Pensacola, Fl.:  In a loss that was filled with positives for the Thunderbolts in their final road game of the regular season, Matthew Hobbs led the way with two goals in a 4-3 loss in Pensacola on Saturday night.   The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Friday, April 5^th against the Birmingham Bulls, puck drop at 7:00pm CT.

Pensacola gained their first lead of the night at 3:44 on a goal from Garrett Milan.  Responding for Evansville was Hobbs on his first goal of the game and his 10^th of the season, at 11:09 from Jacob Kamps, the assist also being Kamps’ first professional point.  Evansville outshot Pensacola 22-15 in the second period, however it was the Ice Flyers who scored twice on goals from Mitch Atkins at 8:20 and Houston Wilson at 13:32, giving them a 3-1 lead through two periods.  Late in the second period, Hobbs took on Malik Johnson in the game’s first fight, in which Hobbs battled Johnson to a draw despite being at a size disadvantage.

The third period began with an opening face-off fight between Bronson Adams and Pensacola’s Sean Gulka, another even scrap despite Gulka also holding a notable size advantage.  Evansville grabbed momentum out of the scrap and scored seconds later at 0:13 as Lincoln Hatten scored from Kamps to make it a 3-2 game.  Although not officially listed with an assist, Hobbs should end up with an assist on the goal, which would earn Hobbs the first Thunderbolts’ Gordie Howe Hat Trick (Goal, Assist, and Fight) since 2020, and only the 4^th in franchise history.  At 7:27 Pensacola regained the two-goal lead as Taylor Egan made it a 4-2 game, before Evansville responded again at 10:54 as Hobbs scored his second goal of the game on a Hatten shot redirection.  Evansville pressed with a late 6-on-4 advantage with a power play and Cole Ceci pulled, but just could not find a way to score as the Ice Flyers survived the onslaught, winning 4-3.

Hobbs finished with two goals and is likely to be credited with an assist, Hatten finished with a goal and assist, and Kamps tallied two assists.  In goal, Ceci finished with 29 saves on 33 shots.  The Thunderbolts and Ice Flyers do not meet again this regular season, with Evansville winning the season series 2-1.

Tyler Repeats as NCAA Platform Champion in Another 1-2 IU Diving Finish

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana clinched its fifth top-five national finish in six years Saturday (March 30) at the 2024 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships inside the IU Natatorium. The Hoosiers scored 376 points to finish fourth as a team for the second consecutive season.

Indiana remains among college swimming’s elite – in the last six years, only four teams have consistently finished with the top six nationally: Cal, Texas, Florida and the Indiana Hoosiers. The Hoosiers finished two points behind Florida and 56 points in front of NC State.

Fourteen Hoosiers combined for 43 All-America honors, both totals Indiana’s most since 19 athletes from the 1974 squad totaled 50 honors in a second-place team finish.

As well as the national finish, Indiana won its third consecutive Big Ten Championship during the 2023-24 season. The Hoosier men and women completed conference championship double for the second time in program history, and both teams finished the regular season 8-0 in dual meet competition.

Junior Carson Tyler repeated as the NCAA platform diving champion with a score of 515.75, IU’s best-ever score at an NCAA Championships. For the second-straight night, Tyler led a 1-2 Hoosier finish as sophomore Maxwell Weinrich took silver in 450.70. Junior Quinn Henninger finished seventh with a 377.65.

The Hoosiers captured a program record six diving medals of the nine available; two gold, two silver and two bronze. IU’s trio combined for 121 points on the boards, 66 points more than the second-best diving team – Ohio State – and outscoring all but 10 combined swimming and diving programs. Indiana has eclipsed 100 points at back-to-back NCAA Championships after earning 104 points last year. Tyler himself outscored Ohio State, totaling 56 points from his two championships and his bronze on the 1-meter board. Henninger had 46 points – better than all but two other teams – and Weinrich contributed 19.

