EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana senior first baseman Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) hit a third inning grand slam and junior right-hander Gavin Seebold (Jeffersonville, Indiana) took a no-hitter into the sixth as the Screaming Eagles defeated the University of Tennessee at Martin, 4-2, Saturday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI is 16-23 and 6-8 in the OVC, while UTM goes to 14-24, 6-8 OVC.
 
Seebold (5-2) was dominating through six innings, setting down 13 of the first 15 Skyhawks. The junior right-hander allowed one run on two hits (both in the sixth) and one walk, while striking out five batters.
 
USI freshman right-hander Clayton Weisheit (Ferdinand, Indiana) finished the game for the Eagles, going two innings to get his third save of the season. Weisheit allowed a hit and struck out one in his two innings.
 
Junior right-hander Peyton Brown (Clemmons, North Carolina) followed Seebold to the mound, allowing a run on three hits and struck out two in the seventh.
 
Ebest provided all the offense the Eagles would need with one swing of the bat. The senior first baseman, who has hit round trippers in back-to-back games, crushed a two-out grand slam over the center field wall to give USI a 4-0 lead and the margin of victory. The home run was sixth of the season for Ebest, who had a team-high 38 RBIs this spring.
 
After the blast to go up 4-0, the Skyhawks challenged with a run in the sixth and seventh to cut the USI margin to 4-2 before the Eagles shut the door on the victory.
 

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Softball played a marathon 16-inning game to open its weekend series at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Saturday, getting edged 2-1, before capturing a 4-2 victory in the late cap of a doubleheader.

Saturday’s 16-inning series opener was three innings shy of the longest game in USI Softball history against Columbus State University in March 1999. The last time a USI Softball game went at least 15 innings was a 16-inning affair in April 2005 against the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Junior pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) went mano-a-mano against SIUE senior pitcher Sydney Baalman in the pitching circle. Newman set a new career high with 15.2 innings pitched while throwing 189 pitches (138 for strikes). Her counterpart, Baalman, made 250 pitches (154 for strikes) in 16 innings of work.

Newman set the tone early by striking out the side in order in the first inning and fanning the first four batters faced. Both pitchers were dialed in, posting zeroes through the first four frames.

It was in the top of the fifth inning when the Screaming Eagles struck first. A double by Newman was followed by an RBI double from freshman infielder Sydney Long (Haubstadt, Indiana) to give USI a 1-0 lead.

Southern Indiana maintained its 1-0 advantage, looking to close out the game in the bottom of the seventh, but SIUE did not surrender. The Cougars tied the game at one after back-to-back doubles to push the game into extra innings.

SIUE threatened with a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the duel between starting pitchers carried on. USI had its chances with a runner in scoring position in the 11^th and 12^th innings but could not get one across home plate. The stalemate continued.

USI had runners at second and third with one out in the top of the 15^th, but SIUE was able to get out of the jam. Reaching the bottom of the 16^th inning, SIUE had a leadoff single and advanced the runner to third before a one-out sac fly was deep enough to left field to bring in the game-winning run.

SIUE’s Baalman struck out nine, allowed one run off 10 hits and five walks, and improved to 4-13 on the season. Newman dropped to 14-8 with the hard-luck loss after giving up two runs – one earned – off eight hits with 13 strikeouts.

Newman’s performance pushed her OVC-leading season totals for strikeouts to 188 and innings pitched to 162.2. Both totals would rank in the top five in the nation, but USI does not qualify for official NCAA statistical rankings as a reclassifying program. Through Saturday, Newman has already set career highs this season for complete games (21), innings (162.2), and strikeouts (188).

In the second game of the twin bill, USI wasted no time generating some offense in the first inning. The Screaming Eagles got runners to second and third before senior Lexi Fair (Greenwood, Indiana) doubled home a run. A sac fly by senior Sammie Kihega (Greenfield, Indiana) brought in a second run, giving USI a 2-0 advantage.

