Evansville defeats Alabama State, falls to Troy

 

TROY, Ala. – In Saturday’s action at the Trojan Invite, the University of Evansville softball team split a pair of games, defeating Alabama State by a 2-0 final before falling to Troy by a 5-4 final in walk-off fashion in game two.

“I am extremely proud of the way our ladies played today,” Aces head coach Mat Mundell said.  “In the first game, our pitching was amazing.  Against Troy, I thought we were the aggressors all game.  We battled on every single pitch, which is a theme for the season.  If we play like that, we will have a fun year.”+

Morgan Lambert recorded three of UE’s four hits in game one, going a perfect 3-3 from the plate while knocking in both of the Aces’ runs.  Amanda Blankenship got the job done with her pitching, allowing just one hit in her five innings of work.  She struck out six batters.  Morgan Florey went the final two innings, fanning four on her way to the save.

Evansville grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first.  Danielle Freeman reached the base paths via a double and was brought home on a 2-base hit from Lambert.  Blankenship kept the Hornets off the board as the Aces continued to hold the 1-0 lead until the 6^th inning.  That is when Lambert struck again.  With one out, she posted her first home run of the season to give the Aces a 2-0 lead heading into the 7^th.  Florey finished it up from there, sitting ASU down in order to clinch the win.

In game two, a battle down to the wire saw Troy walk it off to take a 5-4 win.  Evansville opened the scoring in the top of the second as Olivia Cheatham singled to right to plate Kristin Koepke.  Another run was added in the next frame as Chandra Parr doubled to center to score Danielle Freeman.

Troy remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when a 3-run home run saw them take a 3-2 advantage.  In the next half inning, the Aces tied it right back up as a Lambert ground out scored Tess Hupe, who walked earlier in the inning.  Two innings later, a Freeman single put the lead back into UE’s hands, but two Troy runs in the bottom of the inning saw them grab the walk-off win.

Iles stops 31 shots in Cyclones shutout of Evansville in first of home-and-home weekend series.

Records:  Evansville: 18-23-4-1; Cincinnati: 24-19-3-2

Goalies:   CIN – Iles (W), 9-7-1-0, 31 saves, SO

EVN – Greenham (L), 5-4-1-0, 33 saves

Scoring:

1^st Period: 1. CIN – Huard 14 (Noonan, 14:05)

2^nd Period:  No Scoring

3^rd Period:  2. CIN – Budish 18 (Wilson, Mulvey, 13:15)

CINCINNATI, OH – A 31 save shutout from goaltender Andy Iles led the Cincinnati Cyclones past the Evansville IceMen 2-0 Saturday at US Bank Arena, snapping Evansville’s three game winning streak.

The Cyclones peppered IceMen goalie Scott Greenham with 19 shots in the first period, and struck first when Nick Huardscooped up a blocked shot in front of the net and slid the puck behind Greenham’s right pad with 5:55 left in the frame. Evansville managed seven shots on Iles, but trailed 1-0 after one.

The IceMen held a slight shots advantage in a scoreless second period, but Iles stopped all 11 Evansville shots. Greenham made several big saves early in the stanza to keep the score 1-0, bringing his two-period total to 28.

Zach Budish added an insurance goal to the Cyclones’ lead with 6:45 left in regulation when he deflected a Joe Wilsoncentering pass under the crossbar. Iles stopped 13 more shots in the final period for his first shutout of the season, while Greenham made 33 total saves in the loss.

The teams return to Evansville Sunday to wrap up the weekend home-and-home series at the Ford Center at 6:15pm. It will be heart night, presented by Deaconess Heart Group, and fans can take advantage of a special Valentine’s Day ticket special that includes two goal zone seats, a rose, chocolate and a photo on the ice after the game for just $40.

UPCOMING HOME GAMES

Sun. 2/14 – Cincinnati at Evansville (6:15pm) – Ford Center

Heart Night – Valentine’s Day

Fri. 2/26 – Atlanta at Evansville (7:15pm) – Ford Center

                        Pink the Rink Weekend – Paint the Ice

Sat. 2/27 – Atlanta at Evansville (7:15pm) – Ford Center

                        Pink the Rink Weekend – Jersey Auction

 

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HEART NIGHT WITH YOUR VALENTINE

Come celebrate Valentine’s Day with your significant other and the Evansville IceMen Sunday at 6:15pm when the IceMen take on the Cincinnati Cyclones at the Ford Center, presented by Deaconess Heart Group. Need an idea for a Valentine’s Day date? The IceMen have a ticket special for you. For just $40 you can get two goal zone tickets, a rose, chocolate, and a photo on the ice after the game.

SUNDAY – SUBWAY FAMILY NIGHT

Bring your friends and family out to the Ford Center Sunday by taking advantage of the Subway Family Night ticket special. It includes a Goal Zone or Corner ticket to the game, an IceMen Subway t-shirt, and vouchers for popcorn and a soda, all for just $21. There is also an opportunity to upgrade to Center Ice or Club seats for just $4 more. Evansville hosts Cincinnati this Sunday at 6:15pm.

DOMINO’S 4-GAME HAT PACK

Choose any four IceMen home games and get a FREE limited edition IceMen hat and a large 1-topping Domino’s pizza, starting at only $17 per ticket. Call the IceMen front office at 812-421-GOAL (4625) for details.

Visit us at www.evansvilleicemen.com, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter @EvvIceMen for more information about your hometown professional hockey team.

ALLENDALE, Mich.-The University of Southern Indiana men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams recorded seven NCAA Division II provisional qualifying marks this weekend at the Grand Valley State University Big Meet.

Sophomore Emily Roberts (Fredericktown, Ohio) paced the women’s squad with a third-place finish in the 5,000 meters. Roberts finished with an NCAA II provisional mark of 16 minutes, 40.32 seconds, good enough for third-place all-time at USI in the event.

Roberts was joined with a provisional mark by senior Jessica Reeves (Midland, Michigan), who finished ninth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:18.14.

Sophomore Jenna Martin (Evansville, Indiana) led the Screaming Eagles’ contingent that competed at the University of Indianapolis Tom Hathaway Distance Carnival. Martin finished first in the long jump with a season-best mark of 17 feet, 6.25 inches. She also was fourth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.26 seconds.

USI’s men, ranked No. 21 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association Top 25 Computer Rankings, had five provisional marks at the GVSU Big Meet.

The Eagles finished second in the distance medley relay with a school-record time of 10:01.17. USI’s DMR team consisted of senior Johnnie Guy (Palmyra, Indiana), junior Chase Broughton (Marengo, Indiana), sophomore Jesse Stanley (Chandler, Indiana), and freshman Darius Payne (Louisville, Kentucky).

Guy and Broughton also finished fifith and ninth, respectively, in the mile with NCAA II provisional times of 4:08.74 and 4:10.14, respectively. Juniors Josh Guy (Palmyra, Indiana) and Noah Lutz (Evansville, Indiana) also posted provisional marks in the 5,000 meters with times of 14:27.13 and 14:38.89, respectively.

Freshman DeAvion Sullivan (Evansville, Indiana) and junior Micheal Hammonds (Evansville, Indiana) also had strong weekends. Sullivan ran the second-fastest 400-meter time in program history when he crossed the tape in 51.14 seconds, while Hammonds was second in the weight throw and ninth in the shot put at the Tom Hathaway Distance Carnival.

Senior Marius Ulrich (Wesseling, Germany) and junior Cain Parker (Petersburg, Indiana) finished second and fourth, respectively, in the mile to aid the Eagles at UIndy.

USI returns to action February 27-28 when it competes at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Indoor Championships in Somers, Wisconsin.