Porter joins the Purple Aces from North Carolina Central

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Another addition to the University of Evansville men’s basketball team was announced on Wednesday when head coach David Ragland officially welcomed Keishon Porter.

Porter brings a wealth of experience to the Purple Aces program following two seasons at North Carolina Central.  He also spent his freshman campaign at Radford before playing at Cape Fear Community College.

“We want to officially welcome Keishon and his family to our Evansville community and basketball family,” Ragland said.  “K.P. Is a high energy defender that plays above the rim.  Our Aces fans will love watching Keishon compete on a nightly basis.”

As a senior at NC Central last season, Porter averaged 10.8 point, 3.3 rebounds, and 25.3 minutes per game.  He was a 47.9% shooter from the field while ranking in the top ten in the MEAC with a 72.2% free throw tally.  His top performance of the season was a 25-point, 10-rebounds game against Mid-Atlantic Christian.

Entering the 2024-25 campaign, Porter was a Preseason All-MEAC Third Team selection.  That came on the heels of his junior season with the Eagles where he averaged 8.9 points and 20.8 minutes per game.  In a contest against South Carolina State, he scored his top mark of 37 points on a 14-of-17 showing from the field.

“It felt like family when I got there for the visit, feel it’s a spot I can work and develop on my game to get to the next level,” Porter exclaimed.

As a freshman at Radford in 2020-21, Porter appeared in 15 games and scored a season-high six points versus Mars Hill.  After redshirting in his first season at Cape Fear CC, he recorded 14.1 points and 5.0 rebounds as a sophomore before continuing his career at NC Central.

Porter is a native of Pinetops, N.C.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams were back at it again this weekend as the Trailblazers headed to Louisville for the Clark Wood Invitational hosted by the University of Louisville.

VU took part in the two-day invitational, battling through rain Friday before coming away with a good day on the track Saturday to close out the weekend.

The Vincennes men’s team sprinters were led by sophomore Zion Pruitt (Avon, Ind.) who came away with a 25th place finish in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 56.49 seconds.

Freshman ArTezz Butler-Sanders (Indianapolis, Ind.) placed 50th in the 400 meters at 50.92 seconds, while freshmen Karmiel Williams (Jasper, Ind.) and Aaden Mapp (Indianapolis, Ind.) ran the 100 meter sprint with Williams posting a time of 11.12 seconds and Mapp finishing in 11.88 seconds.

Freshman Devin Wilson (Indianapolis, Ind.) placed 64th in the 200 meters with a time of 22.89 seconds as well.

The mid-distance and distance runners for the men’s team were led by freshman Anis Abdaoui (Kairouan, Tunisia) who placed fifth in the 1500 meters at 3:52.39.

Sophomore Tanner Spence (Carmi, Ill.) joined Abdaoui in the 1500, finishing with a time of 4:04.22 to take 32nd overall.

Spence would also pace the Trailblazers in the 800 meters, finishing with a time of 2:00.23 to take 55th overall.

Sophomore Caden Hostetler (LaGrange, Ind.) took 61st in the 800 meters at 2:03.09, with freshman Dakoda Greci (Danville, Ind.) posting a time of 2:05.37 to take 65th overall.

Caden Hostetler placed 27th overall in the 3000 meter steeplechase at 10:46.06.

Sophomore Cody Noel (Hebron, Ind.) paced a team of Trailblazers in the 5000 meters, leading the way with a time of 15:30.09 to take 40th overall.

Sophomore Nathan Whitehead (Vincennes, Ind.) and freshmen Lane Connaway (Carmi, Ill.) and Jeremy Mendez (Velpen, Ind.) followed Noel in the 5000 meters, with Whitehead taking 61st with a time of 15:56.63, Connaway posting a time of 16:21.06 and Mendez finishing with a time of 16:28.57.

The VU Men’s track side was rounded out by the 4×400 relay team finishing seventh with a time of 3:16.32 and the men’s 4×100 relay team finishing at 44.98 seconds to take 14th overall.

The highlight of the weekend for the Trailblazer men’s team was the field events led by freshman Tremayne Brown (Anderson, Ind.) who finished sixth in the high jump after clearing a height of 2.00 meters.

Sophomore Maliek Bush (Jeffersonville, Ind.) came away with seventh place in the discus with a throw of 28.56 meters, ninth in the javelin with a best throw of 48.78 meters and 13th in the long jump with a distance of 6.94 meters.

