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.

With the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on the horizon, the University of Evansville baseball team will look to turn their recent fortunes around in their final home series of the regular season against Missouri State.
The Aces (21-23, 8-7) are coming off their a rough weekend weekend, which saw them get swept by Southern Illinois. It was their first time getting swept in Missouri Valley Conference play, and only their their third series loss this season.

The Aces’ continued it’s struggles against Murray State Tuesday, falling to the non-conference Racers, 6-4 at Evansville’s Charles H. Braun Stadium.

THE OPPOSITION:  • The Bears (15-32, 6-9) bounced back from a four-game losing streak to take 2-of-3 from Dallas Baptist this past weekend in Springfield.

MSU fell to former league rival Wichita State 9-4 in extra innings at home Tuesday night.

THE STARTING ROTATION:  •  The Aces will open the weekend with junior left-hander Nathan Croner (5-6, 4.35 ERA) to face the Bears. Last time out, Croner pitched 4.1 innings against Southern Illinois, allowing five runs on five hits, while striking four, in taking the loss in Evansville’s 6-2 set back. Missouri State will counter with RHP Logan Wiley (3-5, 3.88.

On Saturday, the Aces will send out senior right-hander Justin Hayden (2-2, 4.20 ERA) for his seventh start of the season. Last time out, Hayden gave up three runs, two earned, on five hits, while striking out seven, but suffered the loss in UE’s 4-1 defeat to SIU. The Bears will counter with LHP Jake Lochner (3-2, 5.33 ERA.

On Sunday, neither team has determined a starter yet.

ALL-TIME SERIES:  • The Aces and Bears have met 97 times previously, with Missouri State holding the series edge 57-40, dating back to 1986. The last time the two crossed paths on the diamond, MSU swept UE out of Hammons Field last season three straight. The last time the Aces took a series victory from the Bears was in April of 2013, taking two of three, April 26-28.

University of Southern Indiana Softball erupted for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning as the No. 4 seeded Screaming Eagles earned a 4-0 win over No. 5 seed Wayne State University in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Midwest Region #1 Tournament Thursday evening.

After playing to a scoreless tie through five innings of play, USI broke through with a five-hit inning that saw the first four batters in the frame score runs.

Senior second baseman Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana) began the inning with a lead-off single. She reached second base on a fielder’s choice, sacrifice bunt by junior pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky).

Sophomore outfielder Alicia Webb (Elberfeld, Indiana) followed with an RBI-double to break the scoreless tie, while an RBI-single by senior outfielder/pitcher Caitlyn Bradley (Forest, Indiana) in the next at-bat put USI up, 2-0.

Two batters later, sophomore first baseman Haley Shouse (Borden, Indiana) roped a shot down the leftfield line to score two more runs and extend USI’s advantage to 4-0.

Meanwhile, Leonhardt (20-8) was in typical post-season form as she recorded her 12th complete-game shutout of the year. She held the Warriors to just three hits and did not issue a walk, while striking out four batters en route to her 20th win of the year.

Leonhardt breaks school record for wins
Leonhardt, with the win, becomes USI’s all-time leader in career victories (75). She surpassed USI’s career strikeout record earlier in the year and is just eight away from 700 in her career.