SPARTANBURG, S.C. – With the University of Evansville tied up at 1-1 in the sixth inning, Purple Aces head coach Wes Carroll turned to pitcher Brent Jurceka to keep the USC Upstate offense at bay, and the senior delivered as he led UE to a 5-2 victory over the Spartans at Cleveland S. Harley Park.
“It feels great to get in the win column,†UE head coach Wes Carroll said. “We got a quality start from Patrick Schnieders, and then Jurceka came in and did a heck of a job for us to close the game out. It feels good to win on a Friday, and hopefully it sets up for more success going into tomorrow.â€
Jurceka, who served as UE’s closer a season ago, recorded the final 10 outs of the ball game for the Aces (1-3), allowing one run on four hits. He also struck out four without issuing a single walk to earn his first victory of the season. It was a strong pitching day overall for the Aces as Patrick Schnieders rebounded from his first appearance of the season, tossing 5.2 one-run innings.
The opening stanza would be a tale of missed opportunities for the Aces, beginning with stranding two runners in the top half of the frame before a Charlie Carpenter two-out double in the bottom half gave the Spartans the lead.
Carpenter as well as Cody Brittain led all hitters in the contest with three-hit outings for Upstate (3-2).
As the innings wore on, it seemed as if the single run might be enough for the hosts as starting pitcher Blake Whitney found his groove, tossing perfect second, third, fourth and fifth innings. However, it would start to come apart for the right-hander in the sixth as a two-out single and wild pitch put Boomer Synek 90 feet from home. Trey Hair, who starred in last weekend’s series at South Alabama, took advantage of the opportunity, doubling to right center to even things up.
Travis Tokarek led off the seventh by reaching on a two-base error, and it would ultimately prove costly as Eric McKibban doubled him home to give UE its first lead of the season. A two-out single from Josh Jyawook doubled the advantage later in the frame, and Hair picked up another run batted in with a bases loaded walk to give the Aces a 4-1 advantage heading into the seventh inning stretch.
Hair was the only UE player to record multiple hits, finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of walks. Overall, the Aces were out-hit 10-7.
After a Daniel Fickas lead-off triple ultimately resulted in another Spartan score in the bottom of the seventh, Korbin Williams singled and stole second in the ensuing half-inning to turn the momentum back in UE’s favor. An errant throw from Upstate third baseman Jordan Ford brought another run home for the Aces to re-establish the three-run cushion for good.
UE will return to action on Saturday as the team will stay in Spartanburg, but this time pay a visit to Wofford. First pitch from Russell C. King Field is slated for 1 p.m. Central.
