EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The red-hot University of Evansville baseball team will get a big test this weekend, as Big Ten member Purdue will come to town for a three-game series.  The series will begin on Friday at 3 p.m. at UE’s German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium, and all three games can be heard live on the Old National Bank Radio Network and 107.1 F.M.-WJPS.

Evansville will bring a 10-7 overall record into Friday’s series opener after exploding for a 14-2 victory at Bellarmine on Wednesday afternoon.  The Purple Aces launched four home runs and exploded for six runs in the fifth inning and seven more in the sixth inning to win their third-straight.  Overall, UE has won 10 of the last 12 games.

Fifth-year first baseman Chase Hug continues to lead the UE offense with a .433 batting average.  He launched his fourth home run of the year in the ninth inning on Wednesday to cap UE’s scoring, and is tied with teammates Eric Roberts and Kip Fougerousse for the team-lead with four home runs.  Hug also sports a .595 on-base percentage this year, which ranks ninth-best in NCAA Division I baseball.  He has reached base in all 17 games this year, and in 23 consecutive games dating back to last year.

On the mound, UE will turn to junior RHP Nick Smith (1-3, 5.70 ERA) to start Friday’s series opener.  Smith struck out a career-high 12 men in his last home start against Bowling Green on March 4.  He is coming off a tough-luck loss in his last start last Friday, as he suffered the loss in UE’s 2-0 loss at Middle Tennessee State.  Pitching has helped power UE’s recent surge, as the UE pitching staff has posted a 2.29 ERA over the last nine contests, while not allowing more than four runs since UE’s 14-8 win at Southeast Missouri State to open the month of March.

The UE pitching staff will be challenged by a Purdue offense which ranks among the nation’s best this year.  The Boilermakers currently rank 31st in the nation in scoring at 8.9 runs per game.  Purdue stands at 9-7 overall after a 14-5 victory over Northern Illinois on Wednesday.  The Boilermakers hit .304 as a team, and they are led in hitting by fifth-year infielder Evan Albrecht, who will bring a .407 batting average into this weekend’s series.  Redshirt junior infielder Paul Toetz is not far behind with a .390 average, and he ranks 12th nationally in home runs this year with eight home runs in 16 games.

UE and Purdue have not met on the diamond since 2013, when the Boilermakers took two out of three games at Charles H. Braun Stadium.  The two teams were supposed to meet originally in March, 2020, but the series was cancelled right at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The two teams were scheduled to play last year, but the game was rained out in West Lafayette.

The series is scheduled to continue on Saturday at 2 p.m. and conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m.

CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams are still carrying the momentum of a very impressive end to the Indoor Season at Nationals earlier this month as the Trailblazers begin the 2023 Outdoor season Saturday at the EIU Big Blue meet at Eastern Illinois University.

The Blazers got the outdoor season started Friday afternoon at the IWU Polar Bear Invite, hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University.

VU sophomores Ian Boit (Kimilili, Kenya) and Ernest Momodu (Indianapolis, Ind.) each recorded NJCAA National qualifying times in the 10k, with Boit finishing seventh with a time of 32:36.01 and Momodu placing ninth at 32:39.81.

“Ian and Ernest got the outdoor season off to a great start on Friday,” VU Assistant Coach Tyler Steigenga said. “The temperature was in the high 30s, it was raining and very windy, but they both still managed to get under the National Qualifying standard. They had a little extra help from myself, pacing and blocking the wind for them during most of the race, but it was an impressive performance, managing to get the standard on their first attempt at the distance. It takes a lot of focus and determination to be able to run the 25-lap race on the track.”

The focus then shifted to Eastern Illinois where VU freshman Desroy Jordan (Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) came away with a couple of solid finishes, placing fifth in the 200 meters with a time of 22.07 seconds, before taking the top spot in the 400 meters with a time of 48.59 seconds.

Jordan was joined in the 400 meters by sophomore Yamar Lyons (Kalamazoo, Mich.) who placed seventh at 51.68 seconds.

Vincennes’ best event of the weekend was the 800 meters, where the Blazers had three runners place in the top eight, with freshman Isaac Stanford (Flora, Ill.) leading the way with a time of 1:55.09 and placing second.

Sophomore Mathew Keitany (Kenya) and Trent Faulkner (Wheatland, Ind.) followed behind Stanford, with Keitany placing sixth at 1:57.05 and Faulkner taking seventh at 1:58.04.

The men’s field events were led by freshman Olegs Kozjakovs (Riga, Latvia) who placed fourth in the javelin with a distance of 45.03 meters.

