EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After falling behind early, the University of Evansville baseball team exploded for 16 unanswered runs on Friday night, as the Purple Aces cruised to an 18-5 victory over the visiting Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.

“Tonight was an overall great effort by our team,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “Our offense really picked us up, as throwing up 18 runs on a Friday is not easy to do. We had quality at-bats up and down our lineup, but it really starts with our lead-off man Mark Shallenberger. He had five quality at-bats in six trips to the plate, and lined out in his only time he didn’t reach base. He was locked in tonight.

“I also thought that the job that Ethan Bell tonight was huge. For him to come in and put up goose eggs was really key for us not only tonight, but to set up our pitching for the rest of the weekend with it being a four-game series. I am just really proud of the effort all the way around tonight.”

Evansville jumped up early, as graduate third baseman Brent Widder launched a two-run home run to left-center field two batters into the first inning to give UE a 2-0 lead. Purdue Fort Wayne was able to rally for a run in the second inning and four in the third inning to grab a 5-2 lead, but the lead would be short-lived.

Evansville rallied for four runs in the bottom of the third inning to retake the lead. Graduate designated hitter Brendan Hord started the rally with an RBI double, before junior outfielder Ty Rumsey came through with an RBI single two batters later to get UE back within a run at 5-4. Graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger then followed two batters later with a two-run single to give UE a lead it would never lose.

UE tacked on three more runs in the fourth inning on a two-out, three-run double by Rumsey to push the lead to 9-5. A four-run fifth inning moved the lead to 13-5, as senior first baseman Kip Fougerousse and senior shortstop Simon Scherry had back-to-back RBI hits in the frame, and Rumsey added another RBI single. The Aces would finally explode for five runs in the eighth inning to cap the scoring, as Shallenberger had an RBI single and Scherry added a grand slam to left field for his first home run of the year.

While UE’s offense was on fire, so too was redshirt sophomore reliever Ethan Bell. Pressed into action in the third inning with a runner on base and one out, Bell recorded the final two outs of the third inning and then mowed through the Purdue Fort Wayne lineup with 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. Bell allowed just a lone single in his outing, while striking out six men to pick up his second win of the year and improve to 2-0 overall. Graduate reliever Jace KreUE BASEBALL ROARS PAST PURDUE FORT WAYNE, 18-5, IN SERIES OPENER

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After falling behind early, the University of Evansville baseball team exploded for 16 unanswered runs on Friday night, as the Purple Aces cruised to an 18-5 victory over the visiting Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.

“Tonight was an overall great effort by our team,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “Our offense really picked us up, as throwing up 18 runs on a Friday is not easy to do. We had quality at-bats up and down our lineup, but it really starts with our lead-off man Mark Shallenberger. He had five quality at-bats in six trips to the plate, and lined out in his only time he didn’t reach base. He was locked in tonight.

“I also thought that the job that Ethan Bell tonight was huge. For him to come in and put up goose eggs was really key for us not only tonight, but to set up our pitching for the rest of the weekend with it being a four-game series. I am just really proud of the effort all the way around tonight.”

Evansville jumped up early, as graduate third baseman Brent Widder launched a two-run home run to left-center field two batters into the first inning to give UE a 2-0 lead. Purdue Fort Wayne was able to rally for a run in the second inning and four in the third inning to grab a 5-2 lead, but the lead would be short-lived.

Evansville rallied for four runs in the bottom of the third inning to retake the lead. Graduate designated hitter Brendan Hord started the rally with an RBI double, before junior outfielder Ty Rumsey came through with an RBI single two batters later to get UE back within a run at 5-4. Graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger then followed two batters later with a two-run single to give UE a lead it would never lose.

UE tacked on three more runs in the fourth inning on a two-out, three-run double by Rumsey to push the lead to 9-5. A four-run fifth inning moved the lead to 13-5, as senior first baseman Kip Fougerousse and senior shortstop Simon Scherry had back-to-back RBI hits in the frame, and Rumsey added another RBI single. The Aces would finally explode for five runs in the eighth inning to cap the scoring, as Shallenberger had an RBI single and Scherry added a grand slam to left field for his first home run of the year.