Senior Brendan Burns finished his career in the most fitting way, swimming the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard butterfly on the same day for the first time at an NCAA Championships. Burns placed on the podium in both events thanks to his morning performances and finished seventh in the back and eighth in the fly. The fifth-year senior swam those events at every Big Ten Championships and became the first man in the conference to win both in the same year in 2021 – before repeating the feat in 2022 and 2023.

Burns closes his collegiate chapter a three-time NCAA Champion, four-time national runner-up, 25-time All-American and 22-time Big Ten Champion. He helped lead the Hoosiers to three Big Ten team titles and three top-five national finishes.

For the second-straight season, Tomer Frankel finished within the top five in both the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard butterfly. Frankel set a program record in the 100 fly Friday, becoming the first Hoosier ever under the 44-second barrier with times of 43.90 and 43.85.

RESULTS

1,650 FREESTYLE

26. Tristan DeWitt – 14:51.45 (Career Best)

200 BACKSTROKE
7. Brendan Burns – 1:38.62 (All-America)

13. Kai van Westering – 1:39.76 (Second-Team All-America)

100 FREESTYLE

14. Rafael Miroslaw – 41.75 (Second-Team All-America)

200 BREASTSTROKE

7. Jassen Yep – 1:51.51 (All-America)
8. Maxwell Reich – 1:52.28 (Second-Team All-America)

200 BUTTERFLY

4. Tomer Frankel – 1:39.35 (All-America)
5. Brendan Burns – 1:41.73 (All-America)

PLATFORM

1. Carson Tyler – 515.75 (NCAA Champion, All-America)
2. Maxwell Weinrich – 450.70 (NCAA Silver, All-America, Career Best)
3. Quinn Henninger – 377.65 (All-America)

400 FREESTYLE RELAY

9. Tomer Frankel, Rafael Miroslaw, Luke Barr, Mikkel Lee – 2:47.13 (Second-Team All-America)

HOOSIER ALL-AMERICANS

Luke Barr (200 IM*, 400 freestyle relay*)

Finn Brooks (200 medley relay, 100 butterfly*)

Brendan Burns (200 medley relay, 800 freestyle relay, 100 backstroke, 400 medley relay, 200 backstroke, 200 butterfly)

Tomer Frankel (200 medley relay, 800 freestyle relay, 200 freestyle relay*, 100 butterfly, 400 medley relay, 200 butterfly, 400 freestyle relay*)

Quinn Henninger (1-meter, 3-meter, platform)

Mikkel Lee (200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay*, 400 freestyle relay*)

Josh Matheny (100 breaststroke, 400 medley relay)

Rafael Miroslaw (800 freestyle relay, 500 freestyle*, 200 freestyle relay*, 200 freestyle, 400 medley relay, 100 freestyle*, 400 freestyle relay*)

Maxwell Reich (200 breaststroke*)

Carson Tyler (1-meter, 3-meter, platform)

Kai van Westering (800 freestyle relay, 200 backstroke*)

Maxwell Weinrich (3-meter*, platform)­­

Gavin Wight (200 freestyle relay*)

Jassen Yep (100 breaststroke*, 200 breaststroke)

* – Denotes second-team All-America

EVANSVILLE, Ind. –  The University of Evansville baseball team rallied for a run in the bottom of the ninth inning, and then rallied again for three more in the tenth to rally past the visiting Southern Illinois Salukis, 11-10, at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.

“What a gritty win by our ballclub today,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “We found a way to win today, and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

“I was really proud of the fight that we showed today, especially in the ninth and the tenth innings.  Evan Waggoner did a great job of getting a job done in the ninth with the sacrifice fly, and then after they scored two in the tenth inning, Mark Shallenberger and Kevin McCormick stepped up big time to help get us this win.  We had a lot of different guys step up today, and hopefully, a win like this will be a spark to get us going again!”

