Longmeier records first collegiate home run as UE baseball drops doubleheader at Samford
The Purple Aces highlight stat
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Evansville baseball team had its fifth player of the year get a hit out of the park but didn’t pick up a victory in a doubleheader with the Samford Bulldogs.
The Purple Aces weren’t able to stop the red-hot Samford Bulldogs on Friday who have now won four of their last five games. UE’s offense kept up early in the first game but only held the Bulldogs from scoring in two innings for a 10-4 loss. Samford jumped out to an early lead in the second game and held on through seven innings for the 6-2 final score as the teams agreed to only play seven in the second game of the day.
Designated hitter Aaron Nehls (Evansville, Ind. / North HS) had a day for the Aces going four-of-six for a .667 batting average. Infielders Charlie Longmeier (Seymour, Ind. / Seymour HS) and Drew Howard (Ferdinand, Ind. / Forest Park HS) had two RBIs each for UE while Nehls was the only Evansville batter to score multiple runs.
“Not good enough right now to win games but it’s not because of a lack of effort,” said Head Coach Wes Carroll on Friday. “Sunday will be a great opportunity to get competitive in all three aspects of the game.”
Game 1 – UE 4, SAM 10
It was a quiet first inning as the Aces went down in order and Samford stranded two batters that walked. But the first would be only one of three innings without a run scored in the game. The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead after the second on a double that became the scoring run.
UE answered in the top of the third as Nehls led off with a triple and scored on an RBI groundout from third baseman Ben Stuart (Mason, Ohio / William Mason HS). But Samford got the lead right back in the bottom of the third from a sacrifice fly after their second batter hit a double to get into scoring position.
Evansville’s offense went silent for the next two innings as the Bulldogs grew their lead to five runs. Samford scored a run in the fourth on two singles and a two-run homer in the fifth made it a 6-1 game halfway through. The Aces got back on the board in the top of the sixth as Howard led off with a walk and outfielder Ty Rumsey (Evansville, Ind. / North HS) put a single into center. Howard scored two batters later to make it 6-2.
The Bulldogs answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth on a single and a throwing error after a hit into left field. UE made up for the two runs in the top of the seventh as catcher Matt Flaherty (Lake Zurich, Ill. / Bellarmine) began the inning with a walk. Nehls then had his second hit of the game to put Flaherty at third while another walk loaded the bases. With the bases loaded Howard put a two RBI double into the right corner for an 8-4 game.
That would be the last runs Evansville scored in the first game of the afternoon. Samford added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh on two hits and a walk. The Aces had strong chances to start the eighth and ninth as infielder Cal McGinnis (Kimberly, Wis. / Bradley) had a lead off double and Nehls had a lead off single. But neither runner came home as UE fell to the Bulldogs 10-4 in game one.
Game 2 – UE 2, SAM 6
Rumsey led off the second game of the day with a single to second. He didn’t stay on base long as Rumsey was caught trying to steal second base and the next two Evansville batters went down in order. Samford began the bottom of the first in similar fashion but took an early lead on a walk with the bases loaded. The Bulldogs added one more run before the opening frame was over on a passed ball.
Nehls had his fourth hit of the day in the top of the second with a single to right. But with two Aces outs already on the board Nehls would be stranded at second. UE’s defense took down Samford in order to quickly close out the inning. The Bulldogs did add two runs in the bottom of the third on a two-run homer to right center to make it a 4-0 game.
Evansville broke the shutout in the top of the fourth as right fielder Harrison Taubert (Casper, Wyo. / Northeast CC) opened with a single up the middle. Taubert made his way up to third on a flyout and an infield ground out. He was then brought home to score the Aces’ first run of the game when Longmeier reached first on a fielding error. Samford got the scored run back in the bottom of the inning as a walk followed by a single put a Bulldog runner on third. The runner was then able to score for Samford on a wild pitch bringing the lead back to four runs.
It was a quiet fifth inning for both teams with no scoring and two walks for UE. But it was again Longmeier who had a big play for Evansville in the top of the sixth. After two strikeouts to open the inning Longmeier attacked the first ball he saw launching it past left-center for his first career home run. With 5-2 on the board, Nehls walked in the at-bat following Longmeier’s homer. But the Aces next batter ground out to third ending the top of the sixth.
The Bulldogs scored their sixth and final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth as their first batter walked. The Samford runner scored three at-bats later on a fielder’s choice after making it all the way to third on a wild pitch and a stolen base. UE went to the top of the seventh needing four runs to keep the game going. Rumsey connected on his second hit of the game in the seventh with two outs on the board. He would be stranded at first to end the day as Taubert struck out looking for the final out of the seventh.
With weather expected in the Birmingham area on Saturday, the series finale won’t be until Sunday afternoon. First pitch of the third game in the series is set for 1 p.m. from Joe Lee Griffin Field on March 16.
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