University of Southern Indiana Baseball was outslugged by Bellarmine University, 14-7, in the second round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Baseball Tournament Friday afternoon in Springfield, Missouri. USI, the sixth seed, moves its record to 30-20, while Bellarmine, the seventh seed, goes to 31-19.

The loss forces USI to play an elimination game Saturday at 9 a.m. against second-seeded Maryville University. Maryville, who was swept by the Eagles in the final regular season series, survived an elimination game with Missouri University of Science & Technology, 9-4, this morning.

USI was forced to climb out of a hole early as Bellarmine scored four times before the Eagles had a chance to come to plate in the first. The Eagles responded by scoring five times to take a 5-4 lead.

USI sophomore leftfielder Aaron Euler (Evansville, Indiana) and junior designated hitter Manny Lopez (Santo Dominigo, P.R.) ignited the Eagles’ first inning rally. Euler drove in a run with a RBI-triple to get USI on the board, while Lopez followed doubled to score USI’s second run of the game.

The Eagles tied the score 4-4 on a RBI-singles by junior rightfielder Zach Pate (Evansville, Indiana) and senior second baseman Jacob Fleming (Evansville, Indiana). Pate would give the Eagles the lead, 5-4, by stealing home to conclude the scoring in the first.

The Knights regained the lead with a two-spot in the top of the second, but USI rallied once again to knot the contest at 6-6, when sophomore centerfielder Bryce Krizan (Mt. Vernon, Indiana) scored on a passed ball.

Bellarmine took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to grab a 9-6 advantage. USI closed the gap to 9-7 when sophomore shortstop Ethan Hunter (Terre Haute, Indiana) tripled and crossed the plate on a ground out by Fleming, but that would as close as the Eagles would come the rest of the way.

Including the fifth, the Knights strung together five innings of one or two runs each frame in building the 14-7 final score.

At the plate, Krizan tied a career-high with a four-for-four performance, scoring twice, while Fleming had a team-high two RBIs.

On the mound, senior right-hander Austin Gossmann (Avon, Indiana) took the loss. Gossman (5-2) allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks

The Evansville Otters will be celebrating their 25^th anniversary season in 2019, starting on Friday, May 10, and big events are planned to commemorate the season.

The Otters will soon be announcing a partnership night with Habitat for Humanity that will be full of excitement. Mark your calendars for July 12 and stay tuned for full details on “Otters and Habitat Partnership Night.”

The Otters are also working alongside the community in a non-profit giveback program. The organization has chosen to work with 14 non-profits to help reach out to their supporters and invite them to enjoy an Otters game. For a full list of non-profit sponsors, visit evansvilleotters.com/promotions.

June 27 at Bosse Field will be “14 WFIE Night at the Otters.” 14 WFIE has been a strong media partner with the Evansville Otters, and the partnership will continue with a night of baseball at Bosse Field.

The night will feature a ROKU giveaway courtesy of 14 WFIE. WFIE will also live stream the Otters game that night.

As part of the 25^th anniversary celebration, some upgrades are expected to be made to the facility at Bosse Field to help electrify the entertainment and atmosphere at the ballpark.

It took a dozen innings, but the University of Evansville baseball team managed to edge Missouri State 4-3 in an all-important Missouri Valley Conference series opener Friday night at Charles H. Braun Stadium.

“It was just awesome, getting a walk-off win, especially in extra innings”, said Aces head coach Wes Carroll. “A lot of great baseball being played by both teams, especially on the mound, and for us to finally deliver a barrell there, and get a hop here at home, means a lot to our club.”

The game began as a pitchers duel as the Aces junior left-hander Nathan Croner and his Bears counterpart Logan Wiley combined to keep the game scoreless through the first four innings.

In the fifth, MSU would break through, as Dakota Kotowski delivered an RBI double to left off Croner, pushing across the first run of the game, However, that would be the only blemish on the night for the junior southpaw, as he went seven frames, striking out six, while allowing the one run on five hits.

Evansville would anser back in the bottom of the fifth, as freshman A.J. Fritz drilled a clutch two-out single to left, driving in sophomore first baseman Tanner Craig for the equalizer.

The seventh inning would see the Aces take the lead, sophomore pinch hitter Pete Vaccaro was the beneficiary of a Missouri State error, that allowed senior third baseman Sam Troyer to tally the go-ahead run. Later in the inning. a wild pitch would score A.J. Fritz for an insurance tally, making it 3-1 Evansville.

However, the Bears would strike for two runs on the UE bullpen in the eighth, knotting the game up and eventually sending it to extra innings. That’s where freshman reliever Shane Gray (3-1) dazzled, getting in and out of trouble, keeping the game tied at three through 2 2/3 innings of work, striking out four in the process.

The Aces would finally get a chance to end it in the bottom of the 12th, which began with freshman catcher Jacob Veseckycoming off the bench and coming up with a clutch one-out double. UE would eventually load up the bases with two outs, when senior left fielder Matthew Jones hit a hot shot to shortstop, then beat out the throw to first, allowing Vesecky to tally the game-winner.

The victory improved Evansville overall record to 22-23 and 9-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference play, while Missouri State drops to 15-33 and 6-10 in the MVC.

Game two of the series is back at Braun Stadium Saturday, with the start time mover up to 12 p.m. CT, due to predicted inclement weather in the Evansville area.