Schultz and Reinhardt dominant on the mound in Sunday win
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EVANSVILLE – A persistent and timely offense lifted the University of Evansville baseball team to a 9-2 victory over Xavier on Sunday, earning the Aces a 3-1 series win over the Musketeers, at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.
“Such a great win for our team today. It started on the mound and defensively I felt like all weekend we played stellar defense that gave us a chance,” said Aces head baseball coach Wes Carroll. “Of course on the mound getting the efforts from Donovan Schultz and Caleb Reinhardt today was outstanding and then for our bats to just really come alive and get into their bullpen. Their starter was magnificent today with his ability to keep us off balance with some really good off-speed. For us to take three out of four against such a quality club with four legit rotation arms really gives us a boost of confidence that we’re going to have to take into Missouri Valley play.”
Xavier found the scoreboard first in the second inning, scoring runs off a double and single to take a 2-0 lead. The long ball helped halve the Musketeers lead in the bottom half of the second as freshman Mark Shallenberger launched a solo shot to right to cut the Xavier lead to 2-1.
Senior Craig Shepherd tied the game in the fourth, ripping a base-hit to center that scored freshman Simon Scherry.
After giving up the two runs in the second, freshman pitcher Donovan Schultz was lights-out. Schultz exited after the fifth, allowing four hits and striking-out a career-high eight batters.
The late innings proved to be key to the Aces win, beginning in the seventh with two outs and a pair of runners on. Junior Tanner Craig came to the plate and drove a single up the middle, scoring redshirt junior Kenton Crews and giving the Aces the 3-2 lead.
Evansville broke the game wide open in the eighth, batting around and scoring six runs, including a two-run single by senior Ben Komonosky, an RBI single from Crews, and an RBI double by redshirt senior Troy Beilsmith.
Junior Caleb Reinhardt closed-out his impressive performance in the ninth, allowing just one runner on and getting out of the inning with a line-out to third. Reinhardt earned the victory, his first of the season, pitching four scoreless innings, giving-up just three hits.
“Just a gutsy effort,” remarked Carroll. “Another Sunday win for our club coming into the yard and expecting to win and playing at a high level. I couldn’t be more proud of our team right now.”
Evansville closes its 11-game home-stand next weekend with a four-game set against South Dakota State on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.
Senior leaves as one of the top setters in program history
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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For the final time in a Purple Aces uniform, University of Evansville senior Allana McInnis took to the floor of Meeks Family Fieldhouse as the UE volleyball team wrapped up the season against Valparaiso.
McInnis tallied 20 assists, 10 digs and three service aces in a 3-1 setback against Valpo (11-9, 10-8 MVC). She wraps up her Evansville (6-14, 5-13 MVC) career with a total of 3,452 assists, the third-highest total in program history. Alondra Vazquez paced the team with 22 kills while Melanie Feliciano added 13. Chloe Bontrager and Elise Moeller recorded five and four, respectively. Rachel Basinski had a match-high 22 digs while Brooke Springer added five block assists. Jaclyn Bulmahn posted 15 kills to lead Valparaiso.
Game 1
Evansville grabbed a 3-2 lead before Valpo fought back to go in front at 7-3. A kill by Melanie Feliciano coupled with a Cecilia Thon service ace highlighted UE’s rally to tie it up at 9-9. Chloe Bontrager recorded a kill that put the Aces back in front at 12-11 before Valpo wrestled away a 15-14 edge. From there, they would slowly extend the lead to win by a 25-21 final on their way to a 1-0 advantage.
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Game 2
A reenergized UE squad came out on fire in the second set, recording the first four points before going up by a score of 8-2. Allana McInnis had an ace in the early stretch while Alondra Vazquez added three kills. Midway through the set, Valpo made a run to cut the Evansville lead to a pair, including 19-17. Laura Ruiz came through with an ace to help UE score three in a row before tying the match at 1-1 on the strength of a 25-19 decision.