Freshman Bryce Peak (Brownstown, Ind.) joined Bush in the javelin, getting a best throw of 37.20 meters to take 19th overall, while freshman Cayden Gasser (Delphi, Ind.) rounded out the men’s results on the weekend by taking 21st in the javelin with a throw of 34.14 meters and 21st in the shot put with a throw of 11.25 meters.

The VU women’s track team was led on the weekend by sophomore Adi Fuller (Evansville, Ind.) who placed 18th in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a final time of 12:09.01.

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University baseball team closed out a strong week of action at Jerry Blemker Field Sunday afternoon with the Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) series finale doubleheader against Spoon River College.

The Trailblazers used a pair of late rallies to come away with the doubleheader sweep to pick up the series win over the Snappers winning game one 10-5 and taking game two of the day 13-9.

Vincennes got off to a slow start in game one of the day with Spoon River grabbing the early lead with a run in the first.

VU would get on the board in the bottom of the third after a leadoff double by sophomore Bryce Gross (Bridgeport, Ill.), followed by a walk by freshman Jevan Andrews (Hobart, Ind.) and an RBI single by sophomore Nate Montgomery (Lexington, Ind.).

The Trailblazers would grab their first lead of the day with an RBI double by freshman Carter Gricius (Scottsburg, Ind.) before Nate Montgomery scored on a balk to give the Blazers a 3-1 lead.

Spoon River would get a run back in the fifth to cut the deficit in half at 3-2, which the Trailblazers responded immediately with a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth.

VU got the inning going with a single by sophomore Yancey Edlin (Pekin, Ind.) and an RBI single by sophomore Corbin Napier (Indianapolis, Ind.).

Spoon River answer back again in the sixth with a pair of runs to even the score at 4-4.

The Trailblazers came firing back in the bottom of the sixth with a monster six-run inning to completely shift the momentum of the game.

VU opened the inning with back-to-back walks by sophomore Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.) and Jevan Andrews and Nate Montgomery being hit by pitch to load the bases.

The Trailblazers regained the lead with a big two RBI double by Carter Gricius, his second double of the game and third RBI of the game.

VU kept the inning going with a two RBI single by Yancey Edlin, his third time reaching base in the game.

Vincennes would close out the inning with back to back RBI singles by Corbin Napier and Bryce Gross to give the Blazers a commanding 10-4 lead heading to the seventh inning.

In the seventh Spoon River looked to get a rally going of their own but were only able to get one run in the inning as VU closed out the victory, taking game one of the day 10-5.

Sophomore JD Bowser (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) got the start in game one of the day, throwing four and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs, one earned on six hits and striking out one in the game.

Bowser then turned the game over to freshman Ty Stultz (Terre Haute, Ind.) who closed out the final two and one-third innings, allowing three runs on five hits and striking out three.

“I think Bowser gave us a good opportunity to win the game,” VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. “We didn’t make some plays defensively behind him and then Ty Stultz came in and did a really nice job.”

“Then we came through in the sixth inning,” Barney added. “Sent 10 guys to the plate, three walks and four hits later we put up six runs to go ahead. The guys stepped up late.”

The Trailblazers looked to keep the momentum going and close out the weekend strong in game two and wasted little time getting going at the plate.

VU opened the game with three runs in the first inning, started by freshman Evan Doran (Indianapolis, Ind.) reaching on an error, followed by a fielder’s choice by Carter Gricius and a walk by Yancey Edlin to load the bases.

Corbin Napier prompted cleared the bases with a big two-out three-RBI double to give the Blazers an early 3-0 lead.

Spoon River responded back in the second inning with a big six run inning of their own to take a 6-3 lead over the Blazers.

Vincennes answered back in the third after Carter Gricius was hit by pitch to lead off the inning, followed by walks for Yancey Edlin and sophomore Noble Johnson (Terre Haute, Ind.).

Sophomore Brody Fessel (DePauw, Ind.) kept the inning going with a two-RBI double and an RBI single by Bryce Gross evened the score at 6-6.

Spoon River regained the lead with a pair of runs in the fourth and a run in fifth to take a 9-6 lead.

VU started the comeback in the sixth after Nate Montgomery reached with a double and later scored on a fielder’s choice by Yancey Edlin to cut the deficit to two.

