The University of Evansville baseball team got a bounce-back performance from staff ace Adam Lukas, along with some clutch defense to beat Bradley in a 1-0 shutout in their Missouri Valley Conference opener Friday afternoon at Dozer Park.
A week after being forced to leave the game against Xavier prematurely with a back strain, the junior right-hander delivered a clutch performance, striking out nine, while tossing six shutout innings, allowing just two hits.
Lukas was also helped by his defense, as junior right fielder Troy Beilsmith fired a bullet at home to junior catcher Ben Komonosky, who applied the tag on the would-be Braves run, keeping the game scoreless in the second inning.
As for Evansville offense, it was confined to the sixth inning. when sophomore first baseman Tanner Craig roped an opposite field single to right, scoring Beilsmith from second, putting UE up 1-0.
Lukas would exit the game in the seventh and give way to freshman left-hander Michael Parks. With two Bradley runners aboard, Parks induced an inning-ending double play. Parks would give up a single and a walk, putting the tying run in scoring position. That would bring senior right-hander Austin Allinger to get the final out of the frame.
Allinger would close out the game with the second strikeout of his outing, to end the game, picking up his third save of the season.
The win improved Evansville’s record to 12-9 on the season, while Bradley drops to 12-8.