Game 3
It was Valparaiso getting the early lead as they would score six of the first eight points to take a 6-2 advantage. Evansville fought back and used consecutive VU errors to go in front by a 9-8 tally.  Hannah Watkins added a kill as the UE rally continued with them taking a 14-9 lead. Valpo responded with a 9-4 run to tie the set at 18-18 before Chloe Bontrager added a kill to put the Aces back on top. Unfortunately for the Aces, Valparaiso continued its run and with the set tied at 22-22, they reeled off the final three points to wrap up the set and take a 2-1 lead.
Game 4
A 6-1 start by Valpo set the early tone for the set as they would never trail on their way to a 25-16 win to clinch the match.
University of Southern Indiana Baseball won a high-scoring series finale with Maryville University, 9-8, and won the season series Sunday afternoon in St. Louis, Missouri. The Screaming Eagles go to 7-11 overall and 5-7 in the GLVC, after today’s action, while Maryville is 7-10 overall, 5-5 GLVC.
USI had to rally twice in the game to get the victory, coming back from a 3-1 deficit after the first inning and 5-4 after four frames. The Eagles’ big innings were in the fourth and fifth when they scored three and four times, respectively.
Senior shortstop Kobe Stephens, who would finish the day with a team-high three RBIs, got the fourth inning rally rolling with a two-run single, tying the score, 3-3. Junior second baseman Ethan Hunter followed with an RBI-single to give USI back the lead, 4-3.
After Maryville pushed its way back ahead, 5-4, with a pair of tallies in the bottom of the fourth, USI took command, 8-5, with the four-run fifth. Four different Eagles were involved in the fourth inning rally as USI got a RBI-double from junior designated hitter Aaron Euler; a RBI-single from senior catcher Wyatt Daly; a sacrifice fly from Stephens; and a RBI-double from junior leftfielder Bryce Krizan to finish the scoring.
Maryville would close the gap to 8-7 with a run in the sixth and seventh before USI sealed the victory in the eighth when Hunter hit his second home run of the season to make the score 9-7. The Saints tried to rally in the ninth but was only able to plate one run before Eagles’ senior right-hander Tyler Hagedorn ended the contest by stranding the tying run at third and the winning run at first for the 9-8 Eagles victory.
On the mound, freshman right-hander Carter Stamm picked up his first career win in relief. Stamm (1-0) got the Eagles out of the fourth inning by getting a pair of outs and stranding a pair of runners on base.
Hagedorn gets his second save of the season in the victory, allowing one run on three hits and striking out two in 1.2 innings of work.
 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A 3-run sixth inning helped the University of Evansville softball team finish the series sweep over Valparaiso with a 5-3 victory on Sunday at Cooper Stadium.The sweep marks the first for the Purple Aces (17-7, 5-1 MVC) since taking all three games in the 2019 trip to Missouri State. With UE trailing 3-0, Marah Wood had a 2-run shot in the contest to get the Aces on the board before Jessica Fehr, Lindsay Renneisen and Alyssa Barela posted RBIs in the sixth to complete the comeback. UE had eight hits on the day while Izzy Vetter held Valparaiso (5-15, 1-5 MVC) to just three hits.
With the wind blowing out to right field, Valparaiso took early advantage when Addi Burke hit a 2-run homer to right in the top of the first. They added a third run in the top of the fourth on a squeeze play.
Evansville posted just one hit through the first three innings, but produced three hits in the fourth. Haley Woolf recorded a double before Marah Wood hit her sixth home run of the season to get the Aces on the board and cut the Valpo lead to 3-2. Looking for a late rally in the sixth, the Aces got exactly what they needed. With one out, Jenna Lis reached on an infield single and was pinch run for by Mackenzie McFeron.
McFeron stole second before scoring on a Jessica Fehr single. Solid baserunning saw Fehr move to second on a passed ball before coming home on a Lindsay Renneisen single. UE added an insurance run later in the frame when Alyssa Barela hit a sacrifice fly.
