Men tie for 6^th in team standings

HERMITAGE, Tenn. – Playing as an individual, Daniil Romashkin led the University of Evansville men’s golf team at the Tennessee State University Big Blue Intercollegiate at Hermitage Golf Course.

Romashkin tied for 10^th place with a 3-round score of 212.  He posted a 1-over 72 in the final round to lead the Purple Aces.  His top effort was a 3-under 68 in Monday’s second round of play.  Andres Rodriguez and Nicholas Gushrowski recorded final tallies of 215 to tie for 18^th place.  Gushrowski had Evansville’s low round on Tuesday, carding an even 71.  Rodriguez finished at 2-over on Tuesday with his low round being a 69 in round two.

Caleb Wassmer tied for the 26^th spot with a 217.  Wassmer posted a 76 on Monday following scores of 71 and 70 to open the tournament.  Michael Ikejiani matched Wassmer’s final round score with a 76.  His 220 was good for a 33^rd-place tie.

Carson Parker and Isaac Rohleder also registered totals of 76 in the final round.  Parker completed the tournament with a 224, tying him for 45^th while Rohleder was 61^st with a 228.

UE tied for 6^th in the final team standings with a score of 876.  The Aces matched Florida A&M’s 3-round total.  Samford and Belmont finished tied atop the leaderboard with scores of 846.  Michael Senn of Belmont finished with a 6-stroke victory in the individual standings.  His 13-under 200 bested Alex Eickhoff of SIUE by six strokes.

The season comes to a close with the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, which will be played April 21-23 in Sun Beach, Mo.

NORMAL, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team closed out their Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) series Tuesday afternoon against the defending National Champion Heartland Community College in Normal, Ill.

The Blazers unfortunately came up short in the final two games of this four-game series, falling 7-0 and 12-4 in Tuesday’s doubleheader.

Vincennes fell behind early in game one of the day to the highly rated Hawks, surrendering a run in each of the first three innings to trail 3-0.

Heartland would continue to add on to their lead with three more runs in the fifth and another run in the sixth.

The VU offense was held at bay all game with a second inning single by freshman Nate Montgomery (Lexington, Ind.) and a single by sophomore Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) were the only hits for the Blazers in game one of the day.

Sophomore Bryton Griffy (Louisville, Ill.) would later reach base after being hit by pitch in the sixth giving VU their third baserunner of the morning.

The Hawks pitcher found a way to keep the Blazers off the scoreboard in game one, finishing off the seven-inning shutout and giving Heartland the 7-0 victory.

Freshman Alex Wandersee (Centerville, Ind.) got the start in game one of the day for Vincennes, throwing five innings, allowing seven runs, six earned on nine hits and striking out one.

Sophomore Christian Pinson (Elizabethtown, Ky.) came in to pitch the sixth inning and was able to retire the side without allowing a hit.

The Trailblazers looked to bounce back and close out the series on a positive note in game two of the day and VU wasted little time putting game one behind them.

Sophomore Carter Whitehead (Huntingburg, Ind.) led off the series finale with a double and later came around to score on an RBI single by sophomore Blake Heyerly (Monroe, Ind.).

Heyerly would also come around to score in the inning on an RBI double by Jace Parnin, giving VU an early 2-0 lead.

Heartland immediately answered in the bottom half of the first inning, getting those two runs back to even the game and taking the lead in the second with a big five-run inning to lead 7-2.

The Hawks added to this lead with runs in the fourth and fifth to lead the Blazers 9-2.

Vincennes would not go away quietly however as VU led off the seventh inning with sophomore Bryan Kohlmeyer (Paris, Ill.) drawing a walk and freshman Damon Kay (Spencer, Ind.) being hit by pitch.

Freshman Reed Drabant (Columbia, Ill.) came in to pinch run for Kay and move up 90 feet on a successful sacrifice bunt by freshman Bryce Gross (Bridgeport, Ill.) to put runners on second and third with only one out.

Freshman Corbin Napier (Indianapolis, Ind.) came through at the dish for the Blazers later in the seventh, picking up a big two-out two-run single to cut the Heartland lead to 9-4.

After a scoreless bottom of the seventh, the Blazers looked to do more damage and continue the late comeback in the eighth, loading the bases after back-to-back singles by sophomore Trevor Newman (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and freshman Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.) and Reed Drabant being hit by pitch.

NORMAL, Ill. – The Vincennes University tough baseball schedule continued Monday afternoon with the Trailblazers jumping back into their Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) schedule on the road at defending National Champions and No. 10-ranked Heartland Community College.