Vincennes completed the comeback in the eighth after getting a monster start to the inning with a leadoff triple by Corbin Napier, followed by a walk by Noble Johnson and a successful double steal to score Napier.

The Blazers would tie the game with an RBI single by Brody Fessel, giving him three RBIs in the game and reaching base four times on the day.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball lost the rubber game and the series to Eastern Illinois University, 9-8, Sunday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI is 20-23 overall and 9-8 in the OVC, while EIU is 22-18, 10-6 OVC.
 
The Screaming Eagles flew out in front, 3-0, during the first inning when sophomore rightfielder Cameron Boyd hit a three-run blast to right center. The home run was Boyd’s fifth of the season and his third of the week.
 
Boyd had an outstanding week for the Eagles. The sophomore batted .583 (14-24) with eight runs scored, three home runs, and 12 RBIs in five games.
 
USI would hold the 3-0 lead into the second when EIU put its first tally on the board and cut the margin to 3-1. The Panthers would rally with two more in the third to knot the game at 3-3.
 
The score remained 3-3 until the top of the fifth, when the Panthers scored three times to lead 6-3. EIU extended the margin to 9-3 with three more in the top of the sixth.
 
USI would bounce back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit to 9-5. USI junior shortstop Clayton Slack plated a pair of runs with an RBI single through the left side of the infield.
 
Following a scoreless seventh, USI sophomore pinch hitter/rightfielder Evan Zapp cut the deficit to two, 9-7, in the eighth with a two-run, two-out double to left field. Sophomore third baseman Parker Martinwould leave the tying runs at second and third to end the eighth.
 
USI would try to rally in its final try at the plate in the ninth. Junior designated hitter Charlie Mariscadrove in USI’s eighth run of the game with a single, but the Eagles would stand the tying and winning runs on base in falling, 9-8.
 
On the mound, sophomore right-hander Abdriel Figueroa took the loss in relief. Figerora (0-1) allowed three runs on three hits and two walks, while striking out two in three frames of work.
 
Junior right-hander Andres Gonzalez started and lasted the first two-plus innings. He allowed three runs on three hits and a pair of walks.
 

Eagles clinch OVC tournament berth on Sunday

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – University of Southern Indiana Softball opened its Sunday doubleheader at Southeast Missouri State University with a 4-3 victory, but the Redhawks secured a 10-0 win in five innings in the afternoon’s second game to claim the weekend series.
 
In Sunday’s first game, Southern Indiana (14-23, 11-11 OVC) did not take long to get on the scoreboard. Three singles loaded the bases before freshman third baseman Jordan Mackey cleared the bags with a double into the gap to give the Screaming Eagles a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
 
Southeast Missouri (23-15, 16-7 OVC) answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning, but USI responded with another tally in the top of the third inning. With two outs, freshman Jinnis Gerth singled up the middle to score sophomore infielder Sydney Long and put USI up by two, 4-2.
 
From that point, it was freshman pitcher Kylie Witthaus who took control. Despite SEMO scoring a run to make it a one-run game in the bottom of the fifth, Witthaus remained unfazed and gave USI another strong outing to pick up a win in the middle game of the series and force a series rubber match.
 
Witthaus (6-7) added to her streak of consecutive quality starts for the Eagles, striking out a pair and allowing three runs in the win.
 
Mackey paced USI with three RBIs, while junior outfielder Caroline Stapleton led the team with two hits in the game. Long had a hit and scored two runs in the contest. USI totaled seven hits.
 
For SEMO, sophomore Maddie Carney (2-5) was dealt the loss after surrendering four runs – three earned – in five innings of work.
 
The second game and series finale on Sunday went scoreless after one frame, but Southeast Missouri scored six unearned runs in the bottom of the second inning to jump ahead 6-0. The Redhawks went on to score four total runs between the third and fourth innings to climb up to a 10-0 lead.
 
Despite a few scattered hits for the Screaming Eagles, USI could not string together momentum to chip away before the final out in the fifth inning.
 
Stapleton went 3-3 in the batter’s box for USI. Sophomores Shelby Stivers and Angelia Davis accounted for the other two hits for the Eagles.
 
Senior pitcher Josie Newman (8-15) was given the loss, being charged with the first six unearned runs in 1.2 innings.