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Otters’ comeback in exhibition comes up one run short
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -Â After falling behind early, the Evansville Otters fought back multiple instances in a 6-5 exhibition loss to the Gateway Grizzlies Friday evening.
Gateway opened the scoring in the top of the first with a hard-hit ball by Isaac Benard to first base. The ball had enough on it that it caused first basemen Steven Sensley to misplay it, allowing Trevor Achenbach to score from second base.
The 1-0 lead lasted until the fourth inning when the Otters found the scoreboard for the first time off a home run to left field from leftfielder Jeffery Baez.
In the top of the fifth, Evansville had one of their best pitching performances of the night, when Jake Polancic struck out the side in his only inning of work.
Gateway blew the game open in the top of the sixth, scoring one on an RBI single from Jose Rosario. A base hit and walk later, the bases were loaded for pinch-hitter Pete Zimmerman, who sent a grand slam ball over the left-field wall, advancing the Grizzlies’ lead to 6-1.
The Otters’ comeback kicked off in the bottom of the 7th inning when the Otters had the bases loaded for the third time in the evening. J.R. Davis kicked off the scoring with an RBI single, good for his third base hit of the night.
An error after a fielder’s choice on a Kyle MacDonald ground ball gave the Otters two more runs. Zach West brought the Otters within one with an RBI single to up the middle, but their rally ended there.
Gateway would ride the 6-5 lead all the way to the end. The Grizzlies scored their six runs on six hits, while only stranding four runners. Evansville, however, stranded 11 runners, recording their five runs on seven hits.
The two sides face off once again on Saturday at GCS Credit Union Ballpark in Sauget, Ill. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.
Aces deliver walk-off win over Illinois State with five-run bottom of the ninth
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EVANSVILLE – It was another magical night at The Braun as the University of Evansville baseball team delivered a five-run rally in the ninth inning to walk-off with a victory over Illinois State on Friday evening at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.
“What an incredible comeback from our team. We have the ability to stack quality at bats and that’s what showed up in the 9th,” said Aces head baseball coach Wes Carroll. “Shane Gray and Drew kept it just close enough. Just a special start to the weekend.”
On the mound, Shane Gray got the start, pitching six innings and limiting the Redbirds to three runs on eight hits, while striking-out seven. In relief, Drew Dominik came on to earn his third win in as many appearances, pitching the final three innings, allowing just one run on two hits and firing five Ks without a walk.
The middle of Evansville’s order powered the Aces on the night with Brent Widder, Simon Scherry, and Chase Hug each record a pair of hits on the night.
Offense was limited for both sides in the first four innings with Illinois State scraping across a run in the second representing the only run scored by either side in the first four frames. A tight contest much of the early portions of the game, a pair of solo home runs from Illinois State’s Jake McCaw and Nick Gile, who launched back-to-back shots in the fifth inning to give Illinois State a 3-0 lead.
A strong performance started by Shane Gray was continued over the final three innings by Drew Dominik. In three innings of action, Dominik allowed his only run of the contest on an RBI single by the Redbirds that lifted the visitor’s advantage to 4-0. In the bottom half of the ninth, Evansville’s rally was sparked by Brendan Hord reaching first on an errant throw from Illinois State. Followed by a base hit from Eric Roberts, the Aces saw consecutive batters retired, putting the Redbirds just one out away from a series-opening win. Tanner Craig preserved the chance for Evansville, ripping a double deep to left that scored Hord and pushed UE within three runs of Illinois State. Widder followed suit with a single to left, scoring another run. After a Redbird pitching change, Scherry worked a walk to load the bases and Evan Berkey did the same, pushing home a run and narrowing the Redbirds’ lead to just one at 4-3. Proving to provide clutch hits when the Aces have needed them, Chase Hug delivered for Evansville, driving a 1-1 pitch through the left side, scoring Widder to tie the game. Scherry was sent home, rounding third and sliding home safely to win the game as the throw missed the line as UE captured the 5-4 win.
Evansville continues its series with Illinois State on Saturday at 2 PM for Kids Day at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium, featuring free admission for kids, inflatables, free t-shirts, and popsicles.
