Aces in Normal, Ill. to face Redbirds
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In its final regular-season series of the season, the University of Evansville softball team travels to Illinois State for a 3-game set. The series runs Friday through Sunday and ESPN+ will have the coverage of the final two contests.
Last Time Out
– Evansville faced Missouri State in its final home series of the season; after rallying for a 6-5 win in the opener, the Purple Aces fell by scores of 4-3 and 10-4 in the final two games
– Registering five hits in nine at-bats, Brooke Voss was the leading hitter in the series, finishing at .556 while adding three runs and two RBI
– Jenna Nink’s 3-run walk-off home run was the different in the Friday win
Big Hits
– Jenna Nink was responsible for one of the top moments of the season for the Aces as she belted a 3-run walk-off home run in the April 26 win over Missouri State
– With UE trailing by a 5-3 score entering the bottom of the seventh, she picked up the game-winner with two outs to seal the win
– Nink has a hit in 10 of the last 15 games and is batting .262 on the year
– Her first home run of the season was a grand slam in the win over SIU Edwardsville
Still Going Strong
– Over the last 27 games, Brooke Voss has batted .368 while seeing her average rise from .146 to its current mark of .290
– In MVC games, she leads UE in average (.348), hits (23) and doubles (6)
– With six home runs on the year, Voss is tied for the team lead
– Voss was the leading hitter in the series against the Bears, recording five hits in nine at-bats, pacing the team with a .556 batting average
Providing a Spark
– Niki Bode has accounted for two huge hits in her last three appearances
– On April 24 at Indiana State, Bode’s 2-run single in the top of the 7th added much-needed insurance as UE was hanging on to a 1-0 lead at the time
– Two days later, her solo home run in the bottom of the 6th versus Missouri State played a major role in the Aces walk-off win over the Bears
Putting a Streak Together
– Another solid weekend saw Jess Willsey go 4-for-11 against Missouri State
– Since April 20, she is batting .400 with eight hits in 20 at-bats
– She entered the Murray State series on an 0-for-10 skid at the plate but a strong weekend saw her go 5-for-9 while batting .556
– Willsey has recorded a hit in 15 of the last 21 games and is third on the team with a .282 average and 21 RBI
