The Purple Aces had seven hits in the loss
NORMAL, Ill. – The offense struggled to get going on Saturday afternoon in the University of Evansville baseball team’s 7-1 loss to the Illinois State Redbirds.
The Purple Aces competed in an almost opposite game from its first of the series against Illinois State in a low-scoring affair. UE’s offense only had seven hits over nine innings, with three batters connecting on all but one of the team’s hits. Outfielder Ty Rumsey (Evansville, Ind. / North HS), infielder Cal McGinnis (Kimberly, Wis. / Bradley), and infielder Jake McGhee (Fenton, Mo. / Christian Brothers Academy) all had two hits each on the afternoon.
“Back-to-back series losses on the road is tough, but we haven’t earned it over the last two weekends,” said Head Coach Wes Carroll. “We need to play well tomorrow to showcase this great conference on national TV. I’m ready to see a complete competitive game out of this club.”
Both teams were held scoreless in the first two innings as the Redbird and Evansville defense shined. The Aces turned their 20th double play of the season in the bottom of the second as third baseman Drew Howard (Ferdinand, Ind. / Forest Park HS) was part of all three outs. Howard slid in for a bunt lineout and got the out at third on the double play with an assist to first to end the inning.
After getting two hits in the top of the second, Evansville’s bats went quiet for the top of the third. Illinois State took the early lead in the bottom of the third with four straight hits. The Redbirds had three singles to score the first run of the game. And then first baseman Judah Morris hit a three-run homer to make it a 4-0 score for Illinois State.
The Aces had two on base in the fourth as catcher Matt Flaherty (Lake Zurich, Ill. / Bellarmine) led off the inning with a hit by pitch and McGinnis put a single into right center. But UE’s next three batters went down in order, sending the defense back out onto the field. The Redbirds added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth, scoring three runs on five hits with four straight hits to begin the frame.
Evansville scored its lone run of the game in the top of the fifth. A lead off walk to shortstop Drew McConnell (Blue Springs, Mo. / Blue Springs HS), followed by a single from Howard, had a runner in scoring position for the Aces. Rumsey then connected on his second hit of the afternoon with a double down the right field line to score McConnell, making it a 7-1 game.
That would remain the final score as neither team brought a run home in the final four innings of the afternoon. UE left two runners in scoring position in the top of the seventh, as the top of the seventh was the last time either team got close to scoring another run.
Evansville will try to close out the series with a win on linear television on Sunday afternoon. The Aces’ third game at Illinois State will be broadcast on ESPNU, the first of two linear games for UE this season. First pitch for Sunday’s series finale is set for 1:30 p.m. from Duffy Bass Field.