Vincennes University Golf Coach Dennis Chattin to be inducted into NJCAA Golf Hall of Fame
VINCENNES, Ind. – The NJCAA Men’s Golf Coaches Association announced their 2022 Hall of Fame class and of the six names list was VU Head Coach Dennis Chattin.
“It is very humbling to think that I will be in ‘The Hall’,†Chattin said. “Just this year alone, to see my name with those that are being inducted is hard to believe, let alone those that have been inducted over the years. I hope this will elevate the visibility of our golf program at VU. It makes me feel as though I should have done more to have earned this.â€
Coach Chattin has guided the VU Men’s Golf program since 2003 and has led the Trailblazers to three NJCAA Division III National Championships in six years, in 2013, 2016 and 2018.
Chattin has also had team finish third, fifth and seventh in the National Championship tournament and has been named National Coach of the Tournament three times.
During his time at VU, Chattin has been named NJCAA Region 12 Coach of the Year six times, won six Region 12 team Championships and had 11 golfers receive NJCAA All-American honors.
“There have been many memories, but mostly about the players that have played for us,†Chattin added. “There have been some great people, not just athletes, that have played here at VU.â€
“The National Championships are, of course, very special,†Chattin said. “As the old Wide World of Sports intro said, ‘it’s the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat’ that I think makes coaches tick. I think creating a once in a lifetime memory for players is a large part of what you hope to accomplish.â€
Chattin is the 21st Vincennes University player, coach or contributor to receive NJCAA Hall of Fame honors and the seventh in the last six years.
Vincennes University now has three current NJCAA Hall of Fame coaches, with Chattin joining Men’s Basketball Head Coach Todd Franklin and Women’s Basketball Head Coach and Athletic Director Harry Meeks.
“I can remember walking into the P.E. Complex and seeing all the great accomplishments of VU Athletics and coaches and realizing that we didn’t have anything there for golf,†Chattin added. “I wanted to put golf in the rafters as well. I also remember having athletes I contacted say they didn’t know VU had a golf team and that even included people that worked at VU.â€
“The Championships helped change that image and I hope that in some way this will add to the great history of VU Athletics and make golf more visible to prospective players for our program,†Chattin said.
VU Trailblazers sign Stetson University transfer Tasos Cook
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Trailblazers continued to add to their 2022 recruiting class with the signing of NCAA Division I transfer Tasos Cook from Stetson University in DeLand, Fla.
Cook is a six-foot-two, 200-pound guard from Westerville, Ohio, a northeastern suburb of Columbus, where he led the Westerville Central Warhawks to the 2021 Ohio Division I High School State Championship game.
Cook averaged 21.2 points per game in his senior year at Westerville Central and was named the 2021 Ohio Division I District Player of the Year and earned a First Team All-Ohio Division I spot.
Cook jumped onto the recruiting scene in his final two years of high school, where he led Westerville Central to their first two District Championships in school history.
“Tasos is a strong, attacking guard,†VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “That’s what he was in high school when he was obviously very successful as a senior. He took Westerville Central to the State title game and averaged 21 points per game. He probably averaged more like 25 or 26 points during their postseason run.â€
“He’s very strong and has really good bounce and he’s aggressive at taking the ball to the basket,†Franklin added. “He’s an older guy. He has the physical toughness and has a little bit of fire to him. He’s a competitive guy and played well in big games in his high school career.â€
“He’s got that competitive fire and it was something that he was known for in high school,†Franklin said. “It’s been something that we’ve been known for over the years and something, I thought, we were a little bit lacking on last year.â€
Cook played last season at Stetson University in Florida, where he played in 21 games and averaged six minutes per game.
The Hatters finished the season with a record of 11-19 under head coach Donnie Jones in his third year with the program.
Aces complete regular season with trip to Valpo
UE looking to improve MVC tournament seeding
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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Regular season play wraps up this weekend when the University of Evansville softball team travels to Valparaiso for a 3-game set. A noon doubleheader on Saturday opens the series before a single game on Sunday at noon.
