WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Down 8-2 after two innings, the University of Evansville baseball team rallied on Tuesday for a wild 12-10 come-from-behind victory over the host Purdue Boilermakers at Alexander Field in West Lafayette, Indiana.  The win marked UE’s seventh-straight win over Big Ten competition, and its nation-leading eighth-straight road victory.
“Our guys showed a lot of character and a lot of heart tonight,†said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “Purdue really earned that early lead, as they were producing a lot of barrels very early on.  But, we had different guys step up to help us pick up this win.
“I thought that Michael Parks did a great job of putting zeros up on the scoreboard and righting the ship for us from a pitching standpoint, and then I thought everyone up and down our lineup stepped up and came through when we needed it.  I think this win can really kick-start us into something very special.â€
Evansville took an early 2-0 lead on solo home runs by fifth-year first baseman Chase Hug and sophomore designated hitter Evan Waggoner in the first two innings.  For Hug, it was his seventh home run of the year, while Waggoner’s home run was his first collegiate home run at UE.
The lead would be short-lived, though, as the Boilermakers would explode for eight runs in the bottom of the second inning, as eight-straight batters reached base, capped by a three-run home run by catcher Connor Caskenette.  But, the game was far from over.
UE junior catcher Brendan Hord would score Hug with a two-out RBI single in the top of the third inning, before Waggoner would add a two-run double later in the frame to cut the Purdue lead to 8-5.  Parks would then go to work on the mound, and retire the final nine men he faced over the next three innings to keep the score 8-5.
Senior reliever Jakob Meyer would work a scoreless bottom of the sixth to keep the score 8-5, before Evansville would rally for five runs in the seventh inning to take a 10-8 lead.  After fifth-year outfielder Eric Roberts doubled to lead off the frame, Hug walked and junior shortstop Simon Scherry followed with an RBI single to score the frame’s first run.
An RBI ground out by Hord would get UE back within one run, before senior third baseman Brent Widder produced an RBI single to tie the game at 8-8.  Sophomore centerfielder Ty Rumsey would then follow two batters later with a two-out, two-run home run to right field to give UE a 10-8 lead.
Purdue would answer right back with a two-run home run of its own in the bottom of the seventh inning, but UE would respond with two runs in the top of the eighth inning to grab a 12-10 lead.  Hug plated fifth-year outfielder Danny Borgstrom with an RBI double in the frame, and Hord followed two batters later with an RBI single to produce the final margin of victory.  Graduate reliever John MacCauley and redshirt-junior closer Nate Hardman combined to shut down Purdue over the final two frames to help UE snap a four-game losing streak.
Hug went 3-for-4 and finished a triple shy of the cycle to lead UE offensively.  He also scored four runs and drove in two.  Hord also went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI, while Waggoner, Widder and Scherry all had two-hit efforts as well.
With the win, Evansville improves to 17-11 overall.  Purdue, meanwhile, falls to 12-15.  The Purple Aces will now return to German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium this weekend for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series against Valparaiso.  The series begins Friday night at 6 p.m. and all three games of the series can be heard live in Evansville on 107.1 FM-WJPS and the Old National Bank/Purple Aces Sports Network from Learfield.