With her team in front, Vetter kept Valpo off the board in the seventh to clinch her 8th victory of the season and secure the sweep. Vetter tossed the complete game and struck out nine batters.
Next up for UE is a doubleheader against UT Martin on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Fed up with Planned Parenthood affiliates continuing to receive coronavirus stimulus money “illegally,†several Senate Republicans — including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — are demanding an investigation into why the Small Business Administration continues to write checks to the outfit.
In a letter to SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman, 25 GOP senators said that the affiliates have received $83 million and apparently continue to get money through the Paycheck Protection Program when the rules state they are ineligible.
What’s more, it said that SBA is providing PPP money even after telling Planned Parenthood affiliates that they were not eligible for the money and demanded it be returned. Only seven of 38 affiliates have complied.
“It is unconscionable that SBA continues to approve PPP loans made to organizations which are clearly ineligible for funding,†the letter said of the money going to the women’s health and abortion clinics. “This is unacceptable,†it added in calling for an investigation into why the money continues to be provided.
The letter, shared with Secrets, is shown below. Among others that signed it are Indiana Sen. Mike Braun, South Dakota Sen. John Thune and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso.
Since the program began last year, GOP senators have been demanding that SBA follow the rules that prohibit big companies and organizations from receiving the small business payroll loans, which are really grants that are not expected to be paid back.
When the PPP program was established, the rules prohibited organizations with more than 500 employees, including affiliates, from receiving the money set aside for small shops. According to the senators, Planned Parenthood has 16,000 employees and assets of nearly $2 billion.
The lawmakers said they are concerned that in the latest extension of the program, that Planned Parenthood affiliates are still being given the money. They wrote, “We are concerned that this extension will give remaining Planned Parenthood affiliates time to illegally obtain funds from the program as the SBA has yet to take action on this issue.â€
FOOTNOTE: This article was sent to the City-County Observer by the office of Indiana United States Mike Braun. Â We posted this article without editing or bias.
For what seems like a lifetime, most of us have been anxiously waiting for life to return to normal. Two mass shootings in consecutive weeks remind us that regardless of how much we have grown to miss in the last year, not everything that is “normal,†is OK. These horrific events and the circular nature of the gun control debate that accompanies them has become sadly routine. The sequence is predictable, commonplace and usual. But only in America.
Michael Leppert is a public and governmental affairs consultant in Indianapolis and writes his thoughts about politics, government and anything else that strikes him at MichaelLeppert.com.
On March 16, a 21-year-old suspect in Georgia purchased a 9mm handgun and later the same day began his rampage in and around Atlanta, killing eight people. On March 22, another 21-year-old suspect shot and killed 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, using an SR-556, an AR-15 style, semi-automatic pistol, that he had bought just days earlier. Both gun purchases were made at licensed retailers.
Is there something, anything, that we could do that could have slowed, altered or prevented these two young, likely mentally ill, people from obtaining their weapons? That is a rhetorical question. The problem with the list of possible alternatives is not that it is too small, it’s that it is too large.
“Our problems are man-made; therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants,†is part of my favorite speech from President John F. Kennedy, given at the American University on June 10, 1963. He was talking about diplomacy differences between us and the former Soviet Union. That generational and perilous crisis was frightening and expensive to the U.S.
Fighting the Cold War for nearly half a century took infrastructure. Today, after four full years of anxiously waiting for “infrastructure week†to actually occur, we have a new president preparing to push a big infrastructure bill through Congress. And again today, people think of roads, bridges, pipes and communications networks when the word is used. But the military is also infrastructure, like the enormous U.S. military that grew in the post-World War II years to combat the Soviets and the threat of communism.
Staying in the dictionary for a moment, the word, “infrastructure†means “the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization.†Our schools, public safety systems, health care networks, and a good list of other things meet that definition equally well.
A modern information system to provide a background check on every person attempting to make any commercial purchase of a firearm is also infrastructure. Currently, that system is underdeveloped and underfunded, but it is definitely a basic, underlying necessity of this country. The support for properly building, implementing and investing in it has a similar level of support as roads, schools and broadband funding.
