On a day that saw rain clouds move in almost from first pitch, the University of Evansville baseball team earned a doubleheader split with Oakland City University, ending a six game skid.
In the first game of the twin bill, the Purple Aces and Mighty Oaks staged a pitcher’s duel between senior right hander Jimmy Ward and OCU’s Caleb Wagner, with both pitchers taking a shutout into the fifth frame of a seven inning affair.
That’s when the UE offense broke through. Sophomore slugger Troy Beilsmith got the Aces on the scoreboard first with an RBI double to the gap in left-center, scoring sophomore shortstop Craig Shepherd for the long-awaited icebreaker. Sophomore center fielder Kenton Crews followed that up with a two-run double down the left field line, tallying both Beilsmith and junior third baseman Sam Troyer, putting Evansville up 3-0 after five complete.
That’s the way it would remain until the final frame, when Ward walked the lead-off batter, then giving way to senior reliever Hunter Porterfielder, who proceeded to give up a single and walk to load up the bases.
With the lead in danger, Aces head coach Wes Carroll turned to freshman right hander Austin Ruesch, who induced back-to-back RBI sacrifice flyouts, as the Mighty Oaks drew within one. However, Ruesch would get Austin Morris to fly out to right to end the game in favor of Evansville, 3-2. Ward picked up the win, his first of the season, while Ruesch earned his first collegiate save.
Game two of the twin bill saw the rain finally settle in, and Oakland City seize the early advantage on a pair of errors from the Aces middle infielders. Throwing mishaps from Sam Troyer and Cooper Trinkle in the first and second innings, respectively, put Evansville in an early 2-0 hole. Reed Farmer continued the second inning assault on Aces junior left hand starter Alex Weigand, doubling in a pair, and when the smoke cleared, the Aces were down 4-0.
UE would bounce back to drive in a pair, highlighted by Tanner Craig’s run-scoring single in the third, as Evansville halved the OCU lead to 4-2 after three.
However, Oakland City would erupt for four more tallies in the fourth, as Tyler Stoltz drove in a run on a single to shortstop, followed by a two-run rip through the right side of the infield by Jenrick Rivera, chasing Weigand from the game. Nathan Croner would come into replace the junior southpaw, and the Mighty Oaks would tally another on a double steal, tallying Stoltz on the steal of home.
Down 8-4 in the final frame, the Aces would attempt a late inning rally. Freshman infielder Tanner Craig would get the ball rolling for Evansville with an RBI double to the gap in right-center. Senior Dalton Horstmeier would then come up with a clutch two-our RBI rip down the right field line, scoring Craig, drawing the Aces within two.
However, the rally runs out of steam there, as junior outfielder Nate Reeder flew out to right-center to end the game, as Evansville fell 8-6. They’re now 6-12 on the season. Oakland City is now 7-13.
Up next for Evansville is a midweek encounter on the road against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Tuesday. First pitch is at 6 p.m.
