 TERRE HAUTE – A two-run eighth wouldn’t prove enough for the University of Evansville baseball team on Wednesday morning as the fifth-seeded Purple Aces dropped a 4-3 decision to fourth-seeded Southern Illinois in the opening game of the Missouri Valley Championship at Bob Warn Field.
“Patrick had to pitch around some things today, and he did a great job,†Carroll said. “The loss isn’t on our pitchers today. It’s unfortunate because I think they did enough to win. Our offense really didn’t click when we had runners in scoring position. Tomorrow’s going to be an exciting day for us. We’re going to come out here and try to survive and advance.â€
The Aces, who will return to the field at 8 a.m. Central Thursday morning for an elimination game, dropped to 27-26 on the season.
Missed opportunities were once again the story for the Aces, who put a leadoff runner on base in four consecutive innings before finally cashing in a score with a Korbin Williams sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.
By that point, SIU (31-23-1) was already ahead, having scored a pair of runs off of UE starting pitcher Patrick Schnieders in the third and fourth innings.
Schnieders was pegged with the loss, as he dropped to 4-6 on the season. He gave up a pair of scores (one earned) on seven hits over five innings of work.
Southern Illinois pushed its advantage out to three runs with a Connor Kopach triple and Logan Blackfan single.
UE responded in kind in the ensuing half-inning as Boomer Synek plated a score with a sacrifice fly, and Trey Hair brought another home on a single to right to make it 4-3. However, the Aces would strand three runners on base over the remainder of the game as SIU punched its ticket to the next round.
UE was led on the day by the trio of Josh Jyawook, Trey Hair and Travis Tokarek, who accounted for six of the Aces’ eight hits on the day.
The Aces will meet the loser of the contest between Dallas Baptist and Illinois State, which will take place later on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 8 a.m. Central time.
