DALLAS, Texas – A five-run sixth inning proved the difference on Friday night as the University of Evansville baseball team dropped a 6-5 decision to league-leading Dallas Baptist at Horner Ballpark.
With the loss, the Aces (25-19, 7-6 Missouri Valley Conference) fall 2.5 games back of the Patriots (30-14, 9-3), with just eight conference games remaining on the schedule.
“I thought we had some great at bats and a great approach, but we just hit some right at people,†UE head coach Wes Carroll said. “We felt pretty good about ourselves after both Trey and Korbin ran into pitches, but we could not close out the inning in the bottom of the sixth, and it really cost us tonight.
The Aces came out of the gates strong, grabbing a 3-0 lead after the third inning. Josh Jyawook got things started as an errant throw from DBU shortstop Trooper Reynolds allowed him to reach base with two outs in the third. Boomer Synek would make him pay just two pitches later with a double, and Trey Hair followed up with his seventh home run of the season.
A Shain Showers groundout tacked on another run for UE an inning later, but the Patriots were able to respond with a Matt Duce single. Aces starter Patrick Schnieders fortunately worked out of the jam, striking out David Martinelli to strand the bases loaded and keep UE ahead 4-1.
Following Korbin Williams’ home run in the top of the sixth, Schnieders wouldn’t be as fortunate as Dallas pushed across five runs, including three with two outs to take control.
Schnieders was pegged with the loss, dropping him to 4-4 on the year, as he allowed all six runs on 10 hits over 5.2 innings.
The Aces would have their chances down the stretch, stranding five runners over the course of the seventh and eighth innings before DBU closer Seth Elledge shut the door with a pair of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to pick up his 11th save of the season.
DBU starting pitcher Colin Poche improved to 7-0 on the mound.
Both teams will return to action with a 2 p.m. start at Horner Ballpark.
NOTES: Trey Hair’s two-run blast was actually his eighth of the year … Earlier this season the junior left the park in a game at Indiana, which was called due to weather in the bottom of the fifth … Korbin Williams joined Jonathan Ramon as the only two Aces to record double-digit homers since the NCAA adjusted its bat standards prior to the 2011 season … This weekend marks the 14th, 15th and 16th meetings between the Patriots and the Aces … Dating back to 1978, the first year that UE participated in Division I baseball, UE is 5-9 versus Dallas Baptist … Last season, the Aces dropped two out of three to the Patriots in Evansville … UE last visited DBU in 2014, winning a pair of games at Horner Ballpark on the way to hoisting a conference title … Since 1978, the Aces are 7-14 all-time against opponents from the state of Texas.
