MONTGOMERY, Ind. – Sophomore Paxton Schwomeyer (Oakland City, Ind.) recorded yet another Top-Five finish over the weekend at the VU Spring Invitational hosted at Country Oaks Golf Course in Montgomery.

Schwomeyer was joined in the Top-10 by fellow sophomore Luke VanDeventer (Columbus, Ind.) as VanDeventer placed in a tie for seventh overall.

Schwomeyer led the Trailblazers by setting the tone Saturday in the opening round with a four-over 76, before coming back Sunday morning to finish with a five-over 77 in the final round.

VanDeventer got into the Top-10 after putting together a 79 on Saturday and matching Schwomeyer with a 77 on Sunday.

Freshman Nate Olson (Greenwood, Ind.) was the next lowest VU scorer, shooting an 80 on Saturday before bouncing back with a 78 on Sunday to place in a tie for 11th on the leaderboard.

Sophomores Caleb Maris (Terre Haute, Ind.) and Adam Leach (North Vernon, Ind.) rounded out the Blazers in the Top-15 with Maris shooting a 79 on Saturday and an 80 on Sunday to finish tied for 13th. Leach ended with an 81 on Saturday and a 79 on Sunday to tie for 15th overall.

Sophomore Sam Stewart (Floyds Knobs, Ind.) had the biggest bounce back for the Blazers, coming back after shooting an 88 on Saturday to finish the tournament with an 81 on Sunday to take home 26th place overall.

Sophomores Caleb Newman (Vincennes, Ind.) and Garrett Hulfachor (Lawrenceville, Ill.) rounded out the Vincennes scorer with Newman shooting an 87 on Saturday and an 86 on Sunday. Hulfachor shot an 88 on Saturday and an 87 on Sunday.

VU freshman Preston Broce (Indianapolis, Ind.) also began the tournament for Vincennes, shooting an 83 on Saturday but unfortunately had to withdraw before the final round Sunday.

The Trailblazers will look to get back to 100-percent and look to put it all together as VU begins their postseason Monday, May 1 at the Region 24 Championships hosted by Pfau Golf Course in Bloomington, Ind.

The Region 24 Championships will conclude on Tuesday, May 2, as the Blazers look to secure a spot in the 2023 NJCAA Division II National Championship Tournament, hosted at the Golf Club at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Ind. The four-day tournament will begin on Tuesday, May 23 and conclude Friday, May 26.

TEAM RESULTS

Oakland City – 309, 307 – 616

Lincoln Trail – 322, 297 – 619

Danville Area – 315, 316 – 631

VINCENNES – 320, 311 – 631

St. Mary of the Woods – 323, 309 – 632

Lincoln Trail (B) – 361, 345 – 706

Southeastern Illinois – 373, 339 – 712

VINCENNES INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Paxton Schwomeyer (5) – 76, 77 – 153

Luke VanDeventer (T7) – 79, 77 – 156

Nate Olson (T11) – 80, 78 – 158

Caleb Maris (T13) – 79, 80 – 159

Adam Leach (T15) – 81, 79 – 160

Sam Stewart (26) – 88, 81 – 169

Caleb Newman (31) – 87, 86 – 173

Garrett Hulfachor (32) – 88, 87 – 175

Preston Broce (W) – 83, –

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball split a marathon doubleheader with Eastern Illinois University Saturday at the USI Baseball Field. The Screaming Eagles took the opening game, 26-6, while the Panthers snatched the nightcap, 22-12.
 
USI watched its record go to 12-26 overall, 4-10 OVC, while EIU goes to 22-14, 4-7 OVC.
 
Game 1:
USI, which reached a season-best three-game winning streak with the victory, scored a season-high 26 runs on 19 hits and 15 walks in the opening game, 26-6 win. The Eagles scored seven in the third, 11 in the fourth, four in the fifth, three in the seventh, and one in the eight in cruising to the victory.
 
USI senior centerfielder Evan Kahre (Evansville, Indiana) led way for the Eagles with a career-high six RBIs, including a grand slam in the seven run third inning. Junior rightfielder/centerfielder Ren Tachioka (Japan) followed with career-best four RBIs, two coming on a home run in the fifth.
 
Senior second baseman Lucas McNew (Floyds Knobs, Indiana), who is hitting .500 (8-16) in the last four games, had a team-best four hits in six at-bats, while scoring a team-best five runs in the victory.  
 
On the mound, sophomore right-hander Adam Weihe (Louisville, Kentucky) picked up the win in relief. Weihe (1-3) allowed three runs on eight hits and struck a season-high seven batters in five innings of work.
 
Sophomore right-hander Gavin Morris (Brazil, Indiana) got the no-decision after going the first four frames. Morris allowed three runs on five hits and three walks, while striking out two.  
 
Game 2:
USI had the tables turned on them in the nightcap, falling 22-12. The Panthers had control of the game from the start, outscoring the Eagles, 17-1, after the first three-and-half frames.
 