Last Time Out
– Taking to the field inside Cooper Stadium for the final time this season, the Aces dropped three games against Southern Illinois last weekend
– SIU opened the series with an 8-6 victory before taking the final two contests by finals of 6-0 and 5-0, respectively
– The second contest went 4 1/2 innings on Saturday before being halted due to rain and resumed on Sunday morning
Strong Finish
– Mackenzie McFeron carries an 8-game hitting streak into the final weekend of the regular season at Valparaiso
– Over that time, she is batting .440 with 11 hits in 25 at-bats while scoring 11 runs
– She has taken over the team lead, batting .310 for the season and .348 in Valley games and had the first 3-hit game of her career in the April 10 finale at Illinois State
Power Play
– Since April 6, sophomore Marah Wood is batting .356 and has seen her average rise from .258 to .291
– Wood enters the Valpo series on a 4-game hit streak while picking up 6 hits in her last 14 trips to the plate
– She blasted her team-leading 8th home run of the season in the series finale against the Sycamores
– Wood is third in the Valley with 13 doubles, tied for 9th with eight home runs and tied for 7th in the league with 31 runs batted in
Eagles finish strong in the 2nd round
NOBLESVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Golf posted a strong second round 297 to climb into the top eight of the NCAA Division II Midwest/Central Regional at Purgatory Golf Course in Noblesville, Indiana. The 54-hole regional is set to conclude Saturday with the top six teams and top two individuals not from an advancing institution to the NCAA Division II Championships.
The Screaming Eagles’ second round 297, which was the fourth best of the round, moved them into a tie for seventh in the standings. The 297 as a team also was two strokes short of USI’s NCAA Regional best 295 set in 1996. The Eagels were tied for 12th with a 299 first round Thursday and had risen to as high as fifth during the second 18 holes before play was suspended due to darkness and restarted on Friday.  Â
Junior Zach Williams (Mt. Vernon, Indiana) and freshman Nathan Hoss (Evansville, Indiana) paced the Eagles with two-round scores of 146 to tie for 15th. Hoss posted USI’s best individual NCAA Regional round by shooting a a 69 during the second 18 holes, rising 62 spots in the standings after recording a 77 in the opening round. Williams was tied for 13th with a first round 72 before recording a second round 74.
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Due to the expected heavy rains on Friday, tee times for the final round Saturday are still to be determined.
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Gov. Holcomb Makes Appointments to Various Boards and Commissions
INDIANAPOLIS — Governor Eric J. Holcomb today announced several appointments to various state boards and commissions.
Indiana Election Commission
The governor made two reappointments to the commission, who will serve until July 1, 2024:
- Suzannah Wilson Overholt (Indianapolis), partner with SmithAmundsen
- Litany Pyle (Covington), attorney with Justice & Pyle, Attorneys at Law
Indiana State Fair Commission
The governor made one new appointment to the commission, to a term beginning May 23, 2022 and ending September 30, 2025:
- Cheri Daniels (Carmel), former First Lady of Indiana
Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority Board of Directors
The governor made one new appointment to the board, to a term ending March 31, 2026:
- Jason Gilliana (Valparaiso), partner with Gilliana Pools LLC
GLVC Softball Tourney Update
EAST PEORIA, Ill.—The GLVC Softball Championship Tournament has been changed from a double-elimination tournament to a single elimination tournament due to the first two days of the tournament being washed out due to rain and wet field conditions.
University of Southern Indiana Softball, the top seed in the eight-team tournament, was scheduled to play Maryville University in the opening round on Thursday, but heavy rain in the Peoria area postponed the tournament. There was hope Thursday’s games and Friday’s games could be played Friday to keep the double-elimination format in place, but wet field conditions and the high probability of more rain Friday afternoon prevented the games from being played.
The Screaming Eagles’ game against Maryville will be played Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the EastSide Centre. All four first-round games will be played Saturday, while the semifinals and championship will be played Sunday.
If the Eagles defeat Maryville in the opening round, USI will play the winner of the game between the No. 4 seed, Lindenwood University, and the No. 5 seed, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Sunday at 10 a.m. The GLVC Championship is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m.