While sophomore pitcher Raegan Gibson (Louisville, Kentucky) started the game and was in good rhythm through the first three innings, Southern Indiana doubled its lead in the fourth inning. Following a leadoff double by Kihega and a single from Sydney Long, freshman infielder Shelby Stivers (Louisville, Kentucky) doubled to right field to drive in both Kihega and Long to put USI ahead 4-0.

The Cougars would answer with two runs off a solo home run and an RBI single to cut the Screaming Eagles’ lead in half, 4-2, through four innings.

From that point on, Gibson and Southern Indiana’s defense shut out SIUE to even the weekend series.

The performance by Gibson was her first win of the season, improving to 1-3, and her first career complete game. Gibson’s previous career mark for innings pitched was 5.1 innings against the University of St. Thomas earlier this season on USI’s opening weekend.

SIUE’s senior pitcher Kelsey Ray was dealt the loss, moving to 7-7 this season. Ray lasted 3.2 innings, allowing four runs and two earned before handing the ball off to sophomore hurler Rylie Pindel for the final 3.1 innings.

Following the doubleheader split, Southern Indiana went to 17-18 on the season and 11-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference. SIUE ended the day 15-28 overall and 7-13 in conference play.

CANTON, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team opened their weekend Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) series at Spoon River College Saturday afternoon with an excellent pitching performance by freshman Carson Allen (Louisville, Ky.).

Allen would throw a nine-inning complete game in game one of the doubleheader to guide the Trailblazers to a 9-3 win.

This is the first nine-inning complete game for the Trailblazers since May 2, 2021, when Sam Steimel threw a nine-inning shutout at Parkland College.

Spoon River would bounce back in game two, picking up a 7-6 victory in walk-off fashion to split the first two of this four-game series.

Vincennes got on the scoreboard first in game one of the day, driving in a run on four-straight two out walks by sophomores Brandon Juarez (Evansville, Ind.), Trevor Newman (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Kade Hinton (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.).

VU would add to this early lead in the fourth after Newman led off the inning with a double and came in to score on a successful squeeze play sac bunt by Jace Parnin, giving him two early RBIs.

Spoon River would get a run back in the fifth before VU regained control of the game with a big five-run sixth inning.

Kade Hinton got the action on the base paths started with a single, the third of five times he would reach base safely in this game.

After walks by Parnin and sophomore Jack Robinson (Mooresville, Ind.) loaded the bases, freshman Bradyn Douglas cleared the bases with a three-RBI single to put the Blazers ahead 5-1.

VU wasn’t done there though, after sophomore Blake Heyerly (Monroe, Ind.) reached on a hit by pitch, freshman Nate Montgomery (Lexington, Ind.) came through with a two-RBI single to give the Trailblazers a commanding 7-1 advantage.

Spoon River would answer back in the bottom half of the sixth with a pair of runs, however, this would be as close as the Snappers would get as VU added a pair of runs in the ninth on an RBI singles by Trevor Newman and Jace Parnin, giving Parnin three RBIs in the game.

Spoon River would get a base runner in the ninth but were unable to push a run across as the Trailblazers closed out game one and picked up the 9-3 victory.

Freshman Carson Allen got the start in game one for the Trailblazers and the freshman finished what he started, going all nine innings, allowing three runs on nine hits and striking out three.

Allen was able to go the distance on the mound by being very efficient, throwing 15 or less pitches in eight of his nine innings, including retiring the side in the third inning on just three pitches.

VU looked to keep this momentum going into game two of the day and complete the daily doubleheader sweep, but unfortunately had to play from behind early after Spoon River scored two runs in the second.

Vincennes would get on the scoreboard in the fourth after back-to-back walks led off the inning by Blake Heyerly and Nate Montgomery.

Freshman Corbin Napier (Indianapolis, Ind.) would drive in the first run of the game for the Trailblazers with an RBI single and later come around to score on a passed ball to even the score at 2-2.

Spoon River would regain the lead with a run in the bottom of the fourth, but the Trailblazers continued to fight and took their first lead of the game in the sixth.

