UE wins first MVC series since 2013

Danielle Freeman notched two hits while Morgan Florey got the job done in the circle to lead the University of Evansville softball team to a 3-2 win over Wichita State in the series finale on Sunday at Cooper Stadium.

The win gave Evansville (16-19, 4-8 MVC) its first Missouri Valley Conference series win since 2013 when UE took two out of three at Missouri State.
“I could not be more proud of these girls,” Aces head coach Mat Mundell said.  “The fight that they showed all weekend was great.  We got some timely hits, great pitching and solid defense.  This is a big win for us.”

Freeman had two of UE’s eight hits in the game while Susan Norris and Kristin Koepke also had runs batted in.  Florey pitched all seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits en route to her 9^th win of the season.

Wichita State (21-16, 7-5 MVC) was the first to get on the board as Macklin Hitz hit a solo shot to right in the top of the first inning, but Evansville came right back in the bottom of the frame.  With two on and two outs, Danielle Freeman singled to center to knot the game at 1-1.

In the top of the third, the Shockers retook the lead on a sacrifice fly, but Evansville made another rally in the bottom of the fourth.  Hayli Scott drew a walk to begin the inning before Danielle Freeman laced a long single to center.  After both runners moved up on a sac bunt, Susan Norris hit a double to center to tie it up at 2-2 with one out.  One batter later, Kristin Koepke gave UE its first lead of the day as her single gave the Aces a 3-2 advantage.

Florey handled it from there as she sat the final ten WSU batters down in order to clinch the victory.

Evansville is back on the road for its next eight games.  The road trip begins next weekend with a Saturday doubleheader at Illinois State.

The University of Southern Indiana women’s tennis team was defeated by the ninth-ranked team in NAIA, Indiana Wesleyan University, 9-0, Saturday afternoon at the Evansville Tennis Center. The Screaming Eagles move to 6-9 on the year in dual matches as the loss concludes the non-conference schedule for USI.

The Eagles were swept in doubles play despite tough play from senior Elizabeth Wilm (Evansville, Indiana) and junior Brenna Wu (Evansville Indiana). The duo fell at number one, 8-5.

Moving to singles competition, the Eagles failed to win a match but did compete well in a number of the six singles events. At number-three singles, Wu dropped the first set 6-1 before nearly forcing a third, losing 6-4. Sophomore Jennifer Mizikar (Batavia, Illinois) fell just short of taking the first set before losing, 6-4. In the second set, Mizikar fell 6-1 to drop the match.

The Eagles return to conference play on Friday, making the trip to Louisville, Kentucky to take on Bellarmine University at 1 p.m. On Saturday, the Eagles return to the USI Tennis Courts for an 11 a.m. match with the Pumas of Saint Joseph’s College.

University of Southern Indiana

Indiana Wesleyan University vs Southern Indiana (Apr 09, 2016)

Indiana Wesleyan University 9, Southern Indiana 0
Apr 09, 2016 at Evansville, Indiana (Evansville Tennis Center)

 Jonathan Ramon made it three games in a row with a home run on Saturday afternoon as the University of Evansville slugger helped power the Aces to a 7-2 victory over visiting Wichita State at Charles H. Braun Stadium.

“I think Jonathan has done a really good job of having the right approach at the plate,” UE head coach Wes Carroll said. “He’s not throwing at-bats away, and he’s showing consistency. We’ve known that he’s had the pop and the bat speed, and it’s all coming together for him right now. It’s fun to see.”

“It’s been about trusting the preparation that I put in with the coaches in the fall and then in the spring,” Ramon revealed. “We worked a lot on recognizing pitches and being able to handle them in certain situations, and then capitalizing on the opportunities that I get.”

Ramon, who has nine home runs on the year, has already left the park more in the first 29 games of his senior season than he did in his freshman, sophomore and junior campaigns combined. He finished the day 2-for-4 at the plate with five runs batted in.

