Gray dominates as Aces fall late to DBU

Quickly becoming the norm, sophomore Shane Gray turned-in another dominant effort on the mound, but a late rally from Dallas Baptist handed Evansville a 2-1 loss in the series opener on Friday night at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.

“Such a special outing for Shane Gray. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the final six outs to close out the game,” said Aces head baseball coach Wes Carroll. “Had a couple of great at bats in the bottom of the ninth to give us a chance, but couldn’t get another quality trip to the plate. Its going to be a great weekend of baseball.”

Elite pitching was on display in the River City on Friday evening as both Gray and DBU righty Dominic Hamel showcased their best in the opener. The two would combine for 13 strikeouts on the night with Hamel reaching double-digits with 10 punch-outs.

Evansville was able to get on the scoreboard first, doing so in the second inning. Tanner Craig smashed his sixth homer of the season to lead-off the bottom of the second frame, giving the Aces a 1-0 lead.

Gray would continue to cruise for Evansville, extending his outing through the seventh inning before the West Jefferson, Ohio native’s night came to an end. In total, Gray pitched seven shutout innings for the second-straight start, allowing just three hits and striking-out three Patriots.

Coming-on to replace Gray in the eighth was junior Drew Dominik. After getting a flyout to open the inning, Dominik walked a batter and moved the runner to second on a wild pitch. A single in the next at bat ended Dominik’s day as freshman Jakob Meyer came in. The runner at first moved to second on a wild pitch to setup a pair of Patriots in scoring position with one out. Meyer got a crucial pop-up to secure two outs in the inning before facing Jace Grady. Grady delivered a big moment for DBU, chopping a base-hit to second that scored a run. Trying to field the ball at second, the Aces committed an error, allowing the second run to score, giving DBU the 2-1 lead.

In the ninth, Meyer looked strong, facing the minimum and sending Evansville to the bottom of the ninth with just a one-run deficit. Evansville got just what it needed to start the ninth as Troy Beilsmith earned a lead-off walk and Mark Shallenberger followed with a single to center field.

With no outs and a pair of runners on, DBU induced three straight flyouts to end the Aces threat and earn the Patriots a 2-1 win.

Evansville and DBU continue their series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 PM.