WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Down 8-2 after two innings, the University of Evansville baseball team rallied on Tuesday for a wild 12-10 come-from-behind victory over the host Purdue Boilermakers at Alexander Field in West Lafayette, Indiana.  The win marked UE’s seventh-straight win over Big Ten competition, and its nation-leading eighth-straight road victory.

“Our guys showed a lot of character and a lot of heart tonight,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “Purdue really earned that early lead, as they were producing a lot of barrels very early on.  But, we had different guys step up to help us pick up this win.

“I thought that Michael Parks did a great job of putting zeros up on the scoreboard and righting the ship for us from a pitching standpoint, and then I thought everyone up and down our lineup stepped up and came through when we needed it.  I think this win can really kick-start us into something very special.”

Evansville took an early 2-0 lead on solo home runs by fifth-year first baseman Chase Hug and sophomore designated hitter Evan Waggoner in the first two innings.  For Hug, it was his seventh home run of the year, while Waggoner’s home run was his first collegiate home run at UE.

The lead would be short-lived, though, as the Boilermakers would explode for eight runs in the bottom of the second inning, as eight-straight batters reached base, capped by a three-run home run by catcher Connor Caskenette.  But, the game was far from over.

UE junior catcher Brendan Hord would score Hug with a two-out RBI single in the top of the third inning, before Waggoner would add a two-run double later in the frame to cut the Purdue lead to 8-5.  Parks would then go to work on the mound, and retire the final nine men he faced over the next three innings to keep the score 8-5.

Senior reliever Jakob Meyer would work a scoreless bottom of the sixth to keep the score 8-5, before Evansville would rally for five runs in the seventh inning to take a 10-8 lead.  After fifth-year outfielder Eric Roberts doubled to lead off the frame, Hug walked and junior shortstop Simon Scherry followed with an RBI single to score the frame’s first run.

An RBI ground out by Hord would get UE back within one run, before senior third baseman Brent Widder produced an RBI single to tie the game at 8-8.  Sophomore centerfielder Ty Rumsey would then follow two batters later with a two-out, two-run home run to right field to give UE a 10-8 lead.

Purdue would answer right back with a two-run home run of its own in the bottom of the seventh inning, but UE would respond with two runs in the top of the eighth inning to grab a 12-10 lead.  Hug plated fifth-year outfielder Danny Borgstrom with an RBI double in the frame, and Hord followed two batters later with an RBI single to produce the final margin of victory.  Graduate reliever John MacCauley and redshirt-junior closer Nate Hardman combined to shut down Purdue over the final two frames to help UE snap a four-game losing streak.

Hug went 3-for-4 and finished a triple shy of the cycle to lead UE offensively.  He also scored four runs and drove in two.  Hord also went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI, while Waggoner, Widder and Scherry all had two-hit efforts as well.

With the win, Evansville improves to 17-11 overall.  Purdue, meanwhile, falls to 12-15.  The Purple Aces will now return to German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium this weekend for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series against Valparaiso.  The series begins Friday night at 6 p.m. and all three games of the series can be heard live in Evansville on 107.1 FM-WJPS and the Old National Bank/Purple Aces Sports Network from Learfield.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Softball concluded a four-game homestand with a non-conference, midweek contest against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis on Tuesday afternoon, as the Screaming Eagles fell 3-0 to the Jaguars.
 
Following the game at USI Softball Field, Southern Indiana’s overall record moved to 12-16 while IUPUI improved to 9-18 this season.
 
IUPUI scored the game’s first run in the top of the third inning on an RBI groundout. The Jaguars’ freshman pitcher, Alexa Holman, held USI hitless through 4.2 innings. USI sophomore outfielder Olivia Howard (Fishers, Indiana) made the breakthrough for Southern Indiana with a single to left field in the bottom of the fifth inning.
 
USI freshman pitcher Kylie Eads (Indianapolis, Indiana) made her first start of the season. Eads got her defense involved in the early going, pitching to contact. Eads went four innings, allowing one unearned off four hits with one strikeout. She was charged her second loss of the season.
 
Freshman pitcher Raegan Gibson (Louisville, Kentucky) took the ball from Eads in relief to start the fifth inning. Gibson tossed a clean fifth inning, but IUPUI doubled its lead to 2-0 with an RBI groundout in the top of the sixth inning. The Jaguars increased its advantage to 3-0 before the end of the inning and held on the rest of the game.
 