The Aces (16-13, 1-1 Missouri Valley) will now head into Sunday’s rubber game looking to pick up a third consecutive series victory.

UE got started quickly on Saturday, crossing the plate four times over the course of a two-out second-inning rally. Josh Jyawook got it going with a double, and back-to-back infield singles from Nate Reeder and Stewart Nelson drew first blood. A bases-loaded walk from Trey Hair later in the frame doubled the advantage before Ramon singled home two more in the ensuing at-bat.

Jyawook and Hair were the only other Aces to pick up multiple hits in the contest, combining to go 4-for-7 with a pair of scores.

From there, Brandon Gomer proved able to limit the Shockers (11-20, 1-1 MVC). The freshman pitcher out of Lenexa, Kan., didn’t allow a run until the sixth, and he finished the game with two earned runs on four hits over 5.2 innings of work. He struck out two, earning his first career victory in the process.

“Brandon’s been throwing well,” Carroll said. “He wasn’t able to get the win with the IU game being called, and for him, he was able to get pitches over the plate when he needed to, despite not having his best stuff. We played some great defense behind him too.”

Ramon established some breathing room an inning later for the Aces bullpen, sending a three-run blast over the wall in left to become the first UE hitter to log nine home runs in a season since Cody Fick in 2011.

UE and WSU will square off on Sunday at 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

NOTES: Overall the Aces have 29 homers this season, the most for any UE team since 2010 … Since 1978, UE is 28-57 against Wichita State … Last season, the Aces were swept in Wichita, but UE picked up two out of three in the Shockers’ last trip to Evansville in 2014 … The first meeting between the two squads was in 1995, the first year that UE was in the MVC … UE dropped three of four games that season before eliminating the Shockers from the Valley tournament … The first series win for UE was in 2005 … Since 1978, the first season that UE participated in NCAA Division I baseball, WSU is the only team from Kansas that the Aces have played … All-time, the Aces are 8-14 in MVC openers and 33-37 in MVC opening series … This weekend marks the third time that UE started conference play with WSU … Previously, the Shockers took three out of four in both 1995 and 2002.

The University of Evansville Women’s Tennis Team (8-14, 0-1) was in action on Saturday when they traveled to Illinois State to take on the Redbirds.  In hard fought action, the Aces were defeated by Illinois State by a final score of 6-1.  The Aces travel to Peoria, IL tomorrow to take on Bradley to wrap up a weekend that in the end will feature three matches in three days.

The lone win goes to sophomore Kennedy Craig at flight six singles.  She had taken a 1-0 lead against Valerija Gercar when the match was retired.  This marks the second win in as many days for Craig.  Last night against Indiana Wesleyan she was able to defeat Marissa Klein by a score of 6-2, 6-2.

Singles Competition

1. Veronika Golanova (ILS) def. Andjela Brguljan (UE) 7-5, 6-1
2. Marcia Tere-Apisah (ILS) def. Katie Delgado (UE) 6-2, 6-2
3. Kadi Ilves (ILS) def. Marina Moreno (UE) 6-3, 6-3
4. Catherine Shulman (ILS) def. Marina Darzyan (UE) 6-1, 6-3
5. Chanel Scudiero (ILS) def. Doreen Crasta (UE) 6-4, 6-3
6. Kennedy Craig (UE) def. Valerija Gercar (ILS) 1-0, retired

Doubles Competition

1. Marcia Tere-Apisah/Veronika Golanova (ILS) def. Marina Darzyan/Doreen Crasta (UE) 6-1
2. Kadi Ilves/Sarah Paulson (ILS) def. Kennedy Craig/Katie Delgado (UE) 6-4
3. Catherine Shulman/Chanel Scudiero (ILS) def. Marina Moreno/Andjela Brguljan (UE) 6-3

Their match on Sunday against Bradley will begin at 10:00 a.m. CST.   On April 16^th the Aces will play host to Drake.  This will mark their first home conference match of the year.  They will follow that up with a home match against UNI the next day.