EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Evansville junior starter Nick Smith combined with relievers Michael Parks and Nate Hardman to strike out nine men on Friday and allow just five base hits, as the host Purple Aces beat the visiting Purdue Boilermakers, 5-2, in the series-opener at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.

“I thought the entire team gave a great effort in the elements today,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “Our pitching really attacked the zone, and Nick Smith gave us another quality start.  I was also really proud of our offense today.  I thought that we had a great approach going into the game, and we executed very well today.”

With temperatures barely in the 40s and a constant 15-20 mile-per-hour wind out of the northwest, pitching was the story of Friday’s game.  Smith (2-3) allowed just two runs on three base hits in 6.0 gritty innings of work.  He finished his outing retiring 11 of the final 12 men he faced, allowing just a single walk in that stretch, but bouncing back to induce a double-play ground ball to quickly retire the runner.

Parks then came on out of the UE bullpen and allowed doubles in both the seventh and eighth innings, but did not allow either runner to advance past second base.  Hardman then came on to record his first save of the year with a perfect ninth inning of work.

While UE’s pitching was sharp all game, Purdue’s pitching staff struggled with control early and Evansville’s offense was able to take advantage.  After the Boilermakers scratched across a run in the top of the first inning, UE immediately responded with three runs in the bottom of the first thanks to some wildness from Purdue starter Aaron Suval (2-1).  Suval walked three of the first five men he faced to load the bases with two outs in the first.  Junior catcher Brendan Hord then knocked a two-run single to left field, and junior second baseman Kip Fougerousse followed with an RBI single up the middle to give UE a 3-1 lead.

Purdue would cut the lead to 3-2 in the third inning on an RBI ground out by second baseman Paul Toetz, but UE would once again take advantage of some Purdue wildness to tack on two insurance runs in the fourth inning.  UE loaded the bases with no one out in the fourth on back-to-back walks and a single by junior shortstop Simon Scherry, before a hit-by-pitch and a walk pushed across a pair of UE runs.  Evansville’s pitching took it from there, not allowing a Purdue base-runner past second base the rest of the game.

Hord led Evansville offensively by going 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI.  Fifth-year first baseman Chase Hug also went 2-for-2 and reached base all five times to raise his on-base percentage to .618.  Hug entered the day ranked ninth in NCAA Division I college baseball in on-base percentage.  Scherry and Fougerousse accounted for Evansville’s only other hits on the day, but UE worked 10 walks, as eight of the nine UE starters reached base in the contest.

With the victory, Evansville improves to 11-7 overall, and the Purple Aces have now won 11 of the last 13 contests.  Purdue, meanwhile, slips to 9-8 with the loss.  The two teams are scheduled to continue the series on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., with UE planning on sending senior LHP Tyler Denu (2-0, 3.66) to the mound.  Saturday’s game can be heard live in Evansville and on-line on 107.1 FM-WJPS.

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Sophomore jumper James Butler (Evansville, Indiana) and senior thrower Josh Kaminski (Lafayette, Indiana) posted top-five finishes Friday to lead University of Southern Indiana Men’s Track & Field to a 10th-place finish in its outdoor season-opener Friday at the Jim Vargo Invitational.
 
Butler was third in the long jump with a mark of 19 feet, 4.75 inches, while Kaminski was fourth in the shot put with a heave of 43’07.00″.
 
The duo combined for 11 of the Screaming Eagles’ 18 team points Friday. The Eagles also got scoring contributions from freshmen Tyler Zimmerman (Evansville, Indiana) and Cole Hess (Cannelton, Indiana) as well as junior Lee Moore Jr. (Matteson, Illinois).
 
Zimmerman and Hess were sixth and eighth, respectively, in the 800 meters, while Moore was seventh in the long jump.
 
