EVANSVILLE, Ind. –  Fresh off a walk-off victory over Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday night, the University of Evansville baseball team will travel north to East Lansing, Michigan this weekend to take on the Michigan State Spartans in a three-game series at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field.  The series will begin on Friday afternoon at 2:35 p.m. central time and the entire weekend series can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS.

Evansville will bring an 8-8 overall record into this weekend’s series after rallying to defeat Southeast Missouri State, 6-5, in extra innings on Wednesday.  SEMO jumped to an early 4-0 lead, but UE was able to eventually tie things in the fifth inning on an RBI double by junior outfielder Ty Rumsey, and then fellow junior outfielder Harrison Taubert came through with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning to help Evansville pick up the victory.

Rumsey has been UE’s hottest hitter in the month of March, as the Evansville North High School product has hit safely in all eight March contests, while compiling a .517 batting average in March with four doubles, two home runs and 14 RBI.  Not only has Rumsey hit safely in all eight March games, but he has also produced six multi-hit games in March to raise his season batting average to .400.  He currently ranks second on the team in hitting behind team-leader Mark Shallenberger and his .407 average.

As a team, Evansville is hitting .320 overall this year, and ranks 23rd nationally in batting average.  The Purple Aces also rank fifth nationally in doubles, having collected 49 doubles already this year in just 16 games.  Evansville had 94 doubles in 61 games last season.

This weekend’s series will be the first time that Michigan State has played at home this year, as the Spartans are 5-9 after spending the first 14 games of the year on the road and at neutral-site tournaments.  Despite the travels, Michigan State’s offense has hit, as the Spartans will bring a .303 team batting average into the series, which ranks second in the Big Ten so far.  Senior outfielder Jack Frank leads Michigan State offensively this year with a .368 batting average.

This weekend’s series will mark just the third series between the two teams all-time on the baseball diamond.  Evansville currently leads the all-time series, 5-1, having won two of three games over Michigan State in 2011, before sweeping a three-game series at home in 2022.

Evansville will turn to senior RHP Nick Smith (0-2, 9.42 ERA) to start Friday’s series opener.  He will be opposed by Michigan State’s LHP Joseph Dzierwa (1-1, 3.86 ERA).  The series will continue on Saturday afternoon at 2:35 p.m. as well, and conclude on Sunday at 12 p.m. central.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. –  University of Evansville junior outfielder Harrison Taubert laced a one-out RBI single down the left-field line in the bottom of the 10th inning on Wednesday night to help the Purple Aces walk off with a 6-5 victory over visiting Southeast Missouri State at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.

“Overall, I am just really pleased with the gritty effort that we got tonight from our ballclub,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “We had a lot of different guys step up and deliver big at-bats for us after we got behind early, and I thought that our bullpen was electric tonight.

“I am also really proud of Harrison Taubert for battling and working the count like he did tonight in that 10th inning.  Hopefully, a win like this will really spark us and we can carry that momentum over to this weekend’s series at Michigan State.”

Taubert’s extra-inning single capped a rally by Evansville, as Southeast Missouri State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after two-and-a-half innings.  Taubert actually kick-started the rally in the bottom of the third inning with a lead-off single for UE’s first hit of the contest.  Junior second baseman Cal McGinnis then followed with an RBI double to left-center field to score Taubert and trim SEMO’s lead to 4-1.

Freshman catcher Kaleb Wilkey would then reach base on a fielder’s choice, before graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger came through with a single to put two men on base with only one out.  After a strikeout, graduate third baseman Brent Widder came through with an RBI double to cut SEMO’s lead in half, before a walk and an RBI single by graduate designated hitter Brendan Hord capped UE’s three-run third inning.

SEMO would answer with a run in the top of the fourth inning, before UE would tie the game with two runs in the fifth inning.  Shallenberger led off the frame with a triple, before scoring on an RBI ground out by senior first baseman Kip Fougerousse.  Junior outfielder Ty Rumsey then came through with a two-out, two-strike RBI double down the right-field line four batters later to tie the game at 5-5.

From there, UE’s bullpen silenced the SEMO attack, as relievers Ethan Bell, Shane Harris, Jace Kressin and Jakob Meyer combined to allow just three hits in 6.0 innings of work, while recording eight strikeouts.  SEMO threatened in the top of the 10th inning by putting the lead-off man aboard, but Meyer recorded back-to-back strikeouts before getting an infield ground out to get out of the jam.  UE senior shortstop Simon Scherry then led off the bottom of the 10th with a single, before Rumsey delivered a one-out double two batters later to put two men on base.  After a pitching change, Taubert pulled an inside slider down the left-field line for the game-winner.

