Sophomore pitchers strikes out seven, allows just two hits in seven innings

After an impressive pitching performance on Friday, the University of Evansville baseball team again got a gem from its starter in a 4-1 victory over Butler at Bosse Field on Saturday afternoon.

“What electric stuff tonight from Shane Gray. Just his fastball all night, both sides of the plate, up, down,” said Aces head baseball coach Wes Carroll. “I thought him and Max were in sync the entire game and he was able to get a swing and miss whenever he needed to late in the count and it was a special overall performance for our sophomore and a much-needed series win. Just an overall great performance from out club.”

Sophomore Shane Gray took a no-hitter through 6.2 innings, finishing with seven Ks in seven innings and allowing just two hits and one run in his outing.

Gray got the Aces going in the top of the first, inducing a fly-out to left field and back-to-back groundouts to end the Butler half of the first. Evansville took the lead in the bottom of the first as senior Craig Shepherd smashed a single up the middle and junior Robbie Wilkes followed suit with a base hit to left field. Two batters later, sophomore Indiana Stanley cracked a single through the left side, scoring Shepherd and Wilkes to give Evansville a 2-0 lead.

It was Gray again who sat the Bulldogs down in order, this time including a strikeout to end the inning. In the bottom of the second, the Aces repeated their effort from the first, scoring twice more as senior Troy Beilsmith led off the inning by taking first base after being hit by a pitch. Freshman Max Malley joined Beilsmith on base and the two stole second and third, respectively. With runners in scoring position, Shepherd delivered a two-RBI single up the middle to push the Aces lead to 4-0.

The Aces looked to strike for more runs in the third inning as junior Mark Shallenberger ripped a double down the line and junior Mason Brinkley singled to third with one out. After a wild pitch moved Brinkley to second, Butler ended the Aces threat with two strikeouts to end the inning.

The middle innings were quiet for both teams as neither side registered a hit from the fourth through the sixth inning. Butler got its first and only tally in the top of the seventh inning as a pair of hits got the Bulldogs within three runs at 4-1.

Coming on in relief, freshman Jace Kressin got the job done for the Aces, shutting down the Bulldogs, with two spotless innings, including three strikeouts.

Evansville closes out the series with the Bulldogs on Sunday at noon at Bosse Field.

Haley Woolf hits three home runs in Saturday action

Purple Aces sophomore Haley Woolf hit three home runs in Saturday’s opener to highlight a 12-3 victory over Northern Illinois at the Blues City Classic.  The University of Evansville fell in its second game of the day by a 13-3 final versus Northwestern State.

“Our bats were hot today.  We had a great week of practice working on some adjustments offensively,” UE head coach Mat Mundell said.  “I thought that work really paid off.  Even our outs are well hit.”

The bats came alive in Saturday’s opener with the Purple Aces earning a 12-3 win over Northern Illinois in six innings.  UE wasted little time in getting on the board, scoring four times in the bottom of the first.  Eryn Gould singled with one out to bring home Jessica Fehr for the first run of the frame.  Fehr led the game off with a walk and stole second.

After Alyssa Barela reached on a fielder’s choice, Haley Woolf hit a home run to right-center to extend the lead to 4-0.  Katie McLean continued the scoring with a solo home run in the second.  Northern Illinois plated a single run in the second before scoring twice in the third to get within two runs, but the Aces kept the bats going.

Lindsay Renneisen hit an RBI double in the third to score Kat Mueller before the offense erupted for four runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth.  Barela led off with a single and was pinch run for by Mackenzie McFeron.  She would score on Woolf’s second long ball of the game.  Mueller followed up with a single before Renneisen hit the fourth homer of the game for UE, pushing the lead to 10-3.

Haley Woolf put the finishing touches on her career game, hitting her third ball out of the park to help UE clinch the 12-3 win.  Woolf was 3-4 with her three homers, seven RBI and three runs scored.  Barela and Renneisen each had two hits.  In the circle, Emily Lockhart earned the win, pitching three innings while allowing three earned runs.  Erin Kleffman picked up the save, tossing the final three frames.  Her scoreless effort saw her give up two hits while striking out three.

A quick turnaround saw UE face Northwestern State directly after the first contest.  The Lady Demons scored five runs in the second and two in the third on their way to a 13-3 win in six frames.  Kat Marshall and Kaitlyn St. Clair notched three RBI apiece.

Evansville added its first run in the second when Hannah Hood scored on a wild pitch.  Eryn Gould was responsible for UE’s second run, hitting a solo shot in the third.  The final run also came from the bat of Gould.  Her 1-out double scored Fehr, who doubled to lead off the inning.  NSU clinched the game with five scores in the sixth on their way to the 13-3 win.

Gould had two of UE’s five hits to go along with two RBI.  Gould, Fehr and Hood recorded the runs.  Izzy Vetter made the start, allowing seven runs, six earned, in 2 1/3 frames.  Erin Kleffman tossed three innings and allowed six runs while Jaime Nurrenbern threw the final 2/3 of an inning.  She held NSU scoreless.

Sunday’s slate will see the Aces square off against Memphis for a 1:15 p.m. contest.