of walks and another SEMO error put runners on second and third, sophomore DH Evan Waggoner (Bedford, Ind./Bedford North Lawrence) would drive in a run on an RBI ground-out to push the UE lead to 5-1.  Sophomore outfielder Ty Rumsey (Evansville, Ind./North) then followed with an RBI single and a stolen base, and Fougerousse would drive in Rumsey with another RBI single to help UE build a 7-1 cushion.

SEMO would respond in the bottom of the third inning with a two-out grand slam by DH Carlos Aranda, who would drive in the first five runs of the day for the Redhawks, to cut the UE lead to 7-5.  But, that would be as close as SEMO would get, as UE added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings on RBI base hits by fifth-year outfielder Eric Roberts (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) and Waggoner, before Borgstrom would respond with a grand slam of his own in the eighth inning to help UE cruise to a 14-8 victory.

Borgstrom would go 2-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBI for UE, while Rumsey and Hug each had three hits to pace the UE offense.  Waggoner, making his first career start, would go 2-for-5 with two RBI, while Hord added two RBI as well.  Scherry and Roberts also had two-hit days for UE, which pounded out 16 hits.

Freshman RHP Max Hansmann (2-0) earned the win, allowing five runs on four hits in 3.0 innings of work in a scheduled short-start.  Senior reliever Jakob Meyer and graduate reliever Jarrett Blunt combined to toss 4.0 scoreless innings of one-hit relief while striking out five to help aid the UE bullpen.

With the victory, Evansville (3-5) extends its winning streak to three games.  Meanwhile, SEMO falls to 2-7 on the season with the loss.  The Purple Aces will return home to German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium this weekend for a four-game series against the Bowling Green State University Falcons (2-4).  The series begins Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. and will continue with a Saturday noon doubleheader and a Sunday 1 p.m. contest.