SCHAUMBURG, Ill.- The Evansville Otters 2017 season came to an end with a game four loss to the Schaumburg Boomers 3-1 in the Frontier League Division Series.

For the second straight night, Evansville managed just one run. The Otters also saw fielding struggles with two errors in their final game. In total, Evansville committed nine errors across the FLDS.

Schaumburg saw a dominant pitching performance from Joe Hauser. The Boomers starter threw a complete game allowing just five hits in nine innings. Hauser struck out 10 batters and did not issue a single walk. He also sat down 19 batters in a row not allowing a single baserunner in the third through the eighth. Evansville’s Hunter Ackerman took the loss.

The Otters got on the board first in the second inning. Alejandro Segovia led off the frame with a single. Zach Welz then hit an RBI double to give Evansville the 1-0 advantage.

Schaumburg answered back in the bottom half. Zach Weigel hit a single to lead off the Boomers side. When stealing second base, Otters catcher Kolten Yamaguchi threw the ball into centerfield allowing Weigel to third. An RBI single from Sean Godfrey scored Weigel to make it 1-1.

Then in the third, the Boomers would add the final runs of the game. An RBI single from Kyle Ruchim scored James Keller. Then on a groundout to second base, David Harris drove in Ruchim to make it 3-1.

Evansville threatened in the top of the ninth inning. Ryan Long led off with a single to break the stretch of innings without a baserunner. Boomers second baseman Jack Parenty had a chance to turn a double play on a Josh Allen ground ball, but bobbled on the play and was able to only retire Allen as Long reached second.

Kolten Yamaguchi almost had his second hit of the night up the middle of the infield, but Parenty made a spectacular play for the second out allowing Long to reach third. With the tying run Jeff Gardner at the plate, Harris made a diving play in right field to end the game and give the Boomers the series.

The Evansville Otters are the 2006 and 2016 Frontier League champions. For more information, visit evansvilleotters.com or call 812-435-8686.

In the second and final day of action at the Dunn Hospitality Invitational, the University of Evansville volleyball team opened the day with a 3-2 win over UAB before falling to UT Martin by a 3-1 final in the nightcap at Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

Following the tournament, Allana McInnis was named the Purple Aces representative on the All-Tournament Team.

“It was a good tournament performance overall. We are continuing to get the opportunity to rotate people and see them compete and contribute on pressure situations. We like the fact that no matter of who is in, the system stays consistent, and we are able to play at a high level,” Evansville head coach Manolo Concepcion said.  “We know that our offense will continue to improve, especially because our ball control has demonstrated that it can keep in the game against anyone.”

“I am extremely impressed with Allana McInnis’ constant progress, and how she is achieving it,” he continued.  “This award is attributed to the hours that she has spent analyzing and studying her craft in order to get better. The good problem that we have now is that we know that there is still a lot of room to improve, and that we are far from our potential. Now, we go back and watch film these next days, train with mindfulness, and prepare for what will be another high level tournament next weekend.”

Rachel Tam set a career mark with 22 kills in the opening match of the day versus UAB.  She also added 16 digs and two block assists.  Cathy Schreiber notched 13 kills while Mildrelis Rodriguez and Rocio Fortuny registered nine apiece.  Allana McInnis notched 47 helpers while Rodriguez led the squad with 18 digs.

UAB start the match off with two quick points before the Aces rallied back with five in a row.  Rachel Tam had a kill and Cathy Schreiber was credited with an ace in that stretch.  After UAB retook the lead at 9-7, Evansville punched back once again, taking a 15-11 advantage.  Schreiber kept it going, adding another of her seven kills in the set before Rocio Fortuny closed out a 25-21 win with her second kill.

The Aces kept it rolling in a hard-fought second set.  The Blazers held a late 21-19 lead, but a pair of Tam tallies helped UE tie it up at 22-22.  UAB retook a 24-23 lead on a Gabby Deshotel kill, but Evansville was able to fight back for a 26-24 win.  Mildrelis Rodriguez had two kills in the final three points.

After the Blazers regained the momentum with a 25-23 win in the third and 25-20 victory in the fourth, a fifth and deciding set ensued.  UE scored the first three tallies, but UAB came back to make it an 8-8 contest.  Schreiber gave UE the lead for good with a service ace and Tam added two more kills as UE took the match with a 15-12 win.

Schreiber was the leader for UE in the second match, notching 13 kills while Tam finished with 10.

Rodriguez led the way in the first game of the UT Martin matchup as Evansville rallied for a 27-25 win.  The Skyhawks had the early edge as they took an 11-5 lead on back-to-back Hayley Gray kills.  UE made its way back, tying it up at 17-17, but UTM had the answer, retaking a 23-20 lead.  Following a time out, the Aces roared back in a big way, taking the win thanks to a 7-2 run.

UT Martin had its way in the second set, erasing a 9-7 deficit to take a 25-18 win.  The Skyhawks earned the win thanks to a 10-6 run.  They took control in the third game with a 25-14 win before setting the tone early in the 4^th, jumping out to a 5-0 lead before extending it to 13-6.  Evansville never gave up as an Adeline Payne kill helped UE cut the deficit to 18-16 before two Schreiber kills helped tie it up at 19 all.

Rachel Tam had another pivotal play as her kill gave UE a 21-20 edge.  The Skyhawks once again had the answer.  Three in a row was the difference as they took a 25-22 triumph to clinch the match.

Following an exciting opening weekend, UE heads to the Ball State/Butler Tournament next weekend, taking on Ball State, Butler and Duquesne.

The University of Evansville men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled north to compete in the John McNichols Invitational at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.

As a team, the women took fifth place out of five NCAA Division I teams, while the men finished fifth in the five-team DI field.

Sophomore Stanley Chepchieng led the way for the men’s team with a 24th-place finish. The Kabarnet, Kenya native completed the 8 kilometer course in a time of 27:35.6, smashing his PR by 35 seconds. Chepchieng ran amongst the top 10 of the 39-runner field for much of the first two miles of the race before slipping back in the pack.

“That’s what (Stanley) has to do. Where he is going to learn is up there with the big dogs and he did an excellent job today,” said Aces head coach Don Walters.

Just a spot behind Chepchieng was sophomore Ricky Hendrix, who finished 25th and also set a PR in a time of 27:40.4.

A trio of freshman finished 28th, 29th, and 30th as Tyler Freids-Reifsteck, Dawson Hood, and Ethan Price followed each other across the line.

Rounding out the Aces’ men’s team, freshman Kalen Ochs (28:44.4) finished 35th, sophomore Aaron Cochran (30:08.4) finished 37th, sophomore Tucker Dawson (30:39.8) came across in 38th, and freshman Timmy Miller (31:20.1) finished in 39th.

“Everyone that we had out there were either freshmen or sophomores and all of them across the board, for that course and this race today, all did an outstanding job,” said Walters.

For the Aces women’s squad, freshman Anna Lowry paced the Aces’ contingent for the second-straight race. Lowry crossed the finish line in 47th in a time of 20:09.6.

Following Lowry was junior Ashton Bosler in 56th in a time of 20:37.6, freshman Izzy Dawson in 59th with a time of 20:56.2, and freshman Lauren Meyer in 60th in a time of 21:37.7.

Rounding out the Aces’ runners were freshman Lexi Sutherland (22:08.0) in 62nd and junior Hayley Elliot (23:52.4) in 63rd.

“We had two juniors and the rest were all freshman, for what we did today on this course, I’m happy all around,” said Walters on the performance by the women’s team.