First of three rounds complete

 WATERLOO, Ill. – Completing Sunday’s opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship with a team score of 298, the University of Evansville women’s golf team is in second place at Annbriar Golf Course.

Leading the way for the Purple Aces was Louise Standtke.  Her 1-over 73 has her in a tie for 6^th place.  She is just three off the lead.  Elizabeth Mercer is in a tie for 10^th place with a 2-over 74.

Two-time league individual champion Kate Petrova carded a 3-over 75 on Sunday.  Her score is tied for 12^thplace.  Trinity Dubbs and Mallory Russell both finished the day with scores of 76 and are tied for 19^th.

Evansville enters Monday’s second round eight strokes behind leader Illinois State.  Four of the Redbirds five players are in the top six.  UE is three ahead of a third-place tie between Drake and Southern Illinois.

Erika Holmberg of Drake is the individual lead with a 2-under 70.

 Aces back home Tuesday to face Sycamores

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Scoring eight runs in the final two innings, Drake rallied to defeat the University of Evansville softball team by a final of 11-7 on Sunday afternoon at Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at Cooper Stadium.

Niki Bode put the Aces in front as she hit a 2-run home run to left field in the bottom of the first.  Taylor Howe also scored on the play after reaching on a leadoff walk.  Drake countered in the top of the second when Sam Tourtill hit a 2-run homer.

Callie Meinel gave the Aces the lead with a solo home run in the bottom of the second, but Drake matched it with a score in the third.  Zoe Frossard launched Evansville’s third home run of the game, a 2-run shot, in the bottom of the third to put her squad in front at 5-3.

Reliever Kate Ridgway pitched out of a jam in the top of the fourth.  After the Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out, she forced the final two outs without allowing a run.  Ridgway struck out the final two batters to end the top of the fifth to secure Evansville’s 2-run lead.  In the top of the 6^th, Drake scored three runs on an Aces error to take their first lead of the day at 6-5.

Jenna Donohoo got things going with a 1-out single in the bottom of the frame.  Taylor Howe followed with a base hit before Niki Bode walked to load the bases with one out.  Following a fly out, Jess Willsey came to the plate and delivered a 2-run single that put the Aces back in front.

Down to their final three outs, the Bulldogs opened with a pair of singles before a 1-out walk loaded the bases.  From there, Drake cashed in, scoring five runs to clinch the victory.

Elle Jarrett suffered the loss, allowing four runs in 2/3 of an inning.  Gracie Hollingsworth made the start with three runs scoring in three frames.  Kate Ridgway allowed three runs, none being earned, in 2 2/3 innings.  The Bulldogs finished the day with 11 hits while UE had nine.  Howe and Donohoo registered two hits apiece.

UE returns home on Tuesday for a 5 p.m. game against Indiana State.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team returned to the field Sunday afternoon for the final two games of their four-game Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) series at Lincoln Land Community College.

The Blazers fought hard but came away on the wrong side of a 7-6 final score in game one before dropping game two 16-5 to the Loggers.

Vincennes opened the day on a hot start, with the first three VU batters reaching base safely with a leadoff walk by sophomore Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.), followed by a single by freshman Jevan Andrews (Hobart, Ind.) and a fielding error which allowed Douglas to score the first run of the game.

Andrews would come in to score after a pair of stolen bases on an RBI single by sophomore Nate Montgomery (Lexington, Ind.) to give the Blazers an early 2-0 lead.

Lincoln Land would answer back with a run in the third and a run in the fifth to even the score at 2-2 before the Blazers regained the lead with a big four-run sixth inning.

Nate Montgomery opened the inning with a walk, which was immediately followed by a big two-run home run by freshman Carter Gricius (Scottsburg, Ind.), his fourth home run of the season.

Sophomore Yancey Edlin (Pekin, Ind.) kept the inning going with a single, followed by a walk by sophomore Noble Johnson (Terre Haute, Ind.).

After a successful double steal, sophomore Brody Fessel (DePauw, Ind.) came through with an RBI single to increase the VU lead to 5-2.

Freshman Jaret Phillips (Jeffersonville, Ind.) closed out the scoring for the Trailblazers with a pinch hit RBI single to give the Trailblazers a 6-2 lead over Lincoln Land.

The Loggers would not go away quietly however as Lincoln Land came racing back in the bottom of the seventh to put five runs on the scoreboard, climb all the way back and pick up the walk off 7-6 victory over the Trailblazers in game one of the day.

Freshman Eastin Whaley (Kokomo, Ind.) got the start on the mound in game one for the Trailblazers, throwing five strong innings, allowing two runs, both unearned, on four hits and striking out three.

Freshman Grayson Reichert (Shepherdsville, Ky.) was the first out of the pen for Vincennes, throwing one inning, allowing one run on one hit and striking out two.

Sophomore JD Bowser (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) allowed four runs, two earned on two hits in one third of an inning before turning it over to freshman Jacob Allen (Vincennes, Ind.) who threw one-third of an inning.

The Trailblazers looked to bounce back and close out the weekend strong in the series finale but quickly had to play from behind after Lincoln Land scored three runs in the first and added another run in the second to take a quick 4-0 lead.

Vincennes would get on the scoreboard in the third after a leadoff walk by freshman Jakob Hoyer (Georgetown, Ind.), followed by an RBI single by Bradyn Douglas, his second of three hits in the game.

