OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams competed Friday afternoon at the Brescia Bearcat Twilight Invitational in Owensboro.

The VU Men’s team had a very good showing, ending the day with a second-place finish as a team, with the VU Women’s team placing ninth as a team.

“What looked like it was going to be our first meet with good weather turned into another cool, rainy event,” VU Head Track and Field Coach Marty Rogier said. “But as they have done all season, these kids stepped up and performed well.”

“We went into this meet with the idea of relaxing a bit and having a good time before we start dialing in for Little State Championship next weekend and Nationals,” Rogier added. “We mixed up some things and put some people in different events which I think for the most part went really well.”

Vincennes’ men’s team was led by a first-place finish by freshman Jalen Bowman (Evansville, Ind.) in the 400 meters with a time of 49.54 seconds.

Bowman was followed by fellow freshman Yamar Lyons (Kalamazoo, Mich.) who placed sixth at 51.76 seconds.

Bowman also went on to pick up a pair of wins in the relay races, winning the 4×100 Relay with sophomore Damien Ross (East St. Louis, Ill.) and Kyle Stewart (Evansville, Ind.) and freshman Collin Sutton (New Albany, Ind.) at 42.38 seconds.

Bowman then bounced back to win the 4×400 Relay with Sutton and sophomores Trenton Faulkner (Vincennes, Ind.) and Manamanya Opiew (Indianapolis, Ind.) at 3:27.31.

The Trailblazer relay team of freshman Nicholas Stanislaus (Grenada), Ross, sophomore James Nzoyikorera (Indianapolis, Ind.) and freshman Mathew Keitany (Kenya) placed second in the 4×400 Relay, ending with a time of 3:35.90.

Mathew Keitany took home first place in the 1500 meters at 4:05.74 with Manamanya Opiew coming in seventh at 4:13.11.

Nicholas Stanislaus had a busy day as well, placing seventh in the 110 meter hurdles at 18.15 seconds and fourth in the Pole Vault with a height of 3.65 meters.

Damien Ross placed fourth in the 400 meter hurdles, ending with a time of 1:00.09.

Sophomore Ian Boit (Eldoret, Kenya) placed second in the 3000 meters at 9:10.89, with fellow sophomore Walter Tanui (Eldoret, Kenya) finishing seventh at 9:29.94.

Freshman Trey Browne took home sixth place in the 3000 meter Steeplechase, with a time of 10:42.16.

Freshman Ernest Momodu (Indianapolis, Ind.) rounds out the VU Men’s runners with an eighth-place finish in the 800 meter race at 2:03.67.

In the field events, Vincennes picked up a pair of wins by sophomore Matthew Frazier (Franklin, Ind.) and Kyle Stewart.

Frazier took home the top spot in the Pole Vault after with a height of 4.10 meters.

Stewart came away with first-place in the Long Jump with a distance of 7.13 meters.

Sophomore Mason Harmes (Borden, Ind.) and freshman David Beadle (Jamaica) both placed in the Discus throw with Harmes ending fifth at 40.57 meters and Beadle placing eighth at 35.59 meters.

Harmes also placed seventh in the Shot Put with a throw of 11.85 meters.

“The distance crew had a great day with some big PRs,” Rogier said. “Ian Boit ran really well and dropped his PR in the 3000 by 20 seconds, which earned him the Trailblazer Willie Award for this meet. He looked great start to finish and will just keep getting better.”

“Mathew is always a competitor and won the 1500 and just always makes things look easy,” Rogier added. “Kyle had another good day with a series of jumps and again with over seven meters. He also ran a leg of the winning 4×100 and 4×400 Relays.”

“We switched up Jalen this meet from the short sprints and let him run the 400, which he won going away,” Rogier said. “He also was a triple winner, as he teamed up with Kyle on the 4×100 and 4×400 Relay teams.”

“Collin and Damien completed the 4×100 relay, which ran a season best 42.3 seconds,” Rogier added. “Collin and Manny were part of the winning 4×400 team which won by a large margin over the other schools.”

“Our second 4×400 relay team was an easy second place with Yamar, Ernest Trenton and Mathew making up the team,” Rogier added. “It was an impressive way to end the meet with our two relay teams going 1-2.”