Nate Montgomery led off the sixth inning with a single, giving him two hits in the game and reaching base safely in all three plate appearances, followed by a pinch hit, hit by pitch by freshman Noble Johnson (Terre Haute, Ind.).

Kade Hinton put the Blazers on top for the first time in the game with a clutch three-run home run, his third career home run and first of the season.

Spoon River would get a run back in the bottom of the sixth to cut the VU lead to 5-4 before the Blazers added an insurance run in the seventh after Jack Robinson led off the inning with a walk, his third free pass of the game.

Robinson would come around to score on a pinch hit RBI single by sophomore Bryan Kohlmeyer (Paris, Ill.) to give the Blazers a 6-4 lead going into the bottom of the seventh.

Spoon River would battle back unfortunately, taking advantage of some walks and an error to come all the way back and pick up the walk-off victory 7-6 over the Blazers.

Freshman Kaleb Marrs (Terre Haute, Ind.) got the start in game two of the day for the Trailblazers, throwing five innings, allowing three runs, two earned on three hits and striking out three.

Freshman Yancey Edlin (Pekin, Ind.) got the call out of the bullpen for the final inning and one third, allowing four runs, two earned, on four hits and striking out two.

The Trailblazers will look to bounce back and close out the weekend strong in the final two games of this MWAC series tomorrow, Sunday, April 21 at Spoon River College. First pitch tomorrow is scheduled for 1 p.m. eastern.

PEORIA, Ill. –  The University of Evansville baseball team extended its winning streak to seven games on Saturday afternoon, as the Purple Aces posted a 6-1 victory over the Bradley Braves at Dozier Park in Peoria, Illinois.

“Today was a great win, and we continue to play good baseball,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “It really started on the mound for us today, as Donovan Schultz gave us a superb effort, giving us seven strong innings.  Then, I thought that Max Hansmann was outstanding for his two innings, and really had a nice three-pitch mix going today.

“Offensively, we did enough today.  Obviously, Mark Shallenberger had a big three-run home run for us, which was huge.  Harrison Taubert also came through with a big two-out RBI hit to extend our lead from four to five runs to really put things out of reach today.  It’s always great to win a series on a Saturday, but we have to come to the park looking for more tomorrow.”

Evansville took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI double to right-center field by senior shortstop Simon Scherry.  UE then broke things open with a four-run fourth inning, as junior outfielder Ty Rumsey opened the scoring in the frame with an RBI single to right field, before graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger crushed a long three-run home run to right field to give UE a 5-0 lead.

Bradley’s lone run of the game came in the fourth inning, as the Braves strung together three-straight two-out base hits off of UE starter Donovan Schultz to trim the UE lead to 5-1.  But, Schultz worked out of the jam, and would shut down the Braves the rest of the way.  Overall, Schultz (2-1) earned the victory by limiting Bradley to a single run on seven hits in a career-best 7.0 innings of work with four strikeouts.

Junior outfielder Harrison Taubert would provide UE with an insurance run with a two-out RBI hit in the eighth inning to give UE a 6-1 lead.  Sophomore reliever Max Hansmann would make sure that the lead would hold up, as he tossed 2.0 no-hit, scoreless innings with three strikeouts to nail down the victory.

Senior designated hitter Kip Fougerousse led UE at the plate by going 3-for-5 with a double.  Scherry and Shallenberger both had two-hit days as well for UE, which out-hit Bradley, 13-7.

With the victory, Evansville improves to 21-17 overall and 9-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference.  The Purple Aces have not only won seven-straight, but UE has also won 11 of its last 12 games overall.  Bradley, meanwhile, drops to 10-26 overall and 4-10 in the MVC with the loss.  The series will conclude on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. in a game that can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS and seen live on ESPN+.

The Purple Aces finished 11^th and 14^th as a team in Terre Haute

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Freshman Nicole Prauchner earned her second podium finish of the outdoor season on the final day of the Gibson Invitational for the University of Evansville track and field team.