Sophomore Mason Harmes (Borden, Ind.) battled the elements outside Friday to place seventh in the shot put with a final throw of 13.59 meters.

The VU women’s team was led by sophomore Giorgia Fino (Francavilla Fontana, Italy) who got her first action of the school year and placed seventh in the javelin with a throw of 37.41 meters.

Freshman Ysnaira Dos Santos Vieira (Brazil) rounded out the VU performers this weekend with a ninth-place finish in the pole vault after reaching a height of 3.50 meters.

“Friday the throwers competed at EIU in maybe the worst conditions I have every watched athletes compete in,” VU Head Track and Field Coach Marty Rogier said. “It was cold and raining with strong winds and the athletes were just standing in the rain and mud for over four hours while their events were conducted.”

“Mason somehow managed a big PR in the shot put,” Rogier added. “We came back Saturday morning to what looked like were going to be even worse conditions, but eventually the skies cleared and the winds were still strong but not gusting.”

“This is a meet where I told the kids, ‘we were not concerned with hitting times or distances’ and just wanted to survive to compete another day,” Rogier said. “But our kids are competitors and they competed very well.”

“Desroy had two very nice races, especially considering the wind,” Rogier added. “He won the 400 with a very good 48.59 and came back to run fifth with a 22.07 into a head wind. Yamar also ran both very well and was just off a PR in both. I am really excited to see what they might do with some nice conditions.”

“Brittany had a strong finishing lap in the 1500, which got her an 11 second PR,” Steigenga added. “Matthew Gray had the fastest closing lap in his heat and finished second in his race, with Griffin finishing behind him in one of his best races as a Trailblazer.”

“In the 800, all three men had a good start to the outdoor season, running just off their PRs,” Steigenga said. “We had a good first outdoor meet. You never know what to expect coming off Indoor Nationals a few weeks ago and now having to deal with all kinds of different weather outside. We had a lot of positive performances to build off of.”

“Olegs did well competing against DI and DII throwers in the discus and javelin to get ready to compete in an upcoming decathlon,” Rogier said. “Finishing fourth in the javelin and 12th in the discus was impressive.”

“Giorgia had a very good day for her first meet of the year,” Rogier added. “She qualified for Nationals and finished seventh in a really good field of throwers. Ysnaira had a nice jump over 3.50 in the pole vault.”

The Trailblazers will look to continue this strong start heading into next weekend’s ISU Pacesetter Sports Invitational hosted by Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. The event is set to take place Saturday, April 1.

FINAL RESULTS

MEN’S RESULTS

FRIDAY at IWU Polar Bear Invite

10,000m

Ian Boit – 7, 32:36.01

Ernest Momodu – 9, 32:39.81

EIU BIG BLUE

200m

Desroy Jordan – 5, 22.07

400m

Desroy Jordan – 1, 48.59

Yamar Lyons – 7, 51.68

800m

Isaac Stanford – 2, 1:55.09

Mathew Keitany – 6, 1:57.05

Trent Faulkner – 7, 1:58.04

Shot Put

Mason Harmes – 7, 13.59m

Javelin

Olges Kozjakovs – 4, 45.03m

WOMEN’S RESULTS

Pole Vault

Ysnaira Dos Santos Vieira – 9, 3.50m

Javelin

Giorgia Fino – 7, 37.41m

Pensacola, Fla.:  Despite putting 32 shots on goal and scoring the opening goal, the Thunderbolts were held to just one goal by goaltender Brad Arvanitis and the Pensacola Ice Flyers in a 3-1 loss on Saturday at Pensacola Bay Center.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, April 1^st ^ against the Knoxville Ice Bears at 7:00pm CT.  For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2658), go to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or visit the Ford Center Ticket Office.

Matt Dorsey scored for the Thunderbolts, his first professional goal, to give the Thunderbolts a 1-0 lead from Conner Jean and Jeremy Masella on the power play only 7:57 into the first period.  Pensacola’s Lucas Herrmann scored in response at 14:59 to tie the game back up at 1-1, a score which remained unchanged until halfway through the third period.  Sean Gulka scored on the power play to give Pensacola their first lead, 2-1 at the 9:52 mark.  The Thunderbolts offense pressed yet could not gain the tying goal, and with the Evansville net empty it was Garrett Milan who scored the empty net goal to seal the 3-1 Pensacola victory in the final seconds.

Dorsey scored Evansville’s lone goal, while Trevor Gorsuch stopped 25 of 27 shots.  With Roanoke gaining a point in a shootout loss, and with Knoxville’s win tonight, the Thunderbolts drop to 5^th place in the SPHL standings, 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 Ice Flyers meet again on Sunday, March 26^th at Pensacola Bay Center.