TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The number of National qualifiers continues to rise for the Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams as the Blazers had another good weekend at two separate meets.

The distance runners for the VU Trailblazers headed up north earlier this week to take part in the GVSU Extra Weekend meet at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich Thursday evening.

The men’s distance crew was led by sophomore Isaac Stanford (Flora, Ill.) who headed a group of VU runners in the 800 meters with a time of 1:53.22, good for fourth overall.

Sophomore Matthew Gray (Washington, Ind.) and freshman Tanner Spence (Carmi, Ill.) ran a tight race, finishing neck and neck with Gray placing 27th with a time of 1:59.14 and Spence ending with a time of 1:59.22 for 28th place.

Freshman Max Pendley (French Lick, Ind.) rounded out the VU runners in the 800 meters with a time of 2:12.43 and a 45th place finish overall.

Freshman Brahym Sakka (Tunisia) had a big day in the 1500 meters, placing second in his heat with a time of 3:57.58 for 27th overall.

Freshman Bryaun Manuel (East St. Louis, Ill.) joined Sakka in the 1500, finishing with a time of 4:17.29 in 64th place.

Freshman Cody Noel (Hebron, Ind.) took on the 5000 meter race, finishing with a time of 16:01.12 in 59th overall.

The VU men’s distance crew Thursday was closed out by freshmen Caden Hostetler (LaGrange, Ind.) and Nathan Whitehead (Vincennes, Ind.) competing in the 3000 meter steeplechase.

Hostetler led the way with a 17th place finish with a time of 10:08.83 and Whitehead ended at 10:34.99 in 24th.

The VU women’s distance runners were led Thursday by freshman Adi Fuller (Evansville, Ind.) who took home 20th in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 11:45.67.

Freshmen Emilly Barbosa (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Grayson Haynes (Sebree, Ky.) competed in the 1500 meter race, with Barbosa winning her heat with a time of 4:50.95 to take 24th, while Haynes posted a time of 5:30.64 in 63rd overall.

Freshman Jasmyn Self (Casey, Ill.) closed out the VU results at Grand Valley State, winning her heat of the 800 meters with a time of 2:31.49 to take home 45th place overall.

“After a six hour drive, Grayson got things started with an 11 second PR in the 1500,” VU Assistant Track and Field and Distance Coach Tyler Steigenga said. “Bryaun improved by the same amount, running 4:17 in his heat.”

“In the 800, Jasmyn led most of her heat and had a big kick in the last 150 meters to win with a new PR of 2:31,” Steigenga added. “Matthew and Tanner ran in the same heat of the 800 and both ran a one second PR to finally break the two-minute barrier for the first time despite a slow first lap.”

“In the steeplechase, Adi, Caden and Nathan all improved on the PRs they set last week,” Steigenga said. “Adi also moved up to 10th in the NJCAA with her time.”

“The fast sections of the 800 and 1500 took place after the steeple, Isaac ran a good race in the 800 to take fourth, just a half second off his PR,” Steigenga added. “Emilly ran a season’s best in her heat of the 1500. She ran a smart race and had a great kick in the last 150 to take the win in her heat and improve on her national qualifying standard.”

“Brahym closed out the night with his second National Qualifier of the season,” Steigenga said. “He ran his best race of the season and took second place. He also moved to eighth overall on the VU All-Time list.”

“This was an awesome meet experience as eleven of the thirteen runners ran a PR or season’s best,” Steigenga added. “We also came away with three new National Qualifiers and five overall. It was a long trip but well worth it. I have so many good things I could say about the way we competed. We really stepped up when we needed to and are looking solid with three weeks to go until Nationals.”

The rest of the VU Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams had to wait until Saturday before they headed up to Indiana State University for the 2024 Sycamore Open.

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University baseball team closed out their Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) weekend series with John Wood Community College Sunday afternoon at Jerry Blemker Field and while playing behind for most of the day, were able to battle back late in both games.

Unfortunately for the host Trailblazers, the late comebacks were not enough as John Wood took game one of the day 13-12 before closing out the series in game two 8-7.

Vincennes had an uphill battle from the beginning Sunday afternoon, with John Wood opening game one of the day with a run in the first, four runs in the second and a run in the third to take an early 6-0 lead.