How is President Joe Biden planning to finance his $3 trillion infrastructure plan? In a word, taxes. How will he expect to pass a new tax plan through a Senate that needs 60 votes to pass anything? Through the budget reconciliation process that Democrats used to pass the American Rescue plan a few weeks ago.
Are you following me?
A universal background check system should be part of the infrastructure package and could be paid for by increasing the federal excise tax on guns and ammunition. And it can be done with 51 votes in the Senate. So, while the political class keeps debating the virtues and the perils of the filibuster, I recommend the Democrats get on with the business of the people.
Yes, I believe America’s gun crisis has been more harmful than the Cold War. Maybe it has not been as expensive in dollars, but far more Americans have died by home grown gun violence. And the “man-made†aspect of our globally unique gun problem was created not by some phantom in a faraway land, but by the men living next door. Presumably, those men are taxpayers.
The federal excise tax on guns and ammunition generated $653 million dollars in 2019. In April of 2015, Mother Jones published its investigation, in collaboration with Ted Miller of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, “The True Cost of Gun Violence,†which estimated it to be $229 billion, annually. Americans instinctively want to put all of their energy into arguing about how to shrink that big number. But growing the smaller number is the easier task. Let’s do that.
Our gun violence problem is not a pothole or a main break, but it is equally obvious. Maybe if we could view it as a fiscal issue like any other infrastructure need, we could actually make some progress.
FOOTNOTES: Michael Leppert is a public and governmental affairs consultant in Indianapolis and writes his thoughts about politics, government and anything else that strikes him at MichaelLeppert.com.
The City-County Observer posted this article without editing or bias.
The City-County Observer is pleased to announce that Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke has been selected as the fifth (5th) winner of the CCO 2021 “Outstanding Community Service Award” for his leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the COVID-19 impacted Evansville, Indiana in mid-March, Mayor Winnecke sought to balance protecting public health while maintaining our local economy.
Collaborating with local hospital and health department officials, business leaders, local school and college officials, and other elected local officials, Mayor Winnecke continues to lead and coordinate Evansville’s response to the pandemic.
After the state of Indiana and the entire nation was shut down due to COVID-19, the impacts on the economy and our neighbors were devastating.
In April, Mayor Lloyd Winnecke created the Reopen Evansville Task Force and appointed Deputy Mayor Steve Schaefer to lead a comprehensive community effort to address challenges impacting our city and developing a path forward.
The Task Force continues to work with local businesses, organizations, and health experts to ensure a safe, smooth transition to fully reopening our community.
Mayor Winnecke’s Actions Since The COVID19 Virus:
Prior to COVID-19 spreading to our community, Mayor Winnecke assembled local hospital and Health Department leaders — later known as the Medical Advisory Group — to provide consultation and help inform the public about the virus.
On March 12, Mayor Winnecke signed a Joint Emergency Proclamation, along with the Vanderburgh County Commissioners. The proclamation temporarily closed all City and County-owned buildings to the public.
Mayor Winnecke helped coordinate the COVID-19 Response Fund of the Greater Evansville Region. The fund has boosted essential nonprofit services to area counties. Total contributions to the Response Fund stand at nearly $5.1 million.
The Mayor’s Reopen Evansville Task Force was created in April.
In June, Mayor Winnecke announced a mandatory mask executive order after receiving unanimous approval from the Medical Advisory Group. The order was later rescinded after Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb enacted a statewide mandatory mask order.
The Reopen Task Force created the Reopen Evansville Assistance Portal. The portal connects residents and business owners with financial assistance. The task force also hosted a “Reopen House” for rent and utility assistance prior to the end of Indiana’s statewide moratorium on evictions and utility shutoffs.