USI returns to action March 31-April 1 when it competes at the WashU Invitational in St. Louis as well as the Joey Haines Invite in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Junior McKenna Cavanaugh (New Albany, Indiana) scored a first-place finish in the 1,500 meters to lead University of Southern Indiana Women’s Track & Field to a sixth-place finish at the Jim Vargo Invitational Friday.
 
Cavanaugh finished the race in four minutes, 39.79 seconds as the Screaming Eagles opened their outdoor schedule with a dominating effort in the 1,500 meters.
 
Freshman Emily Rempe (Owensboro, Kentucky) and junior Audrey Comastri (Indianapolis, Indiana) were second and third, respectively, in the 1,500 meters as the Eagles had four of the top nine finishers in the event.
 
The Eagles were aided by the efforts of senior Kara Martin (Herrin, Illinois), who was third in the 800 meters with a time of 2:24.30.
 
Senior Gabrielle McGregor (Louisville, Kentucky) was fifth in the shot put and sixth in the discus, while junior Olivia Clark (Newburgh, Indiana) was fifth in the 200 meters to round out the scoring efforts for USI, which finished with 41 points.
 
USI returns to action March 31-April 1 when it competes at the WashU Invitational in St. Louis as well as the Joey Haines Invite in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

BOWLING GREEN, Ken. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Tennis (3-9) kicked off the weekend with a 7-0 defeat to Western Kentucky University at the WKU Tennis Complex Friday evening. The Screaming Eagles start Ohio Valley Conference play tomorrow for the first time in program history.
 
Doubles: The Eagles were close to edging out a win in doubles play but could not finish it out. Junior Lauren Rowe (Terre Haute, Indiana)/sophomore Madison Windham (Clarksville, Tennessee) paired up for the first time in their collegiate careers to put up a strong fight despite falling 6-4 at number one.
 
Singles: USI could not control the momentum in the singles competition, falling in all six singles spots.
 
NEXT UP FOR THE EAGLES:
The Eagles begin OVC play tomorrow against Eastern Illinois University at the Danville Tennis Center in Danville, Illinois. USI is 0-3 all-time against the Panthers with the most recent match being a 4-3 loss in April 2022 in Charleston, Illinois.

 Pelham, Ala.:  In yet another strong bounce-back performance, the Thunderbolts defeated the Birmingham Bulls by the slimmest of margins, 1-0 the final score in Pelham on Friday night.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, March 18^th against the Birmingham Bulls at 7:00pm CT.  For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2658), go to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or visit the Ford Center Ticket Office.

The lone goal of the game came from Jeremy Masella, who scored unassisted at the 13:00 mark of the second period to give Evansville the 1-0 lead.  The goal was the only one given up on 26 shots by Bulls goaltender Austin Lotz.  Trevor Gorsuch went perfect on 34 shots faced from the Bulls, with many of his best saves coming in the third period with Lotz pulled and Birmingham pressing in the fading minutes for the equalizing goal that never came.  The win was Gorsuch’s 13^th of the season, and his 2^nd shutout of the season.  With the win, Evansville now only needs just 1 point out of 16 possible to clinch a playoff spot and can do so on Saturday with either a win or a Fayetteville regulation loss.  The Thunderbolts remain in 4^th place in the SPHL standings with the victory, at which a finish in 4^th place or higher would secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs next month.  The Thunderbolts and Bulls meet again on Saturday, March 18^th at Ford Center.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Indiana swimming and diving sophomore Anne Fowler followed up her Big Ten 3-meter diving title with an NCAA runner-up finish on the second springboard Friday (March 17) night at the 2023 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships inside the Allan Jones Aquatic Center.

Five athletes scored for Indiana on the third day of the national meet with two podium finishes and fowler silver medal. With 121 points and 21 All-America honors, Indiana has already surpassed its totals from a year ago. The No. 10 ranked Hoosiers sit 10th in the team standings going into a final day full of opportunity.