VU would get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third after back-to-back singles by sophomore Carter Whitehead (Huntingburg, Ind.) and freshman Reed Drabant (Columbia, Ill.), freshman Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.) gave us a glimpse of things to come with a big two-RBI single to cut the deficit to 6-2.

John Wood answered back in the fourth with three runs before the Trailblazers would get a run back in the fifth on another RBI single by Bradyn Douglas.

The visiting Blazers would increase their lead again late in the seventh inning with three runs to take what should have been a commanding 12-3 advantage.

VU had other plans, as Vincennes stepped to bat and got the late rally started with eight of the first nine batters in the inning reaching base safely.

Sophomore Kade Hinton (Fort Wayne, Ind.) led off the inning with a double, followed by back-to-back walks by Whitehead and Drabant and a bases loaded walk for Bradyn Douglas.

Sophomore Blake Heyerly (Monroe, Ind.) plated a pair with a two-RBI single before freshman Bryce Gross (Bridgeport, Ind.) scored two more with a two-RBI double to make it a 12-8 game.

Carter Whitehead drew his second walk of the inning and third walk of the game before Reed Drabant drove in a run after being hit by a pitch.

Bradyn Douglas came through at the dish as he did all game, tying the game with a two-RBI single, giving him three RBIs in the seventh inning alone and doubling his previous career-high with six RBIs in the game.

Vincennes battled all the way back to even the game at 12-12 and send the game into extra innings, where John Wood broke the tie with a run in the eighth.

VU looked to walk it off in the bottom half of the inning but were unable to get the potential winning run to the plate as John Wood escaped game one of the day with a 13-12 victory over the Blazers.

Sophomore Max Lines (Indianapolis, Ind.) got the start in game one of the day for the Trailblazers, throwing three plus innings, allowing eight runs on six hits and striking out one.

Sophomore Josh McCormick (Indianapolis, Ind.) was the first out of the pen for the Blazers, throwing three and two-thirds innings, allowing four runs on six hits and striking out three.

Freshman Colton Okes (Evansville, Ind.) closed out the seventh inning in just two pitches and began the eighth before coming out after just eight pitches in the game.

Sophomore Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) took to the mound to close out the eighth inning, allowing one hit in an inning of work.

“The story in game one is that they scored seven of their 13 runs with two outs,” VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. “We can’t allow that to happen. We’ve got to find a way to get the third out and it’s just disappointing.”

“The guys battled back and had a big inning late,” Barney added. “We took advantage of some walks and mistakes and were able to come up with some big hits. But it wasn’t enough. We put ourselves in a situation to win and it didn’t happen.”

The Trailblazers looked to ride some of this late game momentum into the series finale and come out of the weekend with a win, but again found themselves playing from behind early.

John Wood jumped on the scoreboard early with three runs in the first, a run in the third and four runs in the fourth to take another big 8-0 lead.

Vincennes once again looked poised for a late comeback after freshman Logan Edwards (Corydon, Ind.) drew a walk to lead off the fifth, followed by a single by sophomore Carter Whitehead, one of his three hits in the game and an RBI single by Bryce Gross to put Vincennes on the board for the first time in game two.

Gross was followed by a single by Bradyn Douglas, a bases loaded walk by Blake Heyerly and a run driven in on a fielding error put in play by Kade Hinton to cut the deficit to 8-3.

After a scoreless top of the sixth, the Trailblazers looked to do more damage at the plate and came through with another RBI single by Bryce Gross and a big three-run home run by Blake Heyerly, his fifth of the season and third home run in the last seven games for VU.

Heyerly’s big fly put the Blazers within one going to the final inning of play Sunday and after John Wood went down with another scoreless inning, the Trailblazers again had an opportunity to complete the comeback and either extend the game or close out the weekend with a walk off.

Jace Parnin led off the bottom of the seventh and was able to reach second on another fielding error by John Wood.

This would be as close as Vincennes would get however, as the Blazers stranded the potential tying run at second and John Wood closed out the weekend series by taking game two 8-7.