Evansville jumped out early to a 7-1 lead, as the Purple Aces got a run in the second inning on an RBI single by junior outfielder Harrison Taubert before exploding for six runs in the second inning.  After senior designated hitter Kip Fougerousse brought home the first run with a run-scoring fielder’s choice, graduate first baseman Chase Hug followed two batters later with a two-run double to left-center field to give UE a 4-1 lead.

Freshman second baseman Brodie Peart then scored Hug from second base two batters later with an RBI single up the middle to move the score to 5-1.  Graduate catcher Brendan Hord then knocked a two-run double into the left-field corner to give UE a 7-1 cushion.

UE graduate starter Donovan Schultz would keep things at 7-1 until the fifth inning, when SIU started to chip away at the UE lead.  The Salukis scored single runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, before getting three more in the seventh inning to crawl back within a run at 7-6 and chase Schultz from the game.

SIU pinch-hitter Justin Keuss tied the game at 7-7 in the eighth inning with a bad-hop double to left field.  Then, the Salukis got a two-out RBI single by outfielder Mathieu Vallee in the ninth inning to take an 8-7 lead.  SIU would load the bases in the ninth inning, but UE reliever Jakob Meyer got out of the jam with a strikeout.

Evansville was able to put the lead-off batter on base in the ninth inning, as graduate third baseman Brent Widder was hit by a pitch.  After a one-out Simon Scherry single through the right side put men on the corners for UE, junior Evan Waggoner delivered a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to left field to score Widder and tie the game at 8-8.  Evansville threatened to win the game in the ninth inning, but junior pinch-hitter Cal McGinnis lined out to right field with two men on base to end the threat.

In the tenth, SIU catcher Cole Christman launched a solo home run with two-outs to give the Salukis a 9-8 lead.  A walk, a single and a run-scoring wild pitch would plate SIU’s second run, but UE was not done yet.

After a lead-off walk by junior outfielder Ty Rumsey, Shallenberger crushed a two-run home run to right-center field to tie the game at 10-10.  Back-to-back hit-by-pitches then put two men on base with no one out.  Redshirt sophomore Kevin McCormick then came to the plate as a pinch-hitter, and originally showed bunt, but pulled the bat back and slashed a ground ball through the left side of the infield and into left field for a base hit.  Fougerousse was able to easily come around to score on the play, as Evansville earned the series victory.

Taubert led UE offensively by going 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI.  Shallenberger, Scherry, Peart, and Hord all had two-hit days as well for UE.

With the victory, Evansville improves to 11-16 overall and 2-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference.  SIU, meanwhile, falls to 18-10 overall and 4-2 in the Valley with the loss.  Evansville is now off until Tuesday night when the Purple Aces host Austin Peay at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium at 6:05 p.m.  Tuesday’s game can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The University of Evansville track and field team ended its holiday weekend with three events and another new program record.

Freshman Nicole Prauchner (Neuhofen an der Ybbs, Austria) earned her second program record in North Carolina for the Purple Aces in the 800-meter race on Saturday. Prauchner ran a UE best 2:11.35 in her heat, breaking the record set in 1984 by Kari Huseth. Also running in the 800-meter were freshmen Eilén Brenne (Skien, Norway) with a time of 2:12.52, Kalina Urbaniak (Suchy Las, Poland) with a time of 2:15.31, and Nayla Martin (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada) with a time of 2:15.51.

Following the women’s 800-meter, freshman Raymond Felton III (Houston / Clear Brook HS) ran in the men’s 200-meter dash. Felton ran the race in 22.56 seconds, just over two-tenths of a second off his personal best.

Evansville rounded out its final day at the Raleigh Relays with three runners in the men’s 800-meter race. Freshman Tomasso Losma (Lombardia, Italy) set a personal best in the event finishing in 1:54.08. He was followed by freshman Rafael Rodriguez (Segovia, Spain) with a time of 1:54.34 and Alvaro Monfort (Castile Y Leon, Spain) with a time of 1:54.86.

The entire Aces track and field team will be back in action next week at the Jim Vargo Invitational hosted by the Bellarmine Knights. UE will participate in the day-long meet on Friday, April 5 starting at 5 p.m.

