EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team will put its seven-game winning streak on the line on Wednesday afternoon, as the Purple Aces will travel to Nashville, Tennessee to take on the #7 Vanderbilt Commodores. First-pitch is set for 4:30 p.m. and Wednesday’s game can be seen live on the SEC Network+ streaming platform, with former UE pitcher Alex Gould serving as the play-by-play talent.
Evansville has won seven-straight thanks in large part to an offense which has been on fire the last two weeks. After opening the year hitting just .227 through the first five games, Evansville has hit .377 as a team over the last seven contests, while averaging 9.9 runs per game. The Purple Aces will bring a 7-5 overall record into the contest after sweeping back-to-back doubleheaders from visiting Bowling Green over the weekend, in which the Purple Aces out-scored the Falcons, 41-10.
Fifth-year first baseman Chase Hug and junior shortstop Simon Scherry have been the main catalysts offensively for UE over the last seven games. Hug has hit an amazing .680 (17-for-25) over the last seven contests, while earning back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week awards. Scherry, meanwhile, has hit safely in all seven victories, while hitting .520 (13-for-25) and owning a .606 on-base percentage.
Vanderbilt will enter Wednesday’s contest off of Tuesday night’s game against Tennessee Tech. The seventh-ranked Commodores entered the week 8-4 overall, and are coming off of a 4-0, no-hit victory at Minnesota on Sunday night. Vanderbilt used four pitchers to post the club’s fourth no-hitter in the past five seasons in the win. Sophomore infielder Jonathan Vastine and freshman utility player RJ Austin currently pace the Vanderbilt offense with .348 and .326 batting averages, respectively. The Commodores also boast a 3.98 team ERA, and have already struck out 137 batters in just 104 innings of work.
Junior RHP Shane Harris (1-1, 6.75 ERA) will get the start for Evansville on Wednesday. Harris will be making just his second start of the year for UE, but has tossed back-to-back scoreless relief appearances in his last two outings. Vanderbilt has not named a starter yet for Wednesday’s match-up, based mainly on the fact that they play on Tuesday.
Gould pitched three seasons at Evansville, before graduating in 2016 and working for Evansville’s Valley On ESPN announcing crew, before moving to Nashville last year. In 28 career appearances for Evansville, he posted a 2-2 overall record and 3.35 ERA in 37.2 innings of work.
