The Purple Aces gave up 20+ runs for the first time in three seasons
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Evansville baseball team fell behind early at Kentucky and couldn’t recover in a 24-3 loss on Tuesday afternoon.
Half of the Purple Aces roster saw the field in a midweek loss to the Kentucky Wildcats. UE used eight pitchers in seven innings as only one stayed on the mound for more than an inning. On offense, two players accounted for Evansville’s four hits as senior center fielder Ty Rumsey (Evansville, Ind. / North HS) and freshman shortstop Drew McConnell (Blue Springs, Mo. / Blue Springs HS) had two each.
Rumsey had an early hit for the Aces but was the only batter to make it on base in the first. It was a long bottom of the first inning for UE starter freshman RJ James (Toronto, Canada) as Kentucky’s offense loaded the bases with three straight singles. James threw a strikeout to the Wildcats fourth batter and drew a potential ground out from the fifth. But a throwing error from first over to third gave Kentucky enough time to send two runners home.
The Wildcats scored on the next two at-bats with a double down the left line and a home run over the center field wall had UK up by six with six hits in eight at-bats. Kentucky added one more run in the first on a sacrifice fly three batters later before Evansville’s defense ended the inning with a groundout. The Aces brought in junior RHP Owen Byberg (Barrie, Ontario, Canada) in the bottom of the second after the offense went down in order.
Byberg worked quickly in his first inning on the mound by getting the side with two strikeouts and a groundout. UE had a better offensive inning in the top of the third as the first two batters of the inning made it on base on a hit by pitch and a single. With two on, Rumsey connected on his second hit of the afternoon to help put Evansville on the board as catcher Kaleb Wilkey (Manhattan, Ill. / Lincoln-Way West HS) crossed home plate.
The Aces’ next batter right fielder Harrison Taubert (Casper, Wyo. / Northeast CC) was walked by the Wildcats starter to load up the bases. Infielder Cal McGinnis (Kimberly, Wis. / Bradley) followed up Taubert’s walk with a sacrifice fly to score McConnell, making it a 7-2 game with two outs. UE ended the offensive half of the inning during the next at-bat.
Byberg added two more strikeouts in the bottom of the third inning. But Kentucky added back a run on a fielding error before the third ended. The Wildcats extended their lead again in the bottom of the fourth with a lead-off home run, two doubles, and a sacrifice fly. Right-handed reliever Kellen Roberts (Monroe, Mich. / Monroe HS) took the mound midway through the fourth allowing a hit and two runs early as it became an 11-2 game. Roberts walked UK’s next three batters but got out of the jam with a strikeout in four pitches.
Evansville got a run back early in the fifth as McConnell hit his first career home run to the Aces bullpen in right field. UE got another runner to first base on a hit by pitch but had three batters either strikeout or groundout to end the top of the fifth. Freshman LHP Jack Wills (Shelbyville, Ky. / Shelby County HS) made his debut on the mound for Evansville in the bottom of the fifth, only an hour southeast of his hometown.
Wills struggled early as the first two batters he faced hit doubles into right center to add another run. The Wildcats widened their lead to 12 runs in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four runs on three hits while eight batters came to the plate. The Aces didn’t answer in the top of the sixth as they went down in order to a new Kentucky pitcher.
Redshirt junior Parker MacCauley (Paducah, Ky. / Tennessee Tech) took over for Wills in the bottom of the sixth. MacCauley added his fourth strikeout of the year facing his second batter. But UE struggled on the mound after using four different pitchers in the sixth as the Wildcats added nine runs. It would be first baseman Jake McGhee who ended the inning on the mound for Evansville, forcing a flyout and a strikeout while facing four batters.
The Aces went down in order in the top of the seventh inning to end Tuesday afternoon’s game by the run rule. UE fell to 1-6 on the season with the 24-3 loss at UK as they continue on a month-long road trip. Evansville will play a four-game series at Missouri over the weekend starting with a 5 p.m. game on Friday, February 28.