Fowler, now a four-time All-American, earned her top national finish in any event. The junior tallied scores of 63.00, 63.00, 49.50, 52.65, 69.75, 72.00 for a 369.60 total. Indiana has collected six national medals over the last four championships, three of those coming on 3-meter. Fowler became the third different Hoosier to medal on 3-meter in the last two seasons as Kristen Hayden and Tarrin Gilliland finished second and third at the 2022 meet.

For Fowler, Friday was not just a test of skill on the springboard, but a character check too. In Thursday’s 1-meter prelim, Fowler uncharacteristically placed 50th; mostly due to a failed dive in the fifth round. A day later, she celebrated on the podium surrounded by her teammates.

“What a great comeback for Anne!” IU head diving coach Drew Johansen said. “She experienced the lowest of lows yesterday, and with the strength and support of her team, she was able to give a career-best finish at this meet today. I am so proud of her and this team for never giving up. One more day!”

Sophomore Anna Peplowski also earned a podium placement, finishing sixth in the 200-yard freestyle. Peplowski improved from 10th place a year ago and is the first Hoosier to reach the podium since Haley Lips in 2016. During prelims, Peplowski posted her career-best non-relay time, a 1:43.27.

Indiana added three honorable mention All-Americans Friday, as senior Noelle Peplowski placed 13th in the 100-yard breaststroke (58.99), sophomore Skyler Liu finished 14th on the springboard (324.90) and senior Mackenzie Looze took 16th in the 400 IM (4:12.54). Neither Peplowski or Looze were projected to score based on their seeding coming into the meet.

“I thought the day overall was a really gritty performance,” IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “Scoring Mackenzie in the IM and Noelle in the breaststroke, they weren’t supposed to get any points. Just getting points was huge. I’m really proud of Anna Peplowski for making her first A final in the 200 freestyle. Congrats to Anne Fowler for just a massive rebound. I’m so respectful of her being able to do that. And then Skyler scoring her first points and almost making an A final was great.”

Indiana’s 400-yard medley relay was disqualified due to an early takeoff in the fourth leg. Of the four relays so far this week, it was the first time an IU relay has not finished with All-America status.

“The relay was unfortunate,” Looze said. “It just wasn’t a good relay, and then we jumped it. So, we’re going to lay that to rest and focus on what we have left tomorrow. I really like how we’re competing. It’s really inspiring, I’m really proud of these girls, and we’re going to push really hard to finish the meet off as well as we can.”

RESULTS
400 IM

16. Mackenzie Looze – 4:12.54 (Honorable Mention All-America)

    200 FREESTYLE

17. Anna Peplowski – 1:43.57 (All-America)

100 BREASTSTROKE

13. Noelle Peplowski – 58.99 (Honorable Mention All-America)

3-METER DIVE

2. Anne Fowler – 369.90 (Silver, All-America)
3. Skyler Liu – 324.90 (Honorable Mention All-America)

400 MEDLEY RELAY

DQ – Early take off.

HOOSIER ALL-AMERICANS

Elizabeth Broshears (200 Medley Relay*, 200 Freestyle Relay)
Ching Hwee Gan (800 Freestyle Relay, 500 Freestyle)

Anne Fowler (3-Meter)

Skyler Liu (3-Meter*)
Mackenzie Looze (800 Freestyle Relay, 400 IM*)
Kristina Paegle (200 Medley Relay*, 800 Freestyle Relay, 50 Freestyle*, 200 Freestyle Relay)
Anna Peplowski (200 Medley Relay*, 800 Freestyle Relay, 200 Freestyle Relay, 200 Freestyle)
Noelle Peplowski (200 Medley Relay*, 200 IM*, 100 Breaststroke*)

Ashley Turak (50 Freestyle*, 200 Freestyle Relay)

* – Denotes Honorable Mention
 
UP NEXT
Saturday is the final day of the 2023 NCAA Championships. Indiana has six preliminary swims, two divers in the platform event and will race the 400 freestyle relay during the night session. Prelims begin at 10 a.m. ET, followed by finals at 6 p.m.