“Matthew Frazier won the Pole Vault with a season best 4.10 jump,” Rogier said. “Hopefully this is him returning to form where he placed at Nationals last year.”

“Nicholas Stanislaus was an iron man, competing in the pole vault, long jump and 110 hurdles at the same time,” Rogier added. “These are difficult events by themselves, much less when you are running out of a pit to the next event and back. He is preparing for a decathlon meet this week, with sites on being a top competitor at Nationals in May.”

“The men’s team finished with a strong second-place finish in team scoring,” Rogier said. “We took a lot of points off the table by switching up some of our events, but it was a really enjoyable meet. I am very proud of both our teams.”

NORMAL, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team fell in the first two games of their four-game weekend Mid-West Athletic Conference series at Heartland Community College, falling 11-2 in game one and 13-3 in game two.

Vincennes got the scoring started in game one, with a single by sophomore Colin Long (Evansville, Ind.) and a double by sophomore Peyton Lane (New Paris, Ohio) helped give the Trailblazers the early 2-0 lead.

Heartland would be held off the scoreboard until the third inning, when the Hawks took the lead with a four-run inning.

Heartland continued to add to their lead with a pair of runs in the fourth and a five-run fifth to hold the 11-2 lead.

This would prove to be enough as Vincennes was unable to respond and the Trailblazers fell in game one by the final score of 11-2 in the seventh inning.

Freshman Nick Kapostasy (Cincinnati, Ohio) got the start on the mound in game one, throwing 2.1 innings, including two no-hit innings to begin the game and allowing three runs on three hits. Kapostasy would also strike out two batters.

VU got two big innings out of the bullpen in game one from freshman Cauy Motsinger (Huntingburg, Ind.) who allowed two runs on two hits and struck out one.

The Trailblazers looked to bounce back in game two and wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, scoring in the first inning again after a lead-off walk by freshman Ethan Burdette (Linton, Ind.) and would later score to give VU the 1-0 lead.

Heartland would answer back immediately, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first to grab the lead back.

Vincennes would even the score in the third after lead-off singles by Burdette and Long. The two would score on a two-RBI double by freshman Colton Evans (Henderson, Ky.).

The Hawks would grab the lead back in the bottom of the inning with a pair of runs of their own.

Heartland would grow their lead with four runs in the fourth and four runs in the fifth as Vincennes fell in game two 13-3.

Sophomore Kestler Harbuck (Brooksville, Fla.) took the mound in game two and lasted three innings, allowing nine runs on seven hits and punching out one batter.

Sophomore Josiah Sizemore (Cambridge City, Ind.) entered out of the bullpen to throw an inning and a third, allowing four runs on four hits.

“Obviously Heartland is pretty good,” VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. “They are 18-0 in Conference games and they’ve got a really solid ball club. We’ve got to do a better job on the mound. We’ve got to compete a little bit better than what we did.”

“I thought a few guys threw pretty well for us, Nick Kapostasy did a great job,” Barney added. “He got through the order one time and he threw more pitches than he has ever thrown for us. Some other guys have to step up after that. We were our own worst enemy in game one, we gave up 11 runs on six hits. I thought Motsinger threw alright at the end.”

“Game two was the same thing,” Barney said. “It’s hard to play when you are behind. We jump out and get some momentum and then we give it right back to them, giving up three runs on one hit. It’s just one of those things that we have to get better at and the good news is we get the chance to bounce back tomorrow.”

Vincennes got a few good days out of the plate with Peyton Lane collecting two hits in his two plate appearances, including a double and was hit by pitch.

Colton Evans came away with a pair of hits in game two, including a double and a pair of RBI’s.

“Those two have been doing it all year, that’s why they are hitting three and four for us in the order,” Barney said. “Hopefully they can sustain it and keep it rolling for us and hopefully get a few more contributions from them and a lot of guys in the lineup tomorrow.”

The Trailblazers will look to close out the weekend strong as VU will head back to the Corn Crib Saturday, April 16 for the final two games of the series. First pitch tomorrow is set for 2 p.m. eastern.

“There is a lot to this weekend; one, we’re seeing the top team in the league,” Barney said. “Two, you are playing on the same field that you will here in about five weeks for the conference tournament, so we get a feel for that.”

