Aces baseball wins first Valley series against Murray State

MURRAY, Ky. – The University of Evansville baseball team took the series win over the Murray State Racers on Saturday by splitting the doubleheader with a first-game victory.

The Purple Aces offense exploded in its first of two games on Saturday afternoon as all nine batters recorded at least one hit in the 15-10 win. UE continued to outhit the Murray State in the second game of the day but stranded 11 runners in the 9-5 loss to close out the weekend.

Evansville was led at the plate by left fielder Charlie Longmeier (Seymour, Ind. / Seymour HS) who had five hits and three doubles in two games for the Aces. Center fielder Ty Rumsey (Evansville, Ind. / North HS) was right behind him with UE’s first multiple-home run performance in 2025 with four hits and two long balls. Rumsey also led Evansville in RBIs with five, all of which came in the first game of the doubleheader.

“This weekend was a great start to Valley play with a series win!” said Head Coach Wes Carroll. “We also finished a challenging road trip on a positive note taking two of three games. I look forward to the team playing back at the Braun on Tuesday.”

Both offenses got going early on Saturday afternoon as the Aces struck first in the top of the first. A lead off walk to Rumsey came back to bite Murray State as he stole second on the next at-bat. Infielder Cal McGinnis (Kimberly, Wis. / Bradley) put a single into the outfield to bring Rumsey home for a 1-0 UE lead at the half inning.

The Racers answered back in the first with a solo home run to tie the game after two outs. Murray’s two-out rally continued with back-to-back hit-by-pitches to put two on. Racer left fielder Dan Tauken singled to left field and gave Murray State a 2-1 lead after only an inning despite starter Kevin Reed (Martinsville, Ind. / Martinsville HS) striking out the side.

Evansville got two batters on in the top of the second as catcher Matt Flaherty (Lake Zurich, Ill. / Bellarmine) singled to center and designated hitter Aaron Nehls (Evansville, Ind. / North HS) walked. But neither runner came home as the final out to the Aces came on a strikeout. UE’s defense had a similar result in the bottom of the second giving up a lead off walk but then getting three straight outs to keep it a 2-1 ballgame.

Rumsey jump-started the Evansville offense in the top of the third with his first long ball of the season to tie the game up. McGinnis then reached second two at-bats later thanks to an error out in left field for the go-ahead run. Longmeier got the hit that put the Aces back in front with a double off the right field wall. Longmeier’s fourth double of the season scored McGinnis to make it 3-2 for UE.

Evansville’s defense returned the offense’s favor taking down the Racers in order. It was a quiet fourth inning as neither team recorded a hit. Murray State took the lead back in the bottom of the fifth inning with a grand slam to make it 6-3. The Racers got two more runners on in the fifth, but both were stranded with reliever Drew Fieger’s (Fort Mitchell, Ky. / Lincoln Trail CC) first strikeout.

It was a quiet sixth inning as the Aces went down in order and UE’s defense had its 12th double play to end the frame. Evansville began the seventh with an out, but the Aces put together a big offensive inning. UE got back-to-back singles from Nehls and infielder Drew Howard (Ferdinand, Ind. / Forest Park HS) to begin the rally.

It was again Rumsey who came through for Evansville at the plate for his first career game with multiple home runs. The three-run bomb tied the game at six runs each, but the game didn’t stay tied for long. After the homer outfielder Harrison Taubert (Casper, Wyo. / Northeast CC) put a double into left center with some help from the wind and was quickly at third on a flyout.

A walk to shortstop Brodie Peart (Markham, Ontario) put runners at the corner for the Aces. Longmeier was next up at the plate and connected on his first pitch with a double to right scoring Taubert to take the 7-6 lead. UE’s final out of the seventh came in the next at-bat as Evansville scored four runs on five hits.

