FOOTNOTE: EPD DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT information was provided by the EPD and posted by the City-County-County Observer without opinion, bias, or editing.
Missouri Man Arrested after Driving 130 mph and Crashing into another Vehicle
Posey County – Saturday night, March 9, at approximately 7:05 p.m., Trooper Backes was operating stationary radar on I-64 near the 9 mile-marker when he clocked a 2015 Infiniti traveling east at 95 mph. Trooper Backes attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver accelerated and continued east at a high rate of speed. Moments after the initial radar clock, Trooper Vennekotter utilized his radar unit and clocked the vehicle at 130 mph. The vehicle exited I-64 at the Poseyville exit, drove left of center on SR 165 at the exit ramp, and struck a 1997 Ford F250 pickup truck that was traveling north. The driver of the pickup truck had to be extricated by Poseyville Volunteer Fire Department. The driver of the pickup truck was identified as a 52-year-old male from Owensville. He was transported to Deaconess Midtown Hospital. The driver of the 2015 Infiniti was identified as Amir Tuzlakovic, 21, of St. Louis, MO. Tuzlakovic was arrested and taken to the Posey County Jail where he is currently being held on bond.
Arrested and Charges:
- Amir Tuzlakovic, 21, St. Louis, MO
- Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle and causing Serious Bodily Injury, Level 5 Felony
- Criminal Recklessness with a Vehicle, Level 6 Felony
- Reckless Driving causing Injury, Class A Misdemeanor
Arresting Officer: Trooper D. Backes, Indiana State Police
All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Brugnoli, Pesavento Named To MVC Scholar-Athlete Team
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Evansville women’s swimming and diving team had two members named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team on Wednesday, as junior Sveva Brugnoli (Rome, Italy) and sophomore Mia Pesavento (Enola, Pa./Cumberland Valley) earned the honors for their work in the classroom and at the 2024 MVC Swimming & Diving Championships.
The MVC Scholar-Athlete teams are selected based off performance at the MVC Championships, with individuals carrying a 3.5 GPA or above earning Scholar-Athlete Team honors by being a member of the MVC All-Conference Team. Individuals with a 3.7 GPA who place in the top 16 in an individual event also earn MVC Scholar-Athlete Team honors. Those individuals who owns GPAs of 3.9 or above and participate in the championships (even non-scorers) also earn MVC Scholar-Athlete team status. Brugnoli carries a 3.77 GPA in Exercise Science at UE, while Pesavento owns a 3.88 GPA in Actuarial Science at Evansville.
In all, 66 competitors from the 2024 MVC Swimming & Diving Championships were named to the MVC’s Scholar-Athlete Team.
UE Men Break More Records, Tavrovsky Third At MAC Swimming & Diving Championships
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The University of Evansville men’s swimming and diving team broke three program records on Saturday, and freshman Boris Tavrovsky (Jerusalem, Israel) placed third overall in the men’s 200-Yard Backstroke to wrap up competition at the 2024 Mid-American Conference Swimming & Diving Championships in Carbondale, Illinois.
Tavrovsky placed third in the 200 Back after breaking the program record in the event earlier in the day in the preliminary round. In fact, both Tavrovsky and junior Patrik Vilbergsson (Kopavogur, Iceland) went below the previous record of 1:47.14 in the preliminary round with times of 1:46.00 and 1:46.16 respectively. Tavrovsky came back in Saturday night’s final session and placed third overall with a time of 1:46.25, while Vilbergsson was fifth with a time of 1:47.19. Tavrovsky nearly placed second, but was out-touched by 0.01 seconds at the wall by Miami’s Owen Blazer.
The 200-Yard Backstroke record was not the only record to fall on Saturday, though, as senior distance swimmer Jackson Caudill (Mount Sterling, Ky./Montgomery County) broke a pair of school records while placing fourth overall in the 1,650-Yard Freestyle event. Caudill’s 1,000-Yard split time of 9:22.50 broke the previous school record by over three seconds, while his 1,650-Yard final time of 15:38.79 edged his previous school record, set last year.
Sophomore diver Levi McKinney (Boonville, Ind./Boonville) continued UE’s strong Saturday performance in the three-meter diving finals on Saturday night, as he placed sixth overall in the MAC with a final-round score of 283.75.