Taubert, McGinnis, Shallenberger, Widder, and Rumsey all had two-hit days for UE, as the Purple Aces pounded out 12 base hits in the contest.  Outfielder Michael Mugan led SEMO by going 4-for-5 with two home runs, two runs scored and three RBI.

With the victory, Evansville improves to 8-8 overall and 5-1 at home.  SEMO, meanwhile, falls to 7-11 with the loss.  Evansville will return to action next on Friday at 2:35 p.m. central, as the Purple Aces will travel north to East Lansing, Michigan to open a three-game series with the Michigan State Spartans.  Friday’s game can be seen live on Big Ten Network Plus, and heard live in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS with the Voice of the Aces Jevin Redman providing the play-by-play coverage.

INA, Ill. – The No. 4-ranked Vincennes University Trailblazers clinched their spot in Friday night’s 2024 Region 24/Central District Championship with an 84-68 victory over defending NJCAA National Champion John A. Logan College.

The Trailblazers got an outstanding night out of sophomore Michael Osei-Bonsu (Bolingbrook, Ill.) who finished with a career-high 33 points, 15 rebounds and six steals for VU.

Vincennes earned a spot in Friday’s Region 24 Championship game and will play for an automatic bid to the NJCAA Division I National tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.

The first half Wednesday night was a back-and-forth battle, with John A. Logan holding the upper hand for most of the opening 20 minutes.

Vincennes was able to put together a 9-0 scoring run to take their first lead late in the first half at -32, but the Volunteers were able to close out the first half of play on a 9-3 run of their own.

The Trailblazers headed into the locker room trailing John A. Logan 41-37 at the break, despite having 21 points by Michael Osei-Bonsu in the first half, just one point off of his season high.

The halftime speech in the locker room appeared to work for the Trailblazers in the second half as VU opened the final 20 minutes by really cranking up the defensive pressure.

Vincennes opened the second half on a 29-8 scoring run to take a 66-49 lead midway through the period.

The Volunteers looked to answer back down the stretch but were unable to put together a big scoring run of their own as Vincennes was able to cap off an 84-68 victory, outscoring the Vols 47-27 in the second half.

“Mike carried us in the first half when nobody was playing,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “It was like playing one on five. Ryan was doing some things defensively but also made a couple of silly fouls and took himself out. So at halftime we challenged a few guys and try to see if we could play five on five.”

“In the second half we found five that were playing and we think we’re pretty good when we’re playing,” Franklin added. “In the second half we played, it’s that simple. Kris King stepped up in the second half. Lebron was more aggressive in the second half and we have some downhill things set up for him and Kris. We got them caught in some of our actions early in the half and it made it very difficult for them to guard us man-to-man. They went to the zone and we were prepared for the zone. We thought there were some areas we could attack and Kris was going to be a key part of that since the last time we saw them.”

“I thought they played well,” Franklin said. “I thought defensively we were much better in the second half. We only gave up 27 points in the second half. That’s more like it. It was a good effort. Logan is hard to beat. Especially when they are all jacked up and ready to go and playing over here, which this is basically a road game for us. It’s a tough road game, four hours round trip on the bus Monday and two hours getting over here today. But our guys got it done and it’s a big win for us. Obviously, I think we’re already in the tournament and now I can’t see how we don’t get a bye at this point. But we’ll see. We want to come out here Friday and win a championship and we’ll see if we can do that.”

Sophomore Michael Osei-Bonsu put the team on his back Wednesday night, setting a new career high with 33 points on the night, picking up his 10th double-double of the season and 16th of his VU career with 15 rebounds and also set a new career high with six steals.

Freshman Lebron Thomas (Bishopville, S.C.) was able to provide some offensive assistance in the second half, scoring 15 of his 21 points in the final 20 minutes, including hitting a pair of threes to go along with his eight rebounds and team-high six assists.

Sophomore Kris King (Washington, D.C.) was the third VU scorer in double-figures Wednesday night, coming off the bench to score 14 points, all in the second half, while also grabbing three rebounds and dishing out three assists.

Sophomore Ryan Oliver (Antioch, Tenn.) again drew a tough defensive assignment guarding John A. Logan leading scorer Julian Norris for most of the night.

Norris was coming off of a 36-point outburst in the Volunteers quarterfinal victory over Lake Land College but was held to just 11 points Wednesday against VU.

Oliver finished his night with five points and a pair of assists.