The Eagles tried to battle back, outscoring EIU, 11-9, in the final five-and-a-half innings. Senior centerfielder Evan Kahre and junior catcher Parker Stroh (Grand Forks, North Dakota) led USI during the nightcap with four hits each. Stroh hit his second home run of the season and scored four times in game two.
 
USI freshman left-hander Will Kiesel (Wadesville, Indiana) started and took the loss, proceeding six Eagles to the bump. Kiesel (1-4) allowed four runs on three walks in the opening frame.
 
Up Next for the Eagles:  
USI and EIU conclude the three-game series Sunday at noon.
 
The Eagles’ five-game winning streak comes to an end Tuesday when they host former GLVC foe McKendree University for a 6 p.m. matchup. USI leads the all-time series with McKendree, 34-13; has won eight of the last 10 games; and will be playing the Bearcats for the first time since 2021 when the Eagles took three-of-four GLVC games.
 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Tennis (6-14, 2-6 Horizon) took down a pair of Lindenwood University Lions late in singles play to score the 4-3 win at the USI Tennis Courts Saturday afternoon. The Screaming Eagles are competing in their final home matches of the season.  
 
Doubles: USI rolled through doubles competition to secure the Eagles’ first point. Senior Yahor Bahdanovich (Minsk, Belarus)/freshman Alfrendo Vogelaar (Den Haag, Netherlands) duo captured the 6-3 win at number two before sophomore Quinten Gillespie (Whiteland, Indiana)/junior Ruben Emmerson-Hiini (Auckland, New Zealand) combination tallied a 6-2 victory.
 
Singles: The Eagles pick up a trio of singles wins to rob the Lions of the conference win. Freshman Omar ElSamahy (Cairo, Egypt) kicked off singles play with a 6-2, 6-1 win at number two until Lindenwood fired back with back-to-back victories to tie the match. Gillespie cut the Lions’ run short by defeating his opponent at number six (6-0, 6-3). Issuing the match-winning point was Emmerson-Hiini who took down his opponent 6-3, 6-4 at number four.
 
NEXT UP FOR THE EAGLES:
The Eagles complete the 2022-23 campaign when they host Eastern Illinois University tomorrow at noon at the USI Tennis Courts for Senior Day. Seniors Lucas Sakamaki (Louisville, Kentucky) and Bahdanovich will be honored after the match.

Aces look to win in Sunday’s finale

CHICAGO – UIC pitcher Christina Toniolo tossed a complete game shutout to lead the Flames to a 3-0 win over the University of Evansville softball team at Flames Field on Saturday afternoon.

Evansville registered five hits on the day with Jenna Nink going a perfect 3-for-3.  Marah Wood and Jess Willsey added one hit apiece.  Larissa Ortiz led the Flames with a 3-for-3 performance that saw her score two runs.

In the top of the first, the Purple Aces put for the first scoring threat of the day when Nink and Willsey both reached on 2-out singles.  Despite the early momentum for UE, it was UIC who scored the first run of the game when Alannah Cran had an RBI single.

Wood and Nink added singles for UE in the third and fourth frames, but the effort came up short with two baserunners caught stealing.  Up by one in the bottom of the fifth, the Flames tripled their lead with two runs crossing the plate, including a solo home run from Hailey Cowing.

From there, the Flames were able to cruise to the victory.  They completed the game with eight hits.  Sydney Weatherford made the start for Evansville, allowing three runs on eight hits in five innings of work.  Erin Kleffman tossed a scoreless sixth inning and picked up a strikeout.

Tomorrow, the Aces look to pick up a win in the series finale, which is set for a 12 p.m. start time.

MURRAY, Ky. –  With the University of Evansville baseball team down to its final out on Saturday, junior second baseman Kip Fougerousse launched a go-ahead grand slam in the top of the ninth inning, and junior closer Nate Hardman struck out the side in the bottom half of the frame to send the visiting Purple Aces past the Murray State Racers, 7-6, at Johnny Reagan Field in Murray, Kentucky.

“What a game!” said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “I will be honest, we were outplayed in a lot of areas today, but the guys never quit, and Kip stepped up big for us late offensively to help us get this win.  And, then to have Nate come in and slam the door in the bottom of the ninth was huge!

“Hopefully, this will be the spark that lights a fire for us down the stretch with this club!”

Murray State built a 6-1 lead through the first seven innings courtesy of some timing hitting and a pair of home runs by first baseman Brennan McCullough and outfielder Cade Sammons.  Fougerousse provided a spark with a two-run home run to dead center field in the top of the eighth inning to trim the Murray State lead to 6-3, but the Racers brought on their closer, Ben Krizen, who entered the game with five saves and a sub-2.00 ERA, to get out of a mini-jam in the eighth inning and keep the score at 6-3.

After reliever Shane Harris (3-2) worked a perfect eighth inning with a pair of strikeouts, UE sent the top part of its batting order to the plate in the ninth inning to face Krizen.  After Krizen struck out both Mark Shallenberger and Chase Hug to begin the frame, Evansville worked three-straight walks to load the bases with two outs, and Fougerousse blasted the third pitch he saw over the wall in left-center field to give UE its first lead of the day at 7-6.