Six Purple Aces set personal records in Terre Haute on Saturday on the final day of the Gibson Invitational hosted by Indiana State. Prauchner had the best finish of the day for UE, taking first in the women’s 1500-meter with a PR of 4:34.40. Teammate Kalina Urbaniak (Suchy Las, Poland) was close behind in fourth with a time of 4:37.57 while Avery Stephens set a PR of 5:16.66 in the event.

Evansville also had a top-five finish in the men’s 1500-meter race as freshman Rafael Rodriguez (Segovia, Spain) placed fourth with a PR of 3:52.08. Several Aces had PRs or high finishes in the 1500-meter race as Tommaso Losma (Lombardia, Italy) placed ninth with a time of 3:57.38 while Samuel Lea (Worchester, England) set a PR of 4:00.10.

Junior Adam Oulgout (St. Paul, Minn. / Central HS) also set a season-best in the 1500-meter with a time of 4:01.53. Oulgout also ran a season-best in the men’s 800-meter race at 1:55.75 for 12^th place. Also in the 800-meter race, freshman Jakub Nowicki (Poznan, Poland) placed 19^th with a time of 1:57.95.

UE’s other top-five finish on Saturday came in the women’s 800-meter race for freshman Eilen Brenne (Skien, Norway) placing fourth with a time of 2:13.67. Evansville’s final PRs both came from sophomore Jose Ocampo (Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico), who set two personal records in the 100-meter dash and the 400-meter race with times of 11.08 and 51.71. The Aces also had two runners compete in the hurdles, sophomore Kate Walke (Batesville, Ind. / Oldenburg Academy) in the women’s 100-meter hurdles at 15.59 seconds and freshman Woody Burrell (Ceaderburg, Wis. / Ceaderburg HS) in the 400-meter hurdles at 58.40 seconds for 16^th place.

In the field, UE  competed in two events on Saturday, the men’s shot put and the women’s discus. Evansville saw its best finishes in the men’s shot put as graduate throwers Jaden Hayes (Huntingburg, Ind. / Southridge HS) and Zach Dove (Princeton, Ind. / Princeton Community HS) placed 12^th and 13^th with season-best throws of 14.69 and 14.67 meters. The Aces only women’s thrower on the day was senior Brooke Springer (Henderson, Ky. / Henderson Community HS) with a discus throw of 33.71 meters.

UE’s men finished 14^th of 24 teams with a final score of 10 points at the Gibson Invitational. While Evansville’s women finished 11^th of 20 teams with 20 points.

The Aces are back in action next weekend at the Outdoor Music City Challenge hosted by Vanderbilt on Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27. UE will also compete in the Rick Erdmann Twilight meet hosted by Eastern Kentucky on April 27.

Finale set for Sunday at noon

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Trailing 2-1 in the second inning, Murray State scored seven unanswered runs to defeat the University of Evansville softball team by an 8-2 final on Saturday at Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at Cooper Stadium.

Murray State’s first two runners of the afternoon reached base before Mikayla Jolly forced a double play for the first two outs.  The Racers were limited to one run as the game entered the bottom of the first.

Alexa Davis led the bottom of the first off with a single and would tie the game on a hit by Jenna Nink.  Jess Willsey’s RBI double brought in Nink to give the Purple Aces their first lead of the contest.  Bailey Broemmer of MSU tied the game with an RBI double in the top of the second before a perfectly executed double steal put them back in front at 3-2.

Evansville threatened in the bottom of the frame as Marah Wood led off with a single and stole second.  Following a strikeout, a hard line out halted the threat.  Murray State held the 1-run lead until the top half of the fourth when Parker Holcombe’s 2-run single added some insurance and extended the lead to three.  They added three more runs in the final innings.

UE was held to six hits with Jess Willsey going 2-for-3.  Broemmer went 2-2 for the Racers while Holcombe had two hits in four plate appearances.  Jolly took the loss with 3 2/3 innings of work and five runs, four earned, crossing the plate.  Bre Haislip started the game for the Racers and allowed two unearned runs in 2 1/3 frames.  Raylee Roby tossed 4 2/3 innings of relief and gave up just one hit.

Sunday’s series finale is set for a 12 p.m. start.