Weekend finale set for 12 p.m. on Sunday

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Nine runs in the first three innings launched UIC to a 10-3 win over the University of Evansville softball team on Saturday afternoon at Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at Cooper Stadium.

Evansville accumulated 10 hits in the game with Callie Meinel going a perfect 3-for-3.  Zoe Frossard continued her strong play as she went 2-3 with a walk.  UIC finished the day with 13 hits as five players registered two hits apiece.

Two runs in the first, four in the second and three in the third saw the Flames jump out to a 9-0 lead.  Alannah Cran got things started with a 2-run home run in the first before adding an RBI single in the second.  Larisa Villa added a 2-RBI hit in the second.

Evansville picked up its first two hits of the game in the bottom half of the third.  Jenna Nink had a single before Zoe Frossard added a ground rule double.  UIC was able to get through the frame unscathed.

That changed in the bottom of the fourth when five runners in a row reached base including four consecutive base hits.  Callie Meinel began with a 1-out infield single while Brooke Voss followed with a single up the middle.  Next up was Brooke McCorkle, who hit another single up the middle to bring in Meinel for the first UE run of the day.  Kaylee Lawson followed up with the fourth hit in a row to score Voss.

Abby Bode added an RBI groundout to plate the third run of the game in the bottom of the sixth.  UIC added a home run in the top of the 7^th frame to extend the lead to 10-3.  Megan Brenton made the start for UE and allowed five runs in 1 2/3 innings.  Christina Toniolo threw another complete game, allowing three runs on 10 hits.

Sunday’s series finale will begin with a 12 p.m. first pitch.

MOREHEAD, Ky. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball was outslugged by Morehead State University, 18-9, Saturday afternoon in Morehead, Kentucky. USI is 12-15 overall and 3-3 in the OVC, while MSU goes to 16-12, 3-3 OVC.
 
USI junior third baseman Ricardo Van Grieken (Venezuela) put the Screaming Eagles into the lead, 2-0, in the top of the second with a two-run blast to right field. The home run was Van Grieken’s first of the season. The 2-0 USI lead would last until the bottom half of the inning when MSU tied the score with a two-run home run of its own.
 
The Screaming Eagles regained the advantage, 5-2, in the top of the third with a three-spot. USI junior centerfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen (Sioux City, Iowa) led of the frame with his third home run of the year for a 3-2 lead, while junior rightfielder Adam Euler (Evansville, Indiana) pushed a run across with a sacrifice fly and junior second baseman Lane Crowden (Jackson, Missouri) singled in the fifth USI run of the game.
 
The momentum would shift back to MSU as it would score twice in the bottom of the third to close the gap to 5-4 and surged into the lead, 11-5, with a seven-run fourth and 14-5 on three additional runs in the fifth.
 
It would be USI’s turn to close the gap in the top of the sixth. USI freshman leftfielder Ethan Rothschild (Evansville, Indiana) started the rally by scoring on a fielding error before senior designated hitter Jack Ellis (Jeffersonville, Indiana) hit a three-run bomb to make the score 14-9. The Ellis home run was his team-best sixth of the season.
 
The MSU Eagles would seal their win with four runs in the bottom of the eighth and the 18-9 final score.
 
USI junior right-hander Gavin Morris (Brazil, Indiana) started and took the loss on the mound. Morris (3-2) gave up eight runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out five in three frames of work.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Softball had a fast start to Saturday’s series finale against Southeast Missouri State University, but the Screaming Eagles had to fight off a late charge by the visiting Redhawks to claim a 5-4 victory at USI Softball Field.
 
With Saturday’s win, Southern Indiana (14-13) captured its third consecutive series win in Ohio Valley Conference play to maintain a top-two spot in the standings with an 8-4 OVC record. Southeast Missouri (12-20) dropped to 7-5 in OVC action.
 