Hardman would then come on in the bottom of the ninth inning to strike out McCullough, shortstop Drew Vogel and Sammons around a one-out walk to nail down his fourth save of the year and give UE an important series-opening win over the Racers.

Fougerousse finished the day going 2-for-5 with two home runs and a season-best six RBI.  It marked his third-straight multi-hit game and extended his hitting streak to six games overall.  Evansville only mustered six hits on the day, but the first eight men in the UE batting order all reached base thanks to earning 10 walks.

Harris earned the victory in relief for UE by scattering three runs on three hits in 3.2 innings of work, while striking out six.  Krizen (0-2) suffered the loss by giving up a season-high four runs on just one base hit in 1.1 innings of work.  It marked just the second time all year in which he had allowed more than one run in an outing.

With the victory, Evansville improves to 22-15 overall and 7-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference.  Murray State, meanwhile, slips into a tie with Evansville in the Valley standings for fourth place with a 20-19 overall record and 7-6 conference mark.  The two teams will conclude the series on Sunday with a 12 p.m. doubleheader.  UE is expected to send junior LHP Donovan Schultz (4-2, 3.56 ERA) and senior LHP Tyler Denu (2-2, 4.35 ERA) to the mound in the doubleheader, which can be seen live on ESPN+ and heard live in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS and the Old National Bank/Purple Aces Sports Network from Learfield.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team continued their stretch of road games Saturday afternoon with the first two games of a four-game Mid-West Athletic Conference doubleheader at Lincoln Land Community College.

The Trailblazers fought hard and held their own throughout the doubleheader but were unable to avoid giving up big innings to the host Loggers as VU fell 9-5 in game one and 9-1 in game two.

Game one of the day started out as a pitcher’s duel with both teams trading zeros on the board, with Lincoln Land getting on the board in the second to take a 1-0 lead.

VU was able to get on the board in the fifth after a walk by freshman Kade Hinton (Fort Wayne, Ind.). Hinton later scored on a throwing error by the Loggers.

The Blazers took the lead later in the inning when freshman Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.) came around to score on another error by Lincoln Land to give VU a 2-1 lead.

The Blazers would add to their lead in the sixth after sophomore Colin Long (Evansville, Ind.) led off the inning with a double and later scored when the Blazers executed a double steal with freshman Trevor Newman (Fort Wayne, Ind.).

Lincoln Land answered back in a big way on their home field, grabbing the lead back with a massive eight run inning in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead back at 9-3.

Vincennes would try to battle back late with Hinton scoring his second run of the game, coming around to score on an RBI double by sophomore Kaden Elliott (New Albany, Ind.).

VU got another run in the ninth with a double by sophomore Kobe Bartlett (Rockport, Ind.). Bartlett later scored by advancing on two wild pitches, but the Blazers were unable to completely erase the deficit as Lincoln Land came away with the 9-5 victory.

Vincennes did get a very impressive day on the mound out of game one starter, freshman Logan Medsker (Marshall, Ill.). Medsker lasted five and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs on five hits and striking out a career-high eight batters.

Sophomores Dawson Blaylock (Eaton, Ohio) and Jake Stuteville (Rockport, Ind.) each pitched an inning late in the game with Blaylock throwing a clean seventh inning and Stuteville striking out one batter while throwing a hitless eighth inning.

Lincoln Land wasted little time setting the tone in game two of the day, putting up four runs in the first inning.

VU would get on the board in the third with a big solo home run by Kaden Elliott, his fourth blast of the season to cut the deficit to 4-1.

Lincoln Land would extend their lead with a pair of runs in the fourth and three runs in the fifth to give the Loggers what would ultimately be the winning margin of 9-1.

Freshman Josh McCormick (Indianapolis, Ind.) got the start in game two of the day, settling in after the first inning to throw three and two-thirds innings, allowing six runs, all unearned, on four hits and striking out two.

Freshman Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) was the first out of the bullpen, throwing two-thirds of an inning, allowing three runs, one earned, on two hits and striking out one.

Freshman Jack Robinson (Mooresville, Ind.) closed out the final inning and two-thirds, allowing two hits and striking out one.

The two teams will return to the field for the final two games of this four-game weekend series tomorrow, Sunday, April 23. First pitch tomorrow is set for 1 p.m. eastern.

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

VU (17-24, 5-12) – 000   021   011 – 5

Lincoln Land – 010   008   00x – 9

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Bartlett, Long, Elliott. RBI – Elliott. SB – Bartlett, Long, Newman.

GAME TWO

VU (17-25, 5-13) – 001   000   0 – 1

Lincoln Land – 400   230   x – 9

VINCENNES HITTING

2B – Long, Burdette, Evans. HR – Elliott. RBI – Elliott. SB -Whitehead. HBP – Bartlett, Coy.

-30-

The Vincennes University baseball team falls to 17-25 on the season, with a 5-13 record in MWAC Conference play.