After meeting with State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box, local health department officials, and local hospital leaders, Mayor Winnecke issued his second pandemic-related Executive Order in October. Organizers of any social or civic gathering where the total number of those in attendance is expected to exceed 125 persons will be required to submit a written event plan to the Vanderburgh County Health Department at least ten days prior to the event. Mayor Winnecke issued the order after Indiana Health District 10 data revealed community spread was prevalent at large social gatherings and at long-term health care facilities. The Indiana State Department of Health employed strike team visits at Evansville long-term health care facilities for testing and infection control.
Mayor Winnecke continues to make sound, and creative business decisions as the situation merits in order to continue to help keep our local business opened much as possible, while protecting public health.
Because of the Covid-19 virus issues , we have rescheduled a possible date for our awards luncheon for May 27, 2021 Tropicana-Evansville. Â The COVID-19 virus crisis has forces us to reduce our attendees list down to comply with state guidelines. Â If things improve before the date of this event we increase the attendees list.
Joining Mayor Winnecke as a 2021 “CCO Outstanding Community Services Award” winners for 2021 are; the popular State  Senator Vaneta Becker, community activists and prominent attorney Charles L. Berger, the retiring and Honorable Vanderburgh County Superior Court Judge Richard G. D’Amour, outstanding public servant and former Vanderburgh County Treasurer Susan Kirk and the Co-Chairpersons of the “Feed The Hungry” collation of Vanderburgh County, Lisa Vaughn and Evansville City Council member Alex Burton did an incredible job.
IFPA and AFCP Members Overwhelmingly Approve Moving Forward With Proposed Merger
The City-County Observer have just submitted an application for membership.
Columbia, TN and Syracuse, NY –
The Independent Free Papers of America (IFPA) and the Association of Free Community Papers (AFCP), the national associations representing the community publication industry, today announced the approval by both memberships to move forward with their proposed merger. The merger will create an association with one strong voice and clear vision to support the initiatives related to strengthening and promoting the community publication industry. The closing will take place no later than January 31, 2021 or sooner if all the legal details can be completed. The business operations will be blended over the coming months with an effort to make the merger as seamless as possible to members of both organizations.  The combined association will be a member controlled corporation and operate under the name Association of Community Publishers, Inc. (ACP). IFPA President, Rick Wamre, and AFCP President, John Draper issued a joint release stating:   “At the core of this unification is maintaining and enhancing value to our members. For members who belong solely to IFPA or AFCP, the unified entity will bring together member benefits such as CVC circulation audits, peer groups (with even more peers), events, learning opportunities, rising stars and much more. Benefits from each association will now be benefits for all of our collective members.  This unification also will improve operations. Over time, we’ll be able to combine cost centers at a net savings. We can eliminate duplication of efforts, and then focus on developing the solid industry voice our members need. In addition, our advertising network will be more robust and our partnerships with industry vendors more solid.† The two associations developed from a common background in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s as the National Association of Advertising Publishers (NAAP) and this merger will complete a reunification of the two groups. The combined association will represent approximately 200 different publishing companies across the country with a combined circulation of over 9.7 million.
FOOTNOTE: Â The IFPA and AFCP merger has just been approve and The City-County Observer have just submitted an application for membership. This is a developing story.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Department of Health announced today that 955 additional Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 through testing at state and private laboratories. That brings to 684,020 the number of Indiana residents now known to have had the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s dashboard.
To date, 12,617 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19, an increase of 12 from the previous day. Another 406 probable deaths have been reported based on clinical diagnoses in patients for whom no positive test is on record.
A total of 3,247,141 unique individuals have been tested in Indiana, up from 3,242,438 on Saturday. A total of 8,841,759 tests, including repeat tests for unique individuals, have been reported to the state Department of Health since Feb. 26, 2020.
To find testing sites around the state, visit www.coronavirus.in.gov and click on the COVID-19 testing information link.
Hoosiers age 40 and older, along with healthcare workers, long-term care residents, first responders who are regularly called to the scene of an emergency to render medical assistance, and educators and school support staff through grade 12 are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
To schedule a vaccine, visit https://ourshot.in.gov or call 211 if you do not have access to a computer or require assistance.
Additional locations and appointments are being added as more vaccine becomes available.