Southern Indiana came out with a flying start in the bottom of the first inning on Saturday. Following a leadoff single by senior outfielder Mackenzie Bedrick (Brownsburg, Indiana), Bedrick came around to score in the next at-bat by sophomore outfielder Caroline Stapleton (Shirley, Indiana) with an RBI double. Stapleton would be thrown out trying to advance an extra base, but junior infielder Hailey Gotshall (Lucerne, Indiana) stepped up to the plate next with her first home run of the season, a solo shot, to put USI ahead 2-0. The fast start by the Screaming Eagles forced Southeast Missouri to make a pitching change with only out in the bottom of the first.
 
The Screaming Eagles added three more runs in the second inning, including one on an RBI single from Stapleton, to take a 3-0 lead. Before the end of the second frame, SEMO went to its third pitcher of the game, as USI had claimed a 5-0 advantage.
 
Later on, Southeast Missouri made a push. With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the fifth inning, the Redhawks scored two runs back on a two-RBI double. SEMO cut the deficit down to one, 5-4, with another pair of runs in the sixth inning off an RBI single and a sac fly. From there, the Screaming Eagles slammed the door on the Redhawks’ rally in the sixth inning and closed out the win in the seventh.
 
Southern Indiana scored five runs on nine hits. The top three in USI’s lineup – Bedrick, Stapleton, and Gotshall – each had two hits for six of USI’s total hits. Stapleton and Gotshall each had two RBIs. Southeast Missouri totaled four runs on 11 hits.
 
In the pitching circle, junior pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) picked up the win, improving to 12-5 this season. Newman struck out seven in the complete-game effort.
 
Southeast Missouri used four pitchers in the game with senior starting pitcher Paytience Holman dropping to 7-8 on the season with the loss.
 

INDIANAPOLIS – If swimming the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard butterfly on the same day does not catch the eye, fifth-year senior Brendan Burns qualified for the championship final in each event Saturday (March 30) at the 2024 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships inside the IU Natatorium.

Burns has won that double at the Big Ten Championships three times – he’s the only men’s swimmer in the conference ever to do it – but had not swum the pair at an NCAA Championships until Saturday, his final meet day as a collegiate swimmer. He will enter the evening as the No. 6 seed in the 200 back and the No. 8 in the 200 fly. Outside lanes shouldn’t bother Burns – he won his second-straight 100-yard backstroke title from lane one on Friday.

Burns is one of two Hoosiers in the 200 fly final. He’ll swim across the pool from senior Tomer Frankel, who finished second in the 100-yard event on Friday. Frankel was fifth in the 200 fly last year and was the only athlete to finish top-five in both events.

IU sits No. 4 in the team race with 247 points through three days at the national meet, behind third place Florida (273 points) and in front of fifth-place NC State (206). Indiana will send 10 Hoosiers to finals, with seven of those advancing to championship heats, and has the No. 9-seeded 400-yard freestyle relay.

Indiana is guaranteed between 36 and 53 points from the platform diving event, qualifying all three divers for the championship final. The Hoosiers have already scored 72 points from the two springboard events and will eclipse their 2023 total of 104 diving points, which was 32.5 points better than any other program.

Junior Carson Tyler (465.20) and sophomore Maxwell Weinrich (437.05) were the top-two qualifiers, and junior Quinn Henninger (385.00) snuck in with a seventh-place finish. Tyler – the reigning NCAA Champion in the event – and Henninger have accounted for four of the six medals already won at these championships.

Senior Jassen Yep reached his first NCAA championship final in the 200-yard breaststroke one day after his first national final in the 100 breasts consolation heat. Yep posted a 1:51.15 Saturday morning but was 1:50.40 when he won the Big Ten title earlier this month. Classmate Maxwell Reich will swim his first NCAA final after dropping a personal best 1:51.71 to advance to the B final.

Senior Rafael Miroslaw entered the day as the No. 47 seed in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 42.54 but managed to trim 88 hundredths of a second off his season best to rank No. 15 in prelims with a 41.66 – just short of his 41.63 lifetime best. Miroslaw has beat projections all week, qualifying for the 500 free B final and the 200 free A final with career-best times.