Freshman Yancey Edlin (Pekin, Ind.) got the start in game two for the Trailblazers, settling down after a tough first inning to throw three and one-third innings, allowing seven runs on five hits and striking out two.

Sophomore Christian Pinson (Elizabethtown, Ky.) was the first out of the pen, allowing one run on five hits and striking out three in two and two-thirds innings on the mound.

Freshman Bryce Gross came in to pitch the seventh, ending the inning without allowing a run on just one hit in nine pitches.

“Game two was a similar story, we needed big hits,” Barney said. “We had the bases loaded in the first inning with nobody out and didn’t score a run. We had a runner at second base in the third and didn’t score him. We had a runner at second in the bottom of the seventh and didn’t even move him.”

“Our hitters have to step up in key situations, that’s it,” Barney added. “That’s the difference in the game. Christian Pinson threw really well. We didn’t make any errors defensively. It just comes down to our ability to come up with big hits in key situations and that’s really been the story of our season.”

The Trailblazers will look to bounce back and build some momentum going into the Conference tournament as VU heads into the final week of the 2024 regular season.

Vincennes will begin the week at home when VU hosts Wabash Valley College at Jerry Blemker Field Tuesday, April 30. First pitch for this game is set for 6 p.m. eastern.

The Blazers will then head into the final MWAC Conference series of the regular season against Parkland College.

VU will host the first two games of this four-game split series Saturday, May 4 at 1 p.m. before the series shifts to Champaign, Ill. for the final two regular season games Sunday, May 5, first pitch Sunday is also set for 1 p.m. eastern.

“We’ve got to find some confidence at the plate,” Barney said. “We have played fairly well defensively. Our pitching has got to get better. Put up some solid innings and allow minimal damage. It’s a tough situation when you are playing from behind all the time but at the same time our offense has got to step up in key situations and apply some pressure to the other team.”

EVANSVILLE, Ind. –  On a windy day in Evansville, Indiana, the visiting Missouri State Bears exploded for six home runs from the fifth inning-on on Sunday, including grand slams in both the fifth and sixth innings, to salvage the series finale over the University of Evansville baseball team, 19-8, at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium.

The Bears struck first for four runs in the top of the first inning to grab an early 4-0 lead, highlighted by a two-run double by catcher Dylan Leach.  Evansville would chip away though with single tallies in the first, second and fourth innings to get back into the contest.

Graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger launched an opposite-field solo home run in the first inning to plate UE’s first run of the contest.  Then, in the second inning, senior shortstop Simon Scherry and freshman second baseman Brodie Peart knocked back-to-back ground-rule doubles to trim the Missouri State lead to 4-2.

Shallenberger then added an RBI ground-rule double in the fourth inning to get UE back within a run at 4-3.  On the play, if the ball had not bounced over the wall, UE would have tied the game, as junior outfielder Harrison Taubert was racing around the bases ahead of Shallenberger.  Taubert was sent back to third base, though, and with runners on second and third and two outs, Missouri State reliever Stephen Schissler (1-0) came on to get a fly-out to end the UE threat.

In the top of the fifth inning, Missouri State exploded for eight runs, highlighted by a Zack Stewart grand slam to right field which capped the eight-run inning.  First baseman Cody Kelly then launched a grand slam in the sixth inning to help the Bears build a 16-3 lead.

After two more solo home runs by the Bears in the sixth inning, UE junior outfielder Ty Rumsey launched a two-run home run of his own in the sixth inning to help UE chip away at the lead.  Shallenberger then launched his second opposite-field home run of the day to left field two batters later.

Missouri State would add its sixth home run of the day in the seventh inning, before UE would plate two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on run-scoring fielder’s choice ground outs to provide the final score.

Shallenberger went 4-for-4 with a double, two home runs, a walk, two runs scored and three RBI to lead the UE offense.  Scherry also added three hits, including a pair of doubles, while Peart had a two-hit afternoon as well.  Rumsey drove in three runs for UE.  Stewart drove in five runs and Kelly added four RBI to lead Missouri State.