“Tomorrow we have the opportunity to jump out in front,” Barney added. “We’ve got VanLannen going in game one. We’ve still got our solid bullpen with Nichols and Osborn ready to throw and a few other guys that can go tomorrow. I told my guys, the challenge is, let’s get a win or two here tomorrow and let’s play 16 innings. Play all 16 innings and then we will get on the road and get home feeling good about ourselves.”

Aces look to win series finale on Saturday

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Sophomore Marah Wood blasted two home runs for the University of Evansville softball team in Friday’s doubleheader against Missouri State at Cooper Stadium.  After taking an 8-2 win in the opener, the Bears held on for a 4-1 victory in game two.

 

Game One – Missouri State 8, UE 2

Marah Wood hit a pair of solo home runs, but three long balls from Missouri State gave them an 8-2 victory.  The Bears opened the scoring in the top half of the second when Annie Mueller hit a 2-run shot to left.  Wood got one of the runs right back in the bottom of the frame, hitting a solo shot to left.

Missouri State used the long ball once again to make it a 3-1 game when Olivia Krehbiel hit a shot to left.  Mueller struck again with a 2-run double in the sixth before the Bears tacked on three more in the seventh.  Wood hit her 7^th home run of the season in the bottom of the 7^th to make it a final of 8-2.  Steffany Dickerson picked up the win for MSU, allowing one run on three hits in six innings.  Izzy Vetter suffered the loss and fell to 14-8 on the season.

Game Two – Missouri State 4, UE 1

An unearned run opened the scoring for the Bears in the top of the first to open game two.  Another run crossed the plate in the third when a double by Madison Hunsaker scored Daphne Plummer, who tripled to lead off the inning.

Picking up right where she left off from game one, Marah Wood had the big RBI knock to get UE on the scoreboard.  Her 2-out single in the third brought in Zoe Frossard to make it a 2-1 game.  Frossard reached on a leadoff double.  The Bears countered in the top of the sixth when a McKenzie Vaughan single plated the third run of the contest before an unearned run in the seventh capped off the scoring.

Hannah Hood gave the Aces some life with a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh before MSU pitcher Steffany Dickerson recorded the final three outs on the way to her second win of the day.  She tossed the final four innings and gave up two hits.  Sydney Weatherford had a solid start in the circle.  In seven innings, she gave up four runs, two of which were earned.

UE looks to pick up a win in the final game of the series on Saturday at 12 p.m.

Aces head to Missouri for conference championship

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Greenbriar Hills Country Club in Kirkwood, Missouri will be the site of 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Championship with the University of Evansville women’s golf team looking to defend their title from 2021.

Comprised of 54 holes, the championship will feature one round of 18 each day between Sunday, April 17 and Tuesday, April 19.  Par is set for 71 while the yardage checks in at 5,830.  All ten MVC schools will be playing in the tournament.

It was just one year ago when the Purple Aces made their improbable run to the first-ever women’s golf conference championship in program history.  Following the opening two rounds, the Aces led the field by 10 strokes.  With a steady snow falling throughout the final round, Evansville held strong to force a playoff hole against Northern Iowa.

Only one hole was needed for the Aces to clinch the championship with Sophia Rohleder taking medalist.  Following her graduation, UE brings extensive experience into the 2022 championship with four out of five returning from the 2021 championship run.  Allison Enchelmayer tied for the 12^th position last April while Alyssa McMiinn also picked up a top 20 finish, tying for 17^th.

Caitlin O’Donnell set the tone for the Purple Aces in last year’s opening round, shooting a 73 to put Evansville in position to hold the double-digit lead following the first two rounds.  Mallory Russell came home in the 32^nd position in her first MVC event.  Her biggest contribution came on the playoff hole where she hit the first shot off the tee, which set the Aces up for the playoff win.

This year, Russell holds the low stroke average for the Aces.  She enters the championship with a 78.81 average.  Russell excelled in the fall, tying for 6^th at the Briar Ridge Invitational while recording a 77.20 average in the opening months of the season.  Enchelmayer (79.58) and McMinn (79.79) also hold averages under 80 at the completion of the regular season.  Set to make her inaugural championship appearance is freshman Magdalena Borisova.

Borisova has the second-lowest spring average for UE, sitting at 79.64.  Over her last seven rounds, Borisova has posted a 77.57 average.  Her top finish was a tie for fourth at the Indiana State Invitational.