Senior Tristan DeWitt will race the second of five heats in the 1,650-yard freestyle as the No. 30-seeded swimmer in the event. His race will begin at 4:07 p.m. ET.

RESULTS
200 BACKSTROKE
6. Brendan Burns – 1:38.18 (Championship Final, All-America, Career Best)

14. Kai van Westering – 1:39.27 (Consolation Final, Second-Team All-America, Career Best)

100 FREESTYLE

15. Rafael Miroslaw – 41.66 (Consolation Final, Second-Team All-America)

t47. Luke Barr – 42.56 (Career Best)

200 BREASTSTROKE

5. Jassen Yep – 1:51.15 (Championship Final, All-America)
6. Maxwell Reich – 1:51.71 (Consolation Final, Second-Team All-America, Career Best)
7. Toby Barnett – 1:53.35 (Second Alternate)
8. Josh Matheny

200 BUTTERFLY

7. Tomer Frankel – 1:40.38 (Championship Final, All-America)
8. Brendan Burns – 1:40.40 (Championship Final, All-America)

PLATFORM

1. Carson Tyler – 465.20 (Championship Final, All-America)
2. Maxwell Weinrich – 437.05 (Championship Final, All-America)
3. Quinn Henninger – 385.00 (Championship Final, All-America)

HOOSIER ALL-AMERICANS

Luke Barr (200 IM*)

Finn Brooks (200 medley relay, 100 butterfly*)

Brendan Burns (200 medley relay, 800 freestyle relay, 100 backstroke, 400 medley relay, 200 backstroke, 200 butterfly)

Tomer Frankel (200 medley relay, 800 freestyle relay, 200 freestyle relay*, 100 butterfly, 400 medley relay, 200 butterfly)

Quinn Henninger (1-meter, 3-meter, platform)

Mikkel Lee (200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay*)

Josh Matheny (100 breaststroke, 400 medley relay)

Rafael Miroslaw (800 freestyle relay, 500 freestyle*, 200 freestyle relay*, 200 freestyle, 400 medley relay, 100 freestyle*)

Maxwell Reich (200 breaststroke*)

Carson Tyler (1-meter, 3-meter, platform)

Kai van Westering (800 freestyle relay, 200 backstroke*)

Maxwell Weinrich (3-meter*, platform)­­

Gavin Wight (200 freestyle relay*)

Jassen Yep (100 breaststroke*, 200 breaststroke)

* – Denotes second-team All-America

EVANSVILLE, Ind– University of Southern Indiana Men’s and Women’s Golf competed in a cumulative crosstown match-play competition with the University of Evansville on Friday. The Screaming Eagles fell short to the Purple Aces,10.5-6.5, at Fendrich Golf Course. 
 
Women: The women fell to UE 6-0 in match play. Senior Halle Gutwein (DeMotte, Indiana) and junior Baileigh Schneider (Huntingburg, Indiana) were the top shooters on the day, finishing at six over par. Senior Katelyn Sayyalinh (Rockford, Illinois) and freshman Alexis Wymer (Bridgeport, Illinois) had the closest contest for the Eagles, dropping their games 5-4 and going all 18 holes. 
 
Men: The men won their match play against Evansville, 6.5-4.5. The Eagles were led by junior Jason Bannister (Laguna Niguel, California), who won his match 8-4 while shooting a team-best six under par with seven birdies. Senior Trevor Laub (Edwardsville, Illinois) won his match 7-1 and a team second-best five under. Junior Spencer Warren (Dexter, Missouri) beat his opponent by two holes. Junior Sam Vertanen (Ames, Iowa) and freshman Hunter Reynolds (Cadiz, Kentucky) won their battles in a nail-biter. Rounding out USI’s day was sophomore Jaden Wilson (LaGrange, Kentucky), who shot three over and accounted for a win.