TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The nationally-ranked Indiana State Sycamores rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on Friday afternoon to rally past the visiting University of Evansville baseball team, 5-4, at Bob Warn Field in Terre Haute, Indiana.
“I thought that we had a great effort from our club today in a nationally-televised game,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “We had a lead with six outs to go, but just couldn’t close the door.
“I thought that we got an outstanding performance from Kenton Deverman today. He really battled against a very good Indiana State lineup. Now, we need to bounce back tomorrow to get back in the series.”
Indiana State struck first with a solo home run to left field by catcher Grant McGill in the third inning, but, after that, UE starter Kenton Deverman buckled down and got out of the frame and worked a perfect fourth inning.
His teammates would give him the lead in the fifth inning thanks to wildness by the Indiana State pitching staff. Five walks by Indiana State pitching, including bases-loaded walks to UE junior outfielder Harrison Taubert and graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger gave UE a 2-1 advantage. A sacrifice fly by senior designated hitter Kip Fougerousse pushed the UE lead to 3-1 halfway through the contest.
Indiana State would answer back with single run in the bottom of the fifth inning, but UE would take a 3-2 lead to the eighth inning, as Deverman retired seven of the final eight men he faced on the mound. Overall, Deverman limited Indiana State to two runs on seven hits and a walk in 7.0 innings of work, while striking out six.
UE would tack on a run in the top of the eighth inning on a double by graduate third baseman Brent Widder and an RBI single by junior infielder Cal McGinnis to take a 4-2 lead. But, that lead would be short-lived, as a lead-off walk by Indiana State and a two-run home run by outfielder Dominic Listi would tie the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth. The Sycamores would add on an unearned run to grab a 5-4 lead, and ISU reliever Jacob Pruitt (3-2) would make the lead stand up by working a scoreless ninth inning to seal the victory.
Shallenberger was the only Purple Ace with a multi-hit day, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Shortstop Randal Diaz went 3-for-3 with a run scored and RBI to lead Indiana State, while McGill went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
With the victory, Indiana State improved to 35-10 overall and 18-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Evansville, meanwhile, dropped to 28-21 overall and 14-8 in the MVC with the loss. The series will continue on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. central time. Graduate LHP Donovan Schultz (3-1, 6.01 ERA) will get the start for UE. Saturday’s game can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS and seen live on-line on ESPN+.