The Aces’ defense quickly worked through the Murray State batters allowing one hit that didn’t score. UE’s offense continued its dominance in the top of the eighth as the entire order made it on base without an out. Infielder Drew McConnell (Blue Springs, Mo. / Blue Springs HS) led off the eighth with his first hit in a week. Also connecting on hits in the eighth were Howard, McGinnis, Peart, and Longmeier as Evansville scored seven runs and loaded the bases twice.

The Racers had their own long offensive half-inning in the eighth. Murray State had its entire lineup come to the plate with three singles, three walks, and a hit-by-pitch. The Racers scored four runs as the Aces used three pitchers to get out of the inning. Thanks to runners’ interference in the ninth at-bat of the eighth UE had another double play to go to the final inning.

Evansville loaded the bases again in the top of the ninth as the team’s first runner got on base with a hit by pitch. Another single for Pert and a walk to Longmeier had three on for Flaherty. The graduate catcher put a single into center field getting a run back for the Aces. UE only scored the one run as they needed three outs to keep the 15-10 final score.

Closer right-hander Owen Byberg (Barrie, Ontario) faced the minimum number of batters in the bottom of the ninth beginning with a strikeout looking. Evansville’s defense turned another double play to end the game securing the series victory by a score of 15-10. Fieger earned his first win of the season in 2.2 innings of work while Longmeier led the team at the plate going 3-for-5 with two doubles, a walk, and three RBIs.

After an offensive explosion in the first game of the day the second game was a little quieter. But both teams scored early as Murray State scored on back-to-back hits in the bottom of the first with a triple. The Aces tied the game in the top of the second as their first two batters walked. A sacrifice fly from Peart to right center scored Longmeier to make it 1-1.

It remained a tied game until the bottom of the third when the Racers retook the lead on a three-run blast in the bottom of the third. UE started the frame with two outs, but Murray had two batters reach base after. Racer designated hitter Tauken brought both home with a homer out to right field for a 4-1 game after a third.

Evansville got a run back in the top of the fourth as Longmeier had a lead off single to center. For the second time in the game, Peart hit a sacrifice fly to right center to score a run. The Aces only brought the one run home for a two-run game in the middle of the fourth.

Murray State extended its lead in the bottom of the fifth after UE wasn’t able to score with the bases loaded in the top of the inning. The Racers loaded the bases quickly with one out on the board and then added two runs with a single and a ground out. Murray returned to its four-run lead halfway through the second game.

The Racers added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth as Evansville was deep in its bullpen. A lead off triple for Murray turned into its first run of the inning in the next at-bat on a single. The Aces got a strikeout from reliever Jack Clevidence (Ankeny, Iowa / Ankeny HS) and a flyout for two with two on. The Racers loaded the bases and scored two more runs without connecting on a hit for a 9-2 advantage.

But UE wasn’t going to go down without a fight as the offense returned with a vengeance in the top of the seventh. Evansville loaded the bases quickly with two hits and a walk in its first three at-bats. A sacrifice fly to right scored Rumsey for the fifth time in two games. Back-to-back singles from Peart and catcher Evan Waggoner (Bedford, Ind. / Bedford North Lawrence HS) brought in two more runners to make it a 9-5 game. A strikeout ended the Aces offensive surge in the seventh.

Murray State was kept scoreless over the next two innings as UE’s fifth reliever left-hander Jacob Jarvis (Farmington, Mo. / Jefferson College) pitched two full innings. Jarvis had one strikeout and only allowed one hit in his time on the mound for Evansville to be the only pitcher to not allow a run. The Aces started the top of the ninth with Longmeier’s third double of the day. But three straight outs after the double ended the potential comeback for UE to drop the final game of the weekend.

Four batters had two hits in the second game of the doubleheader for Evansville as eight of the team’s 11 players recorded a hit. Byberg was credited with the loss as he pitched 2.2 innings in the second game while allowing two runs and throwing one strikeout.

The Aces return home to German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium for the first time in over a month next week. UE welcomes Western Kentucky to Evansville for the first game in a home-and-home series on Tuesday. First pitch from GAB Field is set for 6 p.m. on March 25.

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