Aces take on Belmont and Tennessee State

 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A quick trip south to Nashville is on tap for the University of Evansville softball team this weekend as they take on Belmont and Tennessee State in a total of four games on Friday and Saturday.

The weekend begins on Friday at Belmont with a doubleheader set for 4/6 p.m.  On Saturday, the Purple Aces remain in Nashville where they will take on Tennessee State in a 1:30 p.m. doubleheader.

Evansville opened up the 2017 season last weekend at the Plainsman Invite in Auburn, Ala.  The Aces went 1-4 in the tournament, but finished on a high note with a 3-2 win over Creighton.  Four out of the five opening games were decided by two or fewer runs.  The pitching staff had a nice weekend, notching an ERA of 1.02 while the offense hit .212 to start the season.

Sophomore Morgan Florey tossed the first no-hitter for the program in 13 years, accomplishing the feat in a 3-2 win over Creighton on Sunday.  The last no-hitter thrown by a UE player came on February 22, 2004 when Katie Markle did so in a 2-0 win over Tennessee Tech.  Florey went the distance in the win, giving up two unearned runs while fanning a career-high 10 batters in the win.  For her efforts, she was named the MVC Pitcher of the Week.

Florey threw 20.1 innings in the first weekend and finished with a 0.00 ERA as she did not allow a single earned run.  She struck out 25 batters while walking just six.  The opposition batted .079 against her.  She also had a nice offense weekend, batting .308 with four hits and a pair of RBIs.

The leading hitter last weekend for the Purple Aces was junior transfer Brittany Hay, who started all five games and batted .313.  Hay notched five hits in 16 at-bats while scoring two runs.  She also swiped a pair of bases.  In Sunday’s victory over Creighton, Hay went 2-4 with a run scored.

After leading the offense with a .312 batting average in 2016, Michal Luckett picked up right where she left off in the tournament at Auburn, batting .308.  She recorded four hits in 13 trips to the plate.  Luckett completed the weekend with a 1-2 performance in the 3-2 triumph over the Bluejays.

While Hayli Scott recorded just one hit in the first weekend, it was definitely the biggest hit of the tournament for UE.  In a pinch hit situation against Creighton, Scott hit a game-winning double, which saw UE finish with the 3-2 win.

Belmont is off to the best start in program history, going a perfect 8-0 so far.  Pacing the Bruins at the plate is Lexi Rouse, who has batted .519 with three doubles, two home runs and 12 RBIs.  Rouse is also the top pitcher for Belmont, notching an ERA of 1.05 through the opening two weekends of play.

After opening the season with two wins apiece over UMKC and UMBC, Belmont swept the Western Kentucky Hilltopper Classic last weekend, defeating Western Illinois twice along with WKU and Miami Ohio.

Tennessee State is 3-6 on the season with their victories coming over Jackson State (twice) and Jarvis Christian.  They went 0-5 in last weekend’s Tiger Classic, falling to Iowa State three times and Alabama A&M twice.  Danica Gleason is the top batter for TSU, checking in at .500 with 13 hits in 26 at-bats.  She also leads the way with 8 runs and 7 RBI.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 4-ranked Indiana University men’s swimming and diving team had a great prelim session on Thursday morning at the McCorkle Aquatic Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Indiana will return 18 swimmers and divers for evening finals, including a Big Ten best 10 for Championship Finals. IU also will return seven for Consolation Finals and one for C Finals.

Heading in to Thursday night, Indiana is in the lead with 128 points. Michigan sits in second place with 110 points, while Ohio State is third with 106.

500 Freestyle

In the 500 freestyle prelims, the Hoosiers qualified five swimmers for the evening finals, led by Marwan Elkamash and Jackson Miller.

Elkamash qualified third overall with a NCAA B cut time of 4:15.00 – the second-fastest time in school history – while Miller touched fifth overall with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 4:15.24. Miller’s mark is the third-best time in school history.

Max Irwin qualified 13^th overall and will be one of three IU swimmers in the B Final tonight. Irwin touched the wall with a NCAA B cut time of 4:21.68, while Adam Destrampe came in 15^th in prelims with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 4:21.20. Destrampe’s mark ranks him as the 14^th-best performer in the event at IU. Also, swimming in the B Final will be Trey Hubbuch, who qualified 16^th overall with a personal-best and NCAA B cut mark of 4:21.74. Hubbuch now ranks as the 20^th-best swimmer in the event at Indiana.

