Aces score 20 runs in two games

PEORIA, Ill. – A total of 20 runs crossed the plate as the University of Evansville softball team split a doubleheader at Bradley on Saturday afternoon.

Evansville (14-16, 2-6 MVC) opened the day with an 11-2 win in six innings before Bradley (10-18, 5-3 MVC) picked up the second game, 13-9.

“I thoughts we did a great job of scoring runs today,” UE head coach Mat Mundell said.  “We played great in all aspects in game one.  In the second game, we let one inning get away from us.  Bradley took advantage and that was the difference.”

Evansville’s offense came on strong late in Tuesday’s win over UT Martin and kept that momentum going in Peoria.  The Aces offense erupted for 11 runs off of 17 hits.  Bradley took a 1-0 lead in the first before Evansville took the lead for good in the top of the second.  Kristin Koepke hit a 2-run home run to left field, marking the first of her career.

Courtney Land’s RBI single in the third game UE a 3-1 advantage before the Braves saw their second run cross the plate in the bottom of the frame.  In the top of the fourth, a Morgan Lambert RBI knock got that run back before the offense scored a total of seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings.  Hayli Scott had an RBI double while Olivia Cheatham brought two runs home in the fifth.

In the sixth, Danielle Freeman plated the first run with a single.  Morgan Florey’s third hit of the day saw two more score before Susan Norris completed the scoring with a sacrifice fly.  Four Aces notched three hits apiece including: Michal Luckett, Land, Florey and Scott.  Florey made the start for UE, going the distance in giving up two runs on six hits.  She struck out seven.

Bradley scored in each of the first three innings of the second game as they went up by a score of 13-4.  After recording a pair of runs in each of the first two innings, the Braves scored nine times in the third, just after Evansville took a 5-4 lead.

Trailing 4-1 entering the frame, Susan Norris got UE within one on a double that scored Kori Keyes and Chandra Parr.  Two more scored on a Lambert single.  The difference came in Bradley’s half of the third as they plated nine runs on just four hits to open up a 13-5 lead.

The Purple Aces did not give up as they scored two runs in the 5^th and 6^th innings, including a Norris home run.  That is as close as they would get as Bradley hung on for the 13-9 win.  Norris had four RBIs in the second game on three hits.  Parr also recorded two hits.

On Sunday, the teams will settle the series with a single game at noon.

Patrick Schnieders’ complete game and an impressive offensive display on Saturday pushed the University of Evansville baseball team’s winning streak out to four games as the Purple Aces dealt visiting Florida Gulf Coast a pair of losses to secure a three-game sweep at Charles H. Braun Stadium.

“This was a great day for our program, really through all 18 innings,” UE head coach Wes Carroll said. “It started on the mound with Patrick Schnieders, and then Alex Weigand came out and did well battling the conditions and making pitches when we needed him to. Our offense really clicked all day. I think we were able to set the tone on the mound, but really, the team played well in all three aspects of the game all weekend. I feel like things are starting to come together for us at the right time with Valley play starting next week.”

With the wins, which came in 5-1 and 13-7 fashion, the Aces are 14-11 on the year. FGCU, meanwhile, dropped to 13-14.

Schnieders (3-1), who put together a fourth consecutive quality start, was nothing short of dominant, as he picked up the steam from Connor Strain’s performance a day earlier, to toss nine four-hit innings while allowing just one score and striking out seven.

The junior right-hander was also the recipient of early run support as the Aces pushed across three scores in the opening stanza. Singles from Stewart Nelson and Trey Hair got things started for the Aces before a Boomer Synek triple and Jonathan Ramon sac fly plated a pair to make it 3-0.

Josh Jyawook added another in the fourth after he led off with a single. The senior out of Hoffman Estates, Ill., then went to work on the base paths, stealing both second and third before scoring on a Jeff Christen single.

Synek, who ended 3-for-4 to lead all hitters in the contest, plated another in the fifth, and the Eagles grabbed a consolation score with a Matt Reardon sac fly in the top of the eighth.

While the Aces rode dominant pitching to wins in the first two games of the series, the line-up would do the bulk of the work in the finale as UE touched home 11 times in the first four frames to take control.

After swapping a score over the first two innings, Synek and Ramon each brought home a score to put the Aces ahead in the bottom of the third. Jyawook followed up in the ensuing at-bat with a rocket over the fence in right field to score three more. It was the third home run of the season for the preseason All-Missouri Valley selection, and it sent the game into the fourth inning with the Aces leading 6-1.

The Eagles would reclaim three scores in the ensuing half-inning, but the rally was all for naught as Ramon’s two-run single highlighted another five-run frame for the Aces.

Ramon ended the game 4-for-4 with five runs batted in, and Christen enjoyed a three-hit outing as UE out-hit the visitors from Ft. Myers, Fla., 17-11.

Alex Weigand picked up the win on the mound to improve to 2-1 on the season.

UE will be back in action on Tuesday as the team will hit the road once again for a midweek showdown, this time at Western Kentucky. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

NOTES: This weekend marks the first-ever series between Florida Gulf Coast and Evansville … Eleven different Aces players have hit home runs this season, which is the most since 2001, when 13 players left the park … This weekend marks the second series sweep of the season for the Aces … The first was a three-game sweep of Northern Illinois at Braun Stadium last month … UE is 4-0 against the Atlantic Sun this season … Since 1978, UE is 12-30 against teams that hail from the Sunshine State.

The 30^th-ranked University of Southern Indiana baseball team was swept by University of Illinois Springfield, 9-8 and 5-1, Saturday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI saw its record fall to 14-10 overall, 3-3 in the GLVC, while Illinois Springfield finished the day 11-10 overall, 4-2 GLVC.

The Screaming Eagles battled from behind during the entirety of the opening game, but lost 9-8 in the end. USI fought back from deficits of 2-0, 5-2, 6-3, and 9-5, before leaving the tying run at third base after senior shortstopKyle Niemeier (Evansville, Indiana) pulled the Eagles to within 9-8 on a three-run triple in the bottom of the ninth.

Niemeier finished the first game with a team-high three RBIs, while senior third baseman Trent Gunn (Tell City, Indiana) and junior designated hitter Cody Montgomery(Shepherdsville, Kentucky) followed with two RBIs each.

On the mound, junior right-hander Colin Nowak (Carol Stream, Illinois) suffered his second defeat of the season. Nowak (2-2) allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks, while striking out five through five innings of work.

Illinois Springfield started game two the same way it started the opener by jumping out to a lead in the first inning. The Stars increased the margin to 5-0 by the middle of the seventh before the Eagles scratched a run across the plate in the bottom of the final frame.

USI got its only run of the game when senior rightfielder Kyle Kempf (Evansville, Indiana) drove in Niemeier with an RBI-single to right center in the seventh.

USI junior right-hander Lucas Barnett (Sellersburg, Indiana) was tagged with the loss in the nightcap. Barnett (4-2) allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits, in five innings of work, while striking out eight batters for the second game in a row.

The Eagles and the Prairie Stars concluded the four-game series Sunday with a noon doubleheader.