With the victory, Missouri State improved to 18-24 overall and 7-11 in the Missouri Valley Conference.  Evansville, meanwhile, dropped to 24-19 overall and 12-6 in the Valley with the loss.  The Purple Aces will try to close out the month of April on a winning note on Tuesday, as UE will travel to Cape Girardeau, Missouri to wrap up a home-and-home mid-week series with the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks.  UE is currently 13-3 in the month of April, and the Purple Aces beat the Redhawks, 6-5, in extra innings in the season’s first meeting on Wednesday, March 13.  Tuesday’s game can be seen live on ESPN+.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Softball closed its 2024 home schedule at USI Softball Field on Sunday by grabbing an 8-2 win over Tennessee State University, clinching its sixth Ohio Valley Conference series win, behind the leadership of the 2024 senior class for the Screaming Eagles.
 
In Southern Indiana’s (20-19, 14-10 OVC) home half of the first inning, the USI seniors wasted no time making an immediate impact in Sunday’s contest. Seniors Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana) and Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) joined sophomore Caroline Stapleton (Shirley, Indiana) in getting on board and loading the bases. Then senior Sammie Kihega (Greenfield, Indiana) lifted a pitch opposite field and over the right field fence for her second grand slam and fourth home run of the season to put USI up early, 4-0.
 
Tennessee State (24-22, 15-9 OVC) cut USI’s lead in half, 4-2, following a sac fly in the third inning and another sac fly in the fourth frame. The Tigers threatened for more in the fourth, but USI junior pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) ended the threat and the inning with her 200^th strikeout of the 2024 campaign.
 
Following a highlight diving catch by Bedrick in the top of the fifth, Kihega added to her day at the plate and to the USI lead with an RBI double to left field in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kihega’s fifth RBI on the afternoon gave the Screaming Eagles a 5-2 advantage.
 
The Screaming Eagles posted extra insurance in the bottom of the sixth inning when junior infielder Hailey Gotshall (Lucerne, Indiana) drove in junior outfielder Kennedy Nalley (Huntingburg, Indiana) with a bases-loaded RBI single. Fair followed with a sac fly to bring home Bedrick, and then Kihega put the icing on the series-clinching victory with an RBI single to increase USI’s lead to 8-2.
 
Behind the offensive spark by the three seniors and the top of the batting lineup, Southern Indiana registered eight runs on 12 hits. Bedrick finished with two hits and two runs, while Fair had a hit, a run, and an RBI. Kihega went 3-3 with a run and a USI season-high six RBIs at the plate. Stapleton also recorded a three-hit day with three runs scored.
 
Newman picked up her 17^th win of the season (17-8), holding Tennessee State to two runs – one earned – off four hits in the complete game. The right-hander struck out four in the contest.
 
Tennessee State junior pitcher Caitlyn Manus was charged with the loss, going to 11-11 this year. Manus pitched the first five innings, surrendering five runs off seven hits.
 
Not only did Sunday’s win add to the senior day festivities recognizing Bedrick, Fair, and Kihega, but the victory also moved Southern Indiana into sole possession of fourth in the Ohio Valley C

Aces wrap up regular season at Illinois State next weekend

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Seven runs in the first two innings helped Missouri State complete the weekend with a 10-4 win over the University of Evansville softball team on Sunday at Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at Cooper Stadium.

Missouri State turned five first-inning hits into three runs to take the early lead.  Evansville recorded a pair of hits in the bottom of the inning with Zoe Frossard and Brooke Voss hitting singles, but UE could not push its first run across the plate.

In the top of the second, the Bears added to their lead with a 4-run inning highlighted by a 2-run homer from Annie Mueller that extended the lead to 7-0.  A 2-spot in the third capped a 9-0 start.

Brooke Voss launched a 2-run homer in the bottom of the third to get UE on the board.  One inning later, Brooke McCorkle helped two more runs cross the plate.  With two runners on, McCorkle hustled to first base, resulting in an error that scored two runs to make it a 10-4 game.

Purple Aces starter Sydney Weatherford allowed nine runs in 2 2/3 innings while Elle Jarrett gave up one run in 1/3 of a frame.  Megan Brenton tossed a scoreless four innings.  Voss led the offense with two hits and two RBI.

Regular season play comes to a close next weekend when the Aces travel to Normal, Ill. to face Illinois State.