Evansville also had a pair of freshmen compete in the B Finals on Saturday night. Freshman Yousef Hassan (Doha, Qatar) placed 14th overall in the 200-Yard Backstroke by placing sixth in the B Final with a time of 1:50.36, which ranks him as the eighth-fastest UE male in the event in school history. Fellow freshman Joao Pereira (Curitiba, Brazil) also placed 16th overall in the MAC in the 200-Yard Breaststroke, posting a finals time of 2:06.24. He posted a time of 2:02.88 in the preliminary round, which ranks him as the fourth-fastest UE male in the event in school history.
UE also placed sixth in the 400-Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:02.12. Junior Daniel Santos Lopez (Madrid, Spain) posted one of the fastest 100-Yard Freestyle times in UE history to open the relay, posting a lead-split time of 45.12, which ranks him third-fastest all-time at UE.
As a team, Evansville finished sixth overall at the 2024 MAC Championships. Miami of Ohio took home the overall team title, holding off Missouri State on the final day of competition. Evansville will now turn its sights to the post-season, as a group of swimmers will go on to compete at the CSCAA National Invitational Championships in Ocala, Florida from Thursday, March 14 through Saturday, March 16. UE divers Levi McKinney and Madison Rollett (Evansville, Ind./Reitz) will also compete at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships in Louisville, Kentucky from Wednesday, March 13 through Saturday, March 16.
EARLY OFFENSE POWERS MISSISSIPPI STATE PAST UE BASEBALL, 8-3
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Mississippi State baseball team scored runs in every inning from the second through sixth innings on Saturday, as the Bulldogs powered past the visiting University of Evansville Purple Aces, 8-3, at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Mississippi.
“It is tough to lose a series on Saturday, as we came down here with expectations, but just have not played well enough to win in the first two games,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “We have also run up against a very good opponent who is playing really good baseball right now, and their middle of the order has really done some damage this weekend.
“I am really looking forward to coming to the yard tomorrow, and seeing our character show. I know that we are going to get a good effort tomorrow, and hopefully, we can salvage one here on Sunday and show what we are capable of.”
Mississippi State opened the scoring in the second inning thanks to a lead-off walk and then back-to-back singles by third baseman Logan Kohler and outfielder Connor Hujsak. Catcher Joe Powell then delivered a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 2-0 after two innings.
Evansville threatened to tie the game in the top of the third inning after a two-out double by junior outfielder Harrison Taubert and a walk by Mark Shallenberger, but MSU starter Khal Stephen (2-1) induced a fly-out to end the inning. Mississippi State first baseman Hunter Hines followed in the bottom of the third inning with a solo home run to right field to push the lead to 3-0.
Stephen would proceed to retire nine of the next 10 UE batters, while his teammates would extend the lead in every frame through the sixth inning. A two-out RBI double by shortstop Dylan Cupp in the fourth inning moved the MSU lead to 4-0, before outfielder Dakota Jordan delivered a towering two-run home run in the fifth inning and a two-run double in the sixth inning to give the Bulldogs an 8-0 lead. Through the first two games of the series, Jordan has gone 6-for-7 with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBI and two runs scored.
Evansville’s offense would finally get on the scoreboard in the eighth inning, as Taubert crushed a two-run home run to left-center field and graduate third baseman Brent Widder followed two batters later with a solo home run to left field to trim the MSU lead to 8-3. That would be as close as Evansville would come though.
Taubert led Evansville by going 2-for-4 with a double, home run, and two RBI. Widder also went 1-for-4 with his team-leading fifth home run of the year.
With the victory, Mississippi State extends its winning streak to eight-straight games, as the Bulldogs improve to 11-4 overall. Evansville, meanwhile, sees its season record even at 7-7. The series will conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m. Freshman left-hander Kenton Deverman (2-0, 2.55 ERA) is expected to get the start for UE. Sunday’s game can be seen live on the SEC Network+ streaming service.
