EVANSVILLE, Ind. –  University of Evansville senior starter Shane Harris tossed six strong innings on Thursday night, and the Purple Aces broke things open with nine runs in the seventh and eighth innings to post a series-opening 12-2 run-rule victory over the Southern Illinois Salukis at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.

“It’s great to get back in the win column obviously,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “It really started on the mound for us tonight with the effort that we got out of Shane Harris.  He got some early swings tonight, which kept his pitch-count low, and that really helped him settle in and set the tone for us.

“Offensively, we got a lot of hits early, but also left a lot of guys on base, and it felt like we should have been up more early on.  But, the guys never wavered, and finally, in winning time, we were able to string together a lot of good at-bats and we were finally able to put up the big inning.  Overall, I really liked the energy that our guys came to the park with today and we need to carry that over to tomorrow night.”

Harris set the tone early for UE, recording a pair of strikeouts in the first inning, as he retired the first 12 men he faced.  Graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger then led off the game with a double to left-center field and he eventually scored on an RBI ground out by graduate third baseman Brent Widder, as UE took a 1-0 lead just three batters into the game.

Shallenberger then added a two-run double off the wall in left-center field in the second inning to push the lead to 3-0.  Evansville would collect seven hits in the first three innings, but left five men stranded on base, as the lead remained 3-0.

Southern Illinois would finally get its first hit and run of the game off of Harris in the fifth inning, and tacked on another run in the sixth inning, but he buckled down and got a fly out from SIU’s clean-up batter to end the sixth inning with a 3-2 lead.  Harris (2-4) would earn the victory in just his second start of the year, giving up just two runs on five hits in 6.0 innings of work with three strikeouts against no walks.

SIU threatened to tie the game in the seventh inning, putting two men on base, but reliever Drew Fieger got a pop up to end the frame and keep Evansville in the lead.  Then, in the seventh inning, Evansville took advantage of extreme wildness from the SIU bullpen to plate six runs on a lead-off single, an error, seven walks and a pair of sacrifice flies.  UE then enacted the run-rule in the eighth inning on a run-scoring ground-rule double by junior outfielder Harrison Taubert, a run-scoring passed ball, and a walk-off RBI single by Shallenberger.

Shallenberger led UE by going 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBI.  Taubert, graduate first baseman Chase Hug and junior catcher Evan Waggoner also had two-hit outings.

With the victory, Evansville improves to 10-15 overall and 1-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference.  Southern Illinois, meanwhile, falls to 17-9 overall and 3-1 in the Valley.  The series will continue on Friday night at 6 p.m. in a game that can be heard live in the Tri-State on 107.1 FM-WJPS and seen live on ESPN+.  Freshman left-hander Kenton Deverman (2-1, 4.46 ERA) will get the start for UE.

MOREHEAD, Ky. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball lost a slugfest with Morehead State University, 11-10, to start a three-game series Thursday evening in Morehead, Kentucky. USI is 11-14 overall and 2-2 in the OVC, while MSU goes to 15-11, 2-2 OVC.
 
The Screaming Eagles took the early advantage, 2-0, with a pair of runs in the top first. Senior designated hitter Jack Ellis (Jeffersonville, Indiana) put USI on top, 1-0, with a sacrifice fly, while junior rightfielder Adam Euler (Evansville, Indiana) gave the Screaming Eagles a 2-0 lead on a RBI-single in his 2024 debut.
 
After Morehead tied the score, 2-2, in the bottom half of the frame, USI jumped back out in front, 5-2, with three in the top of the second. Senior first baseman Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) would give the Screaming Eagles a 4-2 lead with a two-out two-run single to left center before sophomore shortstop Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana) finished the rally by sneaking home on a wild pitch.
 
The MSU Eagles bounce back in the bottom of the second to regain the lead, 6-5, after a four-run frame. The score would remain 6-5 until USI took back the advantage, 8-6, in the seventh on a three-run blast by Ellis. The homer was Ellis’ team-high fifth of the season.
 
The USI margin would last until the bottom of the eighth when MSU jumped back into the lead, 10-8, with its second four-run frame of the game. The Screaming Eagles fought back into the game for a third time, tying the game, 10-10, with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth.
 
USI pulled to within one at 10-9 on a RBI-single by junior catcher Logan Mock (Livermore, California) and tied the score, 10-10, on a RBI-single by Euler.
 
MSU, however, rebounded to take the lead for a third time in the game when USI senior right-hander Cory Anderson (Linton, Indiana) gave up a walk-off home run to MSU Eagles first baseman Roman Kunz to lead-off the frame. Anderson fell to 0-1.
 
USI freshman Grant Parson (Owensboro, Kentucky) started and got a no-decision. Parson allowed six runs on two hits and four walks in two innings of work.

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana was one of two programs to send multiple athletes to the 1-meter A final Thursday (March 28) at the 2024 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships inside the IU Natatorium.

Junior Quinn Henninger posted the top qualifying score in the 1-meter prelim, tallying 386.85 points in the early afternoon. Classmate Carson Tyler was not far behind, earning a score of 367.05 to finish fifth in the prelim. Henninger finished sixth in the event as a freshman. Tyler, the 2023 NCAA platform champion, will compete in his first national 1-meter final. Both finished top five at the 2024 Big Ten Championships.

IU was always going to have a light final swimming session Thursday, as the program’s heaviest action falls in the second half of the meet. However, a personal best from junior Rafael Miroslaw pulled in additional assured points Thursday night. Had he swum his seed time, Miroslaw would have finished 20th in the 500-yard freestyle preliminaries. Instead, the junior trimmed 2.56 seconds off his best to touch in 4:11.84 and reach the consolation final. Miroslaw’s time tied the second-fastest 500 free in program history, set by program record holder Marwan El Kamash in 2017.

Fellow junior Luke Barr also improved and reached the 200 IM B final. Barr came in as the No. 15 seed but moved a spot higher with a personal best 1:41.97 in the morning.

The Hoosiers will also swim the 200-yard freestyle relay. They come in as the No. 16 seed with a time of 1:16.19 from their bronze medal finish at Big Tens.

RESULTS (Prelims)
500 FREESTYLE
12. Rafael Miroslaw – 4:11.84 (Consolation Final, Career Best)

40. Tristan DeWitt – 4:18.77 (Career Best)

    200 IM

41. Luke Barr – 1:41.97 (Consolation Final, Career Best)
    41. Toby Barnett – 1:44.72

50 FREESTYLE

43. Finn Brooks – 19.52

1-METER

1. Quinn Henninger – 386.85 (Championship Final)
2. Carson Tyler – 367.05 (Championship Final)
3. Maxwell Weinrich – 311.60

HOOSIER ALL-AMERICANS

Luke Barr (200 IM*)

Finn Brooks (200 medley relay)

Brendan Burns (200 medley relay, 800 freestyle relay)

Tomer Frankel (200 medley relay, 800 freestyle relay)

Quinn Henninger (1-meter)

Mikkel Lee (200 medley relay)

Rafael Miroslaw (800 freestyle relay, 500 freestyle*)

Carson Tyler (1-meter)

Kai van Westering (800 freestyle relay)

* – Denotes second-team All-America