Douglas would later come around to score on an RBI single by Carter Gricius as the Blazers cut the Lincoln Land lead in half at 4-2.

The Loggers would again respond in their half of the inning, using a big five run third inning and adding two more runs in the fourth to take a big 11-2 lead heading into the fifth.

Vincennes looked to chip away at the deficit in the fifth, using a one out double by Bradyn Douglas, his second double of the game, followed by an RBI double by Jevan Andrews, who would later score on a throwing error after a stolen base.

Nate Montgomery would reach on a walk, steal second and advance to third on the error that allowed Andrews to score before scoring on a groundout put in play by Cater Gricius, giving Gricius two RBIs in the game as the Blazers cut the Lincoln Land lead to 11-5.

Lincoln Land again answered in the home half of the fifth, using a bases clearing three-run triple and a two run home run to pick up another walk off victory on the day as the Loggers closed out game two by the final score of 16-5.

Freshman Wyatt Burris (Farmland, Ind.) got the start in game two on the mound for Vincennes, throwing two and one-thirds innings, allowing eight runs on six hits and striking out three.

Freshman Ryan Rayburn (Columbus, Ind.) allowed one run on two hits and struck out one in one-third of an inning before sophomore Colton Okes (Evansville, Ind.) came in to throw one and one-third innings of relief, allowing two runs on two hits.

Sophomore Bryce Gross (Bridgeport, Ill.) pitched the fifth inning, allowing five runs on two hits in one-third of an inning.

The Trailblazers will look to regroup and bounce back in their next game when the Trailblazers return to Jerry Blemker Field for the first time since March 21 when VU hosts Oakland City JV Wednesday, April 16 at 6 p.m. eastern.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball fell in the series finale to Tennessee Tech University, 13-3, Sunday afternoon in Cookeville, Tennessee. USI is 16-19 overall and 7-5 in the OVC, while TTU goes to 24-13 overall, 9-3 OVC.
 
USI jumped out in front in the third inning when sophomore third baseman Parker Martin hit a two-run blast over the right field wall for a 2-0 lead. The home run was Martin’s fourth of the season. TTU would rally in the bottom half of the frame to knot the game at 2-2.
 
After the Golden Eagles went up 3-2 in the fourth, USI tied the game, 3-3, when it manufactured a run in the fifth. Martin singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice, before moving to third on a base hit by junior designated hitter Cole Kitchens and scoring on a wild pitch.
 
The Golden Eagles took command in the bottom of the fifth, scoring 10 unanswered runs over the next three innings. TTU scored six in the fifth to move into the lead for good before sealing the 13-3 final with three in the sixth and one in the seventh.
 
Martin and Kitchens led the way for the Eagles with a pair of hits each. Martin finished the day two-for-three with two runs scored and two RBIs, while Kitchens was two-for-four.
 
On the mound, junior left-hander Jake Porter started and took the loss. Porter (2-2) allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits and two walks, while striking out five.
 

CHARLESTON, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Softball dropped a pair of games against Eastern Illinois University on Sunday, falling 3-1 in an eight-inning pitcher’s duel before a 9-1 setback in six innings to close out the weekend and giving the Panthers a series sweep.
 
Following Sunday’s results, Eastern Illinois (22-17, 14-3 OVC) maintained its first-place position in the Ohio Valley Conference standings, while Southern Indiana (10-21, 7-9 OVC) stands in sixth.
 
The day began in the first game with a stingy pitching battle between USI freshman pitcher Kylie Witthaus and Eastern Illinois junior pitcher Karlie McKenzie. The two hurlers combined to keep the game scoreless through four and a half innings. The Panthers would strike first on the scoreboard by scratching across a run in the bottom of the fifth.
 
The score remained 1-0 in favor of Eastern Illinois going to the seventh inning with Southern Indiana still in search of its first hit off of McKenzie. The Screaming Eagles broke up the no-hit bid on a one-out infield single by freshman Jordan Mackey. Then USI got onto the scoreboard in the next at-bat when sophomore outfielder Kate Satkoski doubled down the left-field line to score senior infielder Whitley Hunter and tie the game, 1-1.
 
Witthaus pitched around some trouble in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra innings. However, Eastern Illinois won in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run walk-off home run by sophomore catcher Sophia Olman.
 
Witthaus (4-7) pitched another quality start in conference play, striking out a career-high seven batters in the complete game.
 
McKenzie (7-3) also went the distance and allowed only one run off three hits with six strikeouts in the win for the Panthers.
 
Eastern Illinois carried the momentum into game two of the afternoon, scoring two quick runs in the home half of the first inning. Despite an RBI single by Hunter in the top of the third, the Panthers crossed home plate in each of the first three innings to lead 4-1 after three.
 
Southern Indiana had a chance to respond with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the fifth inning, but USI was kept off the scoreboard. The Panthers went on to score twice more in the bottom of the fifth and three times in the bottom of the sixth to essentially walk off again in six innings via the run rule.
 
USI totaled five hits in game two. Hunter had the RBI knock and junior outfielder Caroline Stapleton had a hit and a run scored. Senior outfielder Kennedy Nalley, who had the other USI hit in game one, tallied another hit in game two.
 
Senior pitcher Josie Newman (6-13) was dealt the loss, giving up nine runs – five earned – with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched.
 
Eastern Illinois’ sophomore pitcher McKenzie Oslanzi (12-10) tossed a complete game, surrendering an unearned run and striking out two.