Offensive outburst leads Blazers to doubleheader sweep at Lewis & Clark
GODFREY, Ill. – The wind was blowing out for most of Saturday afternoon as the Vincennes University baseball team opened Mid-West Athletic Conference play at Lewis & Clark Community College and the Trailblazer bats took full advantage, clubbing four home runs and scoring 25 runs over two games.
VU got the afternoon started with a big late comeback win in game one over L&C 17-9 before closing out the day by winning game two 8-5.
The Vincennes bats got off to a slow start Saturday, with Lewis & Clark jumping on the scoreboard first with a run in the second.
The Trailblazers would immediately respond in the third inning with a three-run home run by sophomore Brandon Juarez (Evansville, Ind.), his second home run of the year, putting the Blazers on top 3-1.
Lewis & Clark answered back in their half of the inning however, taking the lead back with four runs to lead 5-3.
Vincennes would chip away at this deficit in the fourth after a lead off double by sophomore Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.), who would come around to score on a fielding error put in play by sophomore Dylan Ecken (Louisville, Ky.).
VU would even the score in the 5th after another lead off double, this time by redshirt freshman Holden Clifton (Louisville, Ill), who would come around and score on a wild pitch to tie the game at 5-5.
Lewis & Clark again looked to take a commanding lead in the bottom of the 5th, scoring four runs in the inning and grabbing the lead back in a big way.
Vincennes would again chip away in the seventh with an RBI single by freshman Corbin Napier (Indianapolis, Ind.) and a bases loaded walk by sophomore Trevor Newman (Fort Wayne, Ind.) to cut the L&C lead to 9-7.
The Trailblazers would hold Lewis & Clark scoreless down the stretch before VU’s bats came alive in a big way in the top of the ninth.
Looking to extend the game, VU came to bat in the top of the ninth down two runs and were able to get the first three batters on base to load the bases for sophomore Blake Heyerly (Monroe, Ind.) who came through with a big pinch hit grand slam, his first collegiate home run, to push the Blazers in front 11-9.
Vincennes wasn’t done there though, sophomore Jack Robinson (Mooresville, Ind.) plated another run with an RBI single, followed by a two-run home run by Holden Clifton, his first home run of the season and second of his VU career.
VU continued to add more as the Blazers sent 15 batters to the plate in the inning and capped off the massive inning with a two-RBI double by Jace Parnin and an RBI double by Blake Heyerly, giving him five RBIs in the ninth inning alone.
All totaled, the Trailblazers scored 10 runs in the ninth inning, the most runs scored by the Blazers in a single inning since March 17, 2018, vs. Lake Michigan College.
Aces women’s basketball drops regular season finale to UNI
The Purple Aces led on the defensive side of the ball with 39 rebounds
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball celebrated its two graduating players in a 67-46 loss to the Northern Iowa Panthers.
The Purple Aces offense didn’t find its rhythm until the second half in their final game at Meeks Family Fieldhouse. UE had only 12 points through the first half but got back into the game in the second half with another big performance from freshman forward Nevaeh Thomas. Thomas added her sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds in 34 minutes.
“I thought we battled so hard, we just shot so poorly,” said Head Coach Robyn Scherr-Wells following the game. “We had good chances. And we made a nice run at it. Lots of credit to UNI for making a couple of big threes to widen the gap again and put a stop to our little run. They did a good job in that stretch when we made a push at it. They had answers to it.
“But I’m really proud of our ladies. We’ve been so banged up. To the point where I was worried, we wouldn’t play against Drake on Thursday. We thought we weren’t going to have more than six bodies available. To then get to today and have eight players available. I’m proud of our fight. We’ve had to play so many different lineups in the last week. But our team has been really tough through that process.”
Evansville got the first bucket of the game for Senior Day as graduate center Barbora Tomancova had a second-chance layup two and a half minutes in. But the Aces didn’t score another point until the final minute and a half of the first quarter. UNI built only an eight-point lead in the other five minutes as both teams struggled to score in the opening frame. A four-point run for the Panthers in the final minute had UE down by only 10 points despite shooting 6.3%.
The second quarter didn’t get any easier for Evansville as the team went three of nine from the floor. It took nearly four minutes for either team to make a shot in the second but the first went to UNI at 6:22. The Aces had their first field goal of the quarter at 4:33 on a layup from Thomas. But another long scoreless stretch for UE made it a 17-point game with under two minutes left in the half. Guard Sydney Bradley broke Evansville’s scoreless streak with an open jump shot that sparked a six to two run to end the half.
