LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Evansville baseball team stayed red-hot on Wednesday, as the Purple Aces exploded for six runs in the fifth inning and seven more in the sixth to power past the host Bellarmine Knights, 14-2, at Knights Field in Louisville, Kentucky.  With the win, Evansville has now won 10 of its last 12 contests.

“I thought that we did a great job today of staying focused in a mid-week game,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “We grinded out some big innings offensively, and I thought that our pitching did well as well.  I really thought that Willard Peterson did well in his first outing on the mound as an Ace as the starter.”

Trailing 1-0 going into the top of the fifth inning, Evansville sent nine men to the plate and took advantage of some Bellarmine wildness to grab a lead it would never lose.  The Purple Aces loaded the bases on three-straight walks to open the inning, before junior shortstop Simon Scherry tied the game at 1-1 with a sacrifice fly.

After another walk re-loaded the bases, fifth-year outfielder Danny Borgstrom roped a two-run double to right-center field to give UE a 3-1 lead.  Senior third baseman Brent Widder then followed with a towering home run to left field to push UE’s lead to 6-1.

Evansville would hit back-to-back home runs to open the sixth inning, as sophomore outfielder Ty Rumsey homered for his second-straight game, and fifth-year outfielder Eric Roberts followed with a home run to center field to move the lead to 8-1.  It marked the first time since 2021 in which UE hit back-to-back home runs (Mark Shallenberger & Tanner Craig at Valparaiso on 5/15/21).

From there, the flood gates opened, as two Bellarmine errors and a walk quickly loaded the bases.  A bases-loaded walk by Borgstrom and a sacrifice fly by Widder moved the lead to 10-1, before sophomore catcher Evan Waggoner roped an RBI double to give UE a 10-run lead.  Redshirt freshman DH Kevin McCormick followed with an RBI single and Rumsey added another sacrifice fly to give UE a 13-1 advantage.

Bellarmine would respond with one of its two solo home runs of the day in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it a 13-2 game.  It would remain that way until the ninth, when fifth-year first baseman Chase Hug launched a mammoth solo home run to right field over the highway beyond the outfield wall for his fourth home run of the year.

Evansville pounded out 13 base hits, with Roberts, Hug, Borgstrom, Waggoner and McCormick all recording two-hit afternoons.  Widder also drove in four, while Borgstrom notched three RBI.

Seven different UE hurlers combined to limit Bellarmine to two runs on six hits.  Junior reliever Shane Harris (2-1) earned the victory in relief.  Freshman LHP Willard Peterson made his UE debut as the starter, and did not allow a run on only one hit in 3.0 innings of work.  Fellow freshman LHP Jack Taczy also made his UE debut, tossing a scoreless inning of relief, while freshman RHP Max Hansmann, redshirt freshman RHP Ethan Bell, and senior LHP Jace Kressin all recorded scoreless innings on the mound as well.

With the victory, Evansville improves to 10-7 overall.  Bellarmine, meanwhile, falls to 5-12.  The Purple Aces will now return home to host Big 10 member Purdue in a three-game series beginning on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m.  All three games of the Purdue series can be heard live on the Old National Bank Radio Network and 107.1 FM-WJPS, with the Voice of the Aces, Jevin Redman, providing play-by-play coverage.

Otters bring back franchise strikeout leader

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball had control early, but could not hold off Southern Illinois University, 16-9, Wednesday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI watched its record go to 7-10, while SIU goes to 8-10.
 
The Screaming Eagles flew out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and extended the margin to as many as 6-1 after the first three frames. SIU rallied to tie the score, 6-6, in the seventh, before the Eagles regain the lead, 9-6, with a three run seventh.
 
The Salukis maintained the momentum, closing the gap to one, 9-8, with a pair of unearned tallies in the eighth before exploding for eight in the ninth for the 16-9 victory.
 
Offensively at the plate, senior second baseman Lucas McNew (Floyds Knobs, Indiana), junior first baseman Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas), junior designated hitter Jack Ellis (Jeffersonville, Indiana), and junior leftfielder Drew Taylor (Jeffersonville, Indiana) led the way with two RBIs each.
 
USI sophomore right-hander Riley Harris (Calvert City, Kentucky) took the loss for the Eagles, allowing three runs without getting an out in the ninth. Harris (0-1) was one of nine USI hurlers to throw in the game and one of three pitchers in the ninth.
 
Up Next for the Eagles:  
 
USI returns to the road this weekend when it travels to Murray State University for a three-game series in Murray, Kentucky. Game times are 3 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. Sunday.
 
Murray State leads the series with USI, 6-3-1, since the first meeting in 1981. The Racers also have won the last four meetings, including the latest matchup in 2003, 3-1, at Murray. USI’s last wins over Murray came 1994 when the Eagles swept the season series, 7-3 and 10-9.
 
The Racers are 7-10 overall in 2023 and have won three of the last four, including a 9-6 win over the University of North Alabama this week.