Jack Collins placed 26^th overall with a NCAA B cut time of 4:24.92, while Matthew Anderson took 30th with a mark of 4:25.82. Brian Valedon was 46th with a time of 4:29.53.

200 IM

Indiana had an impressive showing in the 200 IM prelims, qualifying three for the Championship Final, including the two top seeds.

Vini Lanza earned the top spot with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 1:43.29 that ranks as the 10^th-best time in school history. Ian Finnerty will be the No. 2 seed in the A Final on Thursday night after touching the wall with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 1:43.33 that places him fifth on the all-time performer list in the event. Blake Pieroni will round out the trio as he qualified sixth overall with a NCAA B cut time of 1:44.46.

Bob Glover qualified 11^th overall and will swim in the B Final after recording a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 1:45.23 that ranks him as the ninth-best swimmer in the event in school history.

Mohamed Samy was impressive as well for IU, cutting over three seconds of his previous best to touch the wall in a time of 1:46.45 and earn a spot in the C Final. Samy ranks as the 13^th-best performer in the event in IU history.

Wilson Beckman placed 26^th overall with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 1:47.11 that ranks him as the 16^th-best performer in school history.

50 Freestyle

Ali Khalafalla had a great swim in the 50 freestyle prelims, setting the school record with a NCAA A cut time of 19.00 that earns him the top seed in Thursday night’s Championship Final. With his time, Khalafalla now owns the top-eight times in Indiana history.

Sam Lorentz also earned a spot in the A Final, qualifying eighth overall with a NCAA B cut time of 19.70.

Josh Romany qualified 11^th overall and will swim in the B Final after touching the wall with a personal-best and NCAA B cut time of 19.79. With his time, Romany now ranks as the 11^th-best performer in school history in the event. Joining Romany in the B Final will be Anze Tavcar, who qualified 15^th with a NCAA B cut time of 19.84.

Oliver Patrouch tied for 25^th overall with a NCAA B cut time of 20.04, while Levi Brock finished 52^nd with a personal-best time of 20.75.

1-Meter Dive

Hoosiers divers had a great preliminary session, with all four making it back for finals on Thursday, including an impressive three divers in the Championship Final. All four divers also achieved NCAA qualifying scores for IU.

Michael Hixon qualified second overall with a total of 426.30, which ranks as the seventh-best score all-time in the event in school history. Hixon ended his list with an exclamation points, hitting his final dive for an incredible score of 91.80.

James Connor qualified fourth overall with a total of 409.55, while Cody Coldren earned the final spot in the Championship Final with a score of 360.00. Joshua Arndt will compete in the B Final after totaling a 325.65.

The Indiana Hoosiers will continue competition at the 2017 Big Ten Championships on Thursday evening with the finals of the 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 freestyle, 1-meter dive and 400 medley relay. The action gets started at 6:30 p.m. ET at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio.

Be sure to keep up with all the latest news on the Indiana men’s swimming and diving team on social media – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

500 Freestyle

Marwan Elkamash – 4:15.00 (NCAA B cut – A Final)

Jackson Miller – 4:15.24 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut – A Final)

Max Irwin – 4:21.68 (NCAA B cut – B Final)

Adam Destrampe – 4:21.20 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut – B Final)

Trey Hubbuch – 4:21.74 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut – B Final)

26. Jack Collins – 4:24.92 (NCAA B cut)
27. Matthew Anderson – 4:25.82
28. Brian Valedon – 4:29.53

200 IM

Vini Lanza – 1:43.29 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut – A Final)

Ian Finnerty – 1:43.33 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut – A Final)

Blake Pieroni – 1:44.46 (NCAA B cut – A Final)

Bob Glover – 1:45.23 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut – B Final)

Mohamed Samy – 1:46.45 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut – C Final)

26. Wilson Beckman – 1:47.11 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut)

50 Freestyle

Ali Khalafalla – 19.00 (School Record, Personal Best, NCAA A cut – A Final)

Sam Lorentz – 19.70 (NCAA B cut – A Final)

Josh Romany – 19.79 (Personal Best, NCAA B cut – B Final)

Anze Tavcar – 19.84 (NCAA B cut – B Final)

T-25. Oliver Patrouch – 20.04 (NCAA B cut)

52. Levi Brock – 20.75 (Personal Best)

1-Meter Diving

Michael Hixon – 426.30 (NCAA Qualifying score)

James Connor – 409.55 (NCAA Qualifying score)

Cody Coldren – 360.00 (NCAA Qualifying score)

Joshua Arndt – 325.65 (NCAA Qualifying score)