IUPUI’s Holman moved to 3-3 on the season after getting credited with Tuesday’s win. Holman surrendered one hit in five innings with six strikeouts. The Jaguars’ junior pitcher Carly Metcalf pitched the last two innings to earn the save.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — University of Southern Indiana Baseball comes home to host Southeast Missouri State University in Ohio Valley Conference action this weekend at the USI Baseball Field. The three-game series starts Thursday at 6 p.m. before continuing Friday at 6 p.m. and concluding Saturday at noon.
 
The Screaming Eagles (8-20) are fresh off their first OVC victory after salvaging the series finale at Lindenwood University. Links to follow USI versus SEMO this weekend can be found on the Eagles’ baseball schedule at USIScreamingEagles.com.
 

USI Baseball Notes:

Eagles snap losing streak: The USI Screaming Eagles snapped an 11-game losing streak to salvage a game out of the three-game set at Lindenwood University. USI lost the first two games of the series by the same score, 6-3.

Leading at the plate last week: Senior catcher/infielder Lucas McNew (Floyds Knobs, Indiana) led USI last week at the plate, hitting .471 (8-17) with five runs scored, a double, a triple, and four RBIs. Junior infielder Jack Ellis (Jeffersonville, Indiana) drove in a team-high five RBIs in the four games.  

Leading hitters: Sophomore outfielder Drew Taylor (Jefferson, Indiana) leads USI this season with a .349 batting average (15-43). Sophomore shortstop Ricardo Van Grieken (Venezuela) (16-46) follows with a .345 batting average (20-58), while junior first baseman Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) has a team-best 25 RBIs and four home runs.  

Taylor has the hottest bat: Sophomore outfielder Drew Taylor has the hottest bat for the Eagles over the last 10 games. Taylor is hitting .412 over the last 10 games (7-17) with a double and two RBIs.

McNew climbing the USI All-Time charts: Senior catcher/infielder Lucas McNew is sixth all-time at USI in home runs (21); tied for eighth in RBIs (145) and 10th in doubles (45).

In OVC Play: In the first six games of OVC action, senior catcher/infielder Lucas McNew is leading USI by batting .375 with five runs scored, one double, one triple, and four RBIs. Sophomore shortstop Ricardo Van Grieken, junior outfielder Drew Taylor, and junior infielder Jack Ellis follow McNew with .333 batting averages. Junior left-hander Blake Ciuffetelli (Newburgh, Indiana) leads the Eagles on the mound during OVC play with a 3.52 ERA in 7.2 innings of work out of the bullpen.

Eagles among the OVC leaders: USI has several players among the OVC leaders.
     Sophomore infielder Ricardo Van Grieken: fifth in batting average (.345) 
     Senior outfielder Evan Kahre (Evansville, Indiana): third in triples (3); third in stolen Bases (10)
     Freshman infielder Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana): tied eighth in hits (33); seventh in triples (2)
     Junior outfielder Ren Tachioka (Japan): tied seventh in triples (2)
     Junior designated hitter/infielder Tucker Ebest: fifth in RBIs (25)

SEMO in 2023: Southeast Missouri State University enters the week with a 16-14 overall and a front-running 5-1 in the OVC after completing a series sweep of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock last weekend. SEMO, who has won four-straight and eight of their last 10 games, is scheduled to play Murray State Tuesday before visiting USI.

USI vs. SEMO: USI leads the all-time series with SEMO, 26-23, and will be playing the Redhawks for the first time since 1994. SEMO swept the last doubleheader in 1994, but USI has won eight of the last 10 games between 1990 and 1994.
 

MURRAY, Ken. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Golf completed three rounds at the Jan Weaver Invitational hosted by Murray State University and finish fifth out of seven teams Tuesday afternoon at the Miller Memorial Golf Course.
 
The Screaming Eagles used a two-round opening day to position themselves in sixth place after shooting 341 and 323 in the first and second rounds, respectively. Junior Haylee Exline (Poseyville, Indiana) highlighted USI’s team effort with a two-round 157 (+13) to sit in a tie for 15th. Also cracking the top 25 was junior Halle Gutwein (DeMotte, Indiana) who finished 22-over-par (166) to tie for 24th.
 
Round three pushed the Eagles up to fifth place after shooting 34-over-par (336). Exline completed the tournament in a tie for 17th with a 237 (+21) to earn her best rank this season and second-best three-round score this season. Gutwein totaled 244 (+28) to place a tie for 21st to secure her best finish in the 2022-23 campaign.
 
Murray State University sat atop the podium with a two-day score of 898 (+34) while the Racers’ Payton Carter won the tournament shooting at par in all three rounds.
 
NEXT UP FOR THE EAGLES:
The Eagles compete in the Ohio Valley Conference Championship April 16-18 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at The Shoals. This will be the first postseason appearance for USI in NCAA Division I history.