Both teams’ offense improved in the second half, with the Aces having their best quarter in the third. A three-point play for Thomas opened UE’s scoring in the half. The and-1 opportunity sparked a back-and-forth game through most of the third quarter. Evansville did end the quarter on a quick five-point run to get back within single digits. But the Panthers ended the quarter with a jump shot to again make it a double-digit deficit for the Aces.
The final ten minutes began with a quick three for UNI to begin pulling away from UE. But Evansville didn’t back down as Thomas had another three-point play to get within 11. The Panthers responded with a five-point run that made it a 16-point game with just under seven minutes left to play. It became a shot-for-shot game over the next three minutes.
The Aces put together their final scoring run of the regular season as Thomas made a layup and two free throws in just under a minute. But UNI ended UE’s potential comeback with an eight-point run to close out the game. Evansville got the final bucket as Thomas added another layup on an assist from guard Tené Smith to make the final score 67-46.
While it was a tough game on offense for the Aces, UE stayed in the game with a strong defensive presence. Evansville outrebounded the Panthers 39 to 34 while also blocking four shots. The Aces’ best offensive category came on second-chance points with 10 while tying UNI in points in the paint with 28 each.
UE gets its shot in the postseason next week at Hoops in the Heartland in Moline, Ill. Evansville is locked into the 12th seed in the tournament and will play the fifth seed on Thursday afternoon. Tip-off for the Aces from Vibrant Arena at the MARK is set for 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 14.
USI Women’s Basketball soars to win 2024 OVC Championship Tournament crown
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball added on to a historic 2023-24 championship season by winning the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament crown, 81-53, over the University of Tennessee at Martin on Saturday afternoon at Ford Center in downtown Evansville to deliver the first OVC team tournament championship in USI history.
USI Women’s Basketball (24-6) already claimed the first OVC team regular-season championship in the last two weeks of the 2023-24 season, securing the No. 1 seed for the Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Championship. USI defeated Eastern Illinois University, 69-54, in Friday’s semifinal to get to Saturday’s championship game against UT Martin (16-16).
The Screaming Eagles’ championship game victory marked USI’s 10th consecutive win, matching the longest winning streak of the season for USI. The Screaming Eagles also won 10 in a row between December 22 to February 1.
USI’s 28-point margin of victory in Saturday’s championship game also ranked among the largest margins of victory in the OVC Women’s Basketball Tournament championship game history, just short of the championship game’s top-two point differentials of 32 and 30 points.
Compared to recent history, Saturday’s championship win put Southern Indiana with the likes of the University of North Dakota’s 2011-12 team (Great West Conference) and California Baptist University’s 2020-21 team (Western Athletic Conference) to win a regular season and conference tournament championship in the same season during a transition period.
On Saturday, UT Martin scored the game’s first points at the free-throw line, but then Southern Indiana went on a 12-2 run over five minutes. The run included a pair of jumpers by junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) to give USI a 12-4 advantage halfway into the opening quarter. Each side experienced a two-minute scoreless drought in the back half of the first quarter, but the Screaming Eagles finished the period with a couple of field-goal makes in the last two minutes to take a 17-8 lead to the second quarter.
In the first two minutes of the second period, UT Martin came out with a barrage of three-point attempts, swishing three in a row through the bottom of the net. Southern Indiana answered with back-to-back layups before senior forward Meredith Raley (Haubstadt, Indiana) dropped in a triple of her own to make the score 24-17 USI with 7:30 left in the first half. Then freshman guard Triniti Ralston (Louisville, Kentucky) sparked another big run for the Screaming Eagles with a dribble-drive layup and a three-pointer. USI’s lead grew to 33-19 past the five-minute mark of the second frame. The final minutes of the first half featured a defensive struggle before Shafford stroked a buzzer-beating three, giving the Screaming Eagles a 36-23 halftime lead.
