Box Score

The University of Evansville women’s soccer team dropped its regular season opener to Southeast Missouri State University, 2-0, on Friday night at Arad McCutchan Stadium.

The Purple Aces were able to stymie SEMO in the first half as the Redhawks fired six shots with a pair of them on-goal that freshman goalkeeper Michaela Till saved.

SEMO posed its first threat in the seventh minute as Esmie Gonzalez looped a free kick from the top of the box over the wall. Till jumped and tipped the ball just over the crossbar to preserve the scoreless tie.

Early in the second half, SEMO found its breakthrough in the 52nd minute as Paige Blankenheim took a shot just beyond the top of the box and slipped it into the back of the net to give the Redhawks a 1-0 advantage.

The Aces threatened in the 73rd minute when senior Montana Portenier took a shot from distance that was saved by Redhawks goalkeeper Kindra Lierz. Just four and a half minutes later, SEMO gained some breathing room as Maddy Cornell scored from the top left corner of the box to provide the Redhawks with a 2-0 lead.

In the match, SEMO out-shot the Aces 13-3 with a 6-1 advantage on shots on goal.

“We had effort. Which is what we were talking about, trying to fight and organize things and just make sure we pressured them and I think we did that for the most part,” said Aces head coach Krista McKendree. “We still have to find a way to keep (the ball) a little bit more whenever we do win it, but obviously we’re learning in the back and that’s what we’re working on.”

The Evansville Otters took a 4-0 lead in the first inning and cruised to a 10-3 win over the River City Rascals in front of a sellout crowd of 6,137 at Bosse Field Friday.

Evansville’s scoring outburst in the first started with a Ryan Long single and was followed by Josh Allen’s two-run home run, giving the Otters a 2-0 lead. The homer was Allen’s 15^th of the season.

Dane Phillips and Jeff Gardner followed with back-to-back walks and John Schultz’s RBI single extended the advantage to 3-0. Gardner would score on a Brandon Soat RBI single that pushed the lead to 4-0 as the first five Otters reached base before an out was recorded.

The Rascals responded with three runs in the second, starting with Brandon Thomas’ RBI single. After a sacrifice fly made it 4-2, Josh Ludy hit an RBI single that scored Braxton Martinez to make the score 4-3.

The score remained 4-3 until the fifth when Allen tripled and scored on Phillips’ RBI single. Gardner delivered a triple of his own, scoring Phillips and pushing the Otters lead to 6-3.

Allen’s sacrifice fly in the sixth made it 7-3.

In the seventh, Alejandro Segovia hit an RBI double to score Schultz, pushing the Evansville lead to 8-3. Segovia would score on an RBI single by Nick Walker. Christopher Riopedre’s sacrifice fly capped the scoring.

Allen finished a single shy of the cycle, going 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs.

Gardner, Schultz and Segovia each had two hits and an RBI apiece. Walker was 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Luc Rennie picked up his sixth win of the season for Evansville, allowing three runs off six hits while striking out seven.

River City’s Tim Koons took the loss, giving up six runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.

The Otters and Rascals battle again from Bosse Field on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

On Saturday, it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Night at Bosse Field with the game being sponsored by Marathon. Pink bracelets will be handed out to early arriving fans at the gates. Fans will also have the opportunity to bid on themed, game-worn jerseys throughout the game.

The Boonville High School Band will be at the ballpark, performing on the front lawn before the game and playing the National Anthem as well.

Fans can listen live to the game on 91.5 FM WUEV and watch on the Otters Digital Network. Preston Leinenbach (play-by-play) and Bill McKeon (analysis) will provide coverage.

Tickets for Saturday are still available by going to evansvilleotters.com or calling 812-435-8686.