The Blazers battled with the Hawks throughout but ultimately came out on the wrong end of an 8-4 and 14-4 final scores.

Vincennes got off to a slow start against the Hawks, with Heartland getting on the scoreboard with a run in the bottom of the first.

The Blazers would answer back to get on the board in the second inning after back-to-back singles by sophomores Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Trevor Newman (Fort Wayne, Ind.).

Freshman Reed Drabant (Columbia, Ill.) followed that by reaching on a hit by pitch and sophomore Bryton Griffy (Louisville, Ill.) reaching on a walk to load the bases.

Freshman Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.) cleared the bases with a three-RBI double to put the Blazers on top 3-1.

Heartland would slowly work their way back with a run in the fourth and two runs in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead.

VU would even the score in the seventh after Bryton Griffy led off the inning with a single and advanced on a successful sacrifice bunt by Bradyn Douglas.

Griffy would come around to score on a big RBI double by sophomore Blake Heyerly (Monroe, Ind.), his third hit of the game, to even the score at 4-4.

Heartland would regain the lead in the bottom of the seventh with a run and added on with three insurance runs in the eighth as the Hawks closed out the 8-4 game one victory.

Freshman Carson Allen (Louisville, Ky.) got the start in game one for the Trailblazers, throwing six-plus strong innings, allowing five runs on 10 hits and striking out four.

Freshman Yancey Edlin (Pekin, Ind.) was the first out of the pen for VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney, throwing one and one-third innings, allowing three runs on three hits and striking out one.

Freshman Colton Okes (Evansville, Ind.) was called on to get the final two outs of the eighth inning, retiring both batters he faced, including one strikeout.

The Trailblazers looked to bounce back in game two of the day and early on found themselves in a pitchers’ duel with the score still tied at 0-0 going to the bottom of the fourth.

Heartland, again, was the first to break onto the scoreboard and did so in a big way, breaking the game open with 11 runs in the fourth inning.

Facing an early run-rule defeat, the Trailblazers refused to give up in the top of the fifth with freshman Damon Kay (Spencer, Ind.) making the most of just his second at bat of the season by launching a solo home run, his first collegiate home run.

Following this big fly, the Blazers seemed to have a new burst of life with Blake Heyerly and sophomore Bryan Kohlmeyer (Paris, Ill.) following the home run with back-to-back singles, Heyerly’s third hit of the game and sixth hit on the day.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. –  University of Evansville graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis Priory) was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on Monday after helping the Purple Aces to three victories last week against Austin Peay and Belmont.  It is Shallenberger’s second MVC Player of the Week award in his UE career.

Shallenberger hit a team-best .357 with three home runs and a team-best eight RBI in UE’s four contests last week.  He hit a key three-run home run to ignite UE’s offense in a 13-6 victory over Austin Peay to begin the week, as he went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and four RBI.  Shallenberger also had two home runs and knocked a double on Saturday in UE’s 8-3 victory at Belmont to secure the series victory.  Four of Shallenberger’s five hits on the week went for extra-bases, as he had a double and three home runs, while slugging 1.071.  He also worked three walks on the week, while posting a .500 on-base percentage.

Overall, Shallenberger leads the UE offense with a .377 average, seven home runs and 31 RBI.  Shallenberger and the Purple Aces will try to wrap up its current four-game road trip on a winning note on Tuesday afternoon, as UE will travel north to Indianapolis to battle the Butler Bulldogs.  First-pitch is set for 3 p.m. central time at Butler’s Bulldog Park.

Evansville will bring a 14-17 overall record into Tuesday’s game after winning two out of three games in a series at Belmont over the weekend.  UE has won four of the last five games overall.  The Purple Aces continue to rank among the national leaders in doubles this season with 84, as UE ranks third in NCAA Division I baseball in the category.

Butler will bring a 13-16 overall record into Tuesday’s game after dropping two of three games at Creighton over the weekend to open Big East play.  Junior infielder Carter Dorighi currently leads the Butler offense with a .391 average, while freshman infielder Kade Lewis is not far behind at .387.  Lewis has been as good as any hitter in college baseball of late, hitting safely in 15 of the last 16 games with 11 multi-hit games in those 16 contests.  He also provides the power in the Butler attack, having hit a team-best nine home runs so far.

Evansville will starter sophomore RHP Elias Hachem (0-0, 0.00 ERA) on Tuesday afternoon.  He will be opposed by Butler RHP Cooper Robinson (0-0, 54.00 ERA).