Southern Indiana came out of halftime with 10 unanswered points, and by the 6:30 mark in the third quarter, USI doubled up UT Martin, 50-25. Senior forward Madi Webb (Bedford, Indiana) tallied a pair of layups, while redshirt senior guard Addy Blackwell (Bloomington, Indiana) scored seven points during USI’s big run. Near the midway point of the second half, Ralston continued to make a huge impact with consecutive three-point makes. Southern Indiana’s advantage continued to climb, as a last-second transition layup by Raley capped off a 64-36 USI lead through three periods of play.
The fourth quarter had a slow start for both teams. For Southern Indiana, freshman forward Chloe Gannon (Manchester, Tennessee) had a solid second half with a pair of makes in the fourth stanza. Gannon joined Raley and Ralston in double figures scoring, as Ralston added to her career game in the scoring column and three-point shooting. Leading 70-48 near the middle of the fourth quarter, Southern Indiana put the cherry on top of the 81-53 championship victory with multiple baskets by Gannon and Shafford in the waning minutes before storming the court in celebration as the final buzzer sounded.
With Southern Indiana not eligible for the NCAA Tournament due to NCAA program reclassification rules, UT Martin received the OVC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the runner-up.
For the game, Southern Indiana was 32-68 for 47 percent shooting, hitting 10 three-pointers and also going 7-7 at the free-throw line. USI outrebounded the Skyhawks, 41-27, and outscored UT Martin in the paint, 36-14. Individually, Shafford led USI with 15 points and also grabbed nine rebounds. Ralston poured in a career-high 14 points and a career-best four three-pointers made. Gannon also chipped in 14 points. Raley recorded 13 points. Blackwell and Webb had nine and eight points, respectively.
UT Martin shot the ball at nearly 39 percent (19-49), connecting eight times from outside the perimeter. The Skyhawks were 7-12 at the foul stripe. UT Martin was led in scoring by freshman Amari Bonds’ 26 points.
Following Saturday’s game and the postgame celebration, the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference All-Tournament Team was announced, which included four USI players. Raley was named to the OVC All-Tournament Team and was selected for the Most Valuable Player Award of the OVC Championship Tournament. Between the two games played, Raley posted 30 total points and 15 rebounds while shooting 55 percent overall. Joining Raley on the OVC All-Tournament Team was Gannon, Webb, and sophomore guard Ali Saunders (Depauw, Indiana). Gannon dropped 29 points, 10 boards, and shot for nearly 57 percent in the two games. Webb totaled 26 points, and Saunders tallied 16 points, 15 assists, and 12 rebounds in the tournament. Saunders flirted with a triple-double on Friday, coming up a rebound shy.
Southern Indiana’s first-ever appearance in the OVC Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament also brought the top-two largest crowds in OVC Women’s Basketball Tournament history since the postseason championship moved to Evansville, Indiana, and Ford Center in 2018. Friday’s semifinal session brought 1,157 spectators, which was outdone by Saturday’s championship game attendance of 1,715.
Next up, USI Women’s Basketball will turn its attention to further postseason competition after securing its spot in the WNIT with its regular season title. The WNIT is a postseason tournament not sanctioned by the NCAA. The Screaming Eagles will wait and see to find out the field as well as dates and times in a little over a week. Stay tuned to usiscreamingeagles.com and @USIAthletics on social media for more information.
THUNDERBOLTS SHUT OUT 3-0 IN HUNTSVILLE
Huntsville, Al.: Despite a stronger effort in both ends of the ice and fewer penalties, the Thunderbolts were unable to solve Havoc goaltender Mike Robinson, as they fell 3-0 in Huntsville on Saturday night. The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Sunday, March 10th against the Pensacola Ice Flyers, puck drop at 3:00pm CT.
Despite several high-quality chances early, the Thunderbolts were unable to grab the first lead. Instead, the Havoc took a 1-0 lead in the first period, as Craig McCabe scored at 10:29. The second period was close but scoreless, as the Thunderbolts twice hit the post but could not score. Huntsville extended their lead early in the third period, as Doug Elgstam scored at 1:49, later followed by Phil Elgstam on a power play at 15:39 to put Evansville behind by a 3-0 score. In goal, Ty Taylor made 30 saves on 33 shots. The Thunderbolts and Havoc do not meet again this regular season.