While UE’s offense was on fire, so too was redshirt sophomore reliever Ethan Bell. Pressed into action in the third inning with a runner on base and one out, Bell recorded the final two outs of the third inning and then mowed through the Purdue Fort Wayne lineup with 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. Bell allowed just a lone single in his outing, while striking out six men to pick up his second win of the year and improve to 2-0 overall. Graduate reliever Jace Kressin and junior reliever Drew Fieger pitched the final three innings scoreless to nail down the victory.

Scherry went 3-for-5 with a grand slam and six RBI, while Rumsey went 3-for-5 with five RBI to help lead UE. Shallenberger also reached base five times by going 2-for-3 with two hit-by-pitches, three runs scored and three RBI.

With the victory, Evansville improves to 5-4 on the season, while Purdue Fort Wayne falls to 2-7. The two teams will continue the series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Senior RHP Nick Smith and freshman LHP Kenton Deverman are scheduled to start the twinbill for UE.

ssin and junior reliever Drew Fieger pitched the final three innings scoreless to nail down the victory.

Scherry went 3-for-5 with a grand slam and six RBI, while Rumsey went 3-for-5 with five RBI to help lead UE. Shallenberger also reached base five times by going 2-for-3 with two hit-by-pitches, three runs scored and three RBI.

With the victory, Evansville improves to 5-4 on the season, while Purdue Fort Wayne falls to 2-7. The two teams will continue the series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Senior RHP Nick Smith and freshman LHP Kenton Deverman are scheduled to start the twinbill for UE.

VINCENNES, Ind. – Vincennes University sophomore starting pitcher Logan Medsker (Marshall, Ill.) wasted little time breaking his new career-high in strikeouts from last weekend, coming out Friday night against the No. 12-ranked Kellogg Community College Bruins and setting a new career-high with 11 strikeouts on the game.

Medsker’s excellent pitching performance helped guide the Trailblazers to a 2-1 upset victory over the Bruins to kick off another busy weekend of Junior College baseball at Jerry Blemker Field.

The game began as another pitcher’s duel for the Trailblazers, with both offenses held scoreless through the first three innings.

Kellogg would break the scoreless tie in the fourth after their leadoff hitter reached on an error and came in to score on a sacrifice fly.

VU answered back strong in the bottom half of the inning with sophomore Kade Hinton (Fort Wayne, Ind.) leading off the inning with a single, followed by a double by redshirt freshman Holden Clifton (Louisville, Ill.).

Hinton came in to tie the game on a wild pitch before sophomore Brandon Juarez (Evansville, Ind.) put down an excellent sacrifice bunt to drive in Clifton on the squeeze play and give the Blazers a 2-1 lead.

The Vincennes pitching staff took it from there with Medsker allowing one base runner in the fifth, before turning the game over to sophomore Christian Pinson (Elizabethtown, Ky.) in the sixth and sophomore Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) coming in from shortstop to close out the seventh by striking out all three batters he faced.

Parnin closed the door in the seventh to pick up the save and finish off the upset victory for the Trailblazers 2-1 over No. 12 Kellogg C.C.

Logan Medsker pitched an outstanding game Friday night, throwing five innings, allowing one hit, one run, zero earned runs and setting a new career-high with 11 strikeouts, including throwing an immaculate inning in the third by striking out all three Bruin batters on nine pitches.

Christian Pinson pitched an inning plus, allowing no runs on one hit and striking out two.

Jace Parnin entered in the seventh with the potential tying run on first and was able to slam the door shut with three strikeouts to end the game.

The VU pitchers combined to strikeout 16 batters Friday night, while only allowing two walks and two hits in the seven inning game.

“First of all, it started on the mound tonight,” VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney said. “Logan Medsker gave us five quality innings and gave up no earned runs. Then he turned it over to the bullpen to Christian Pinson who did it last year for us and then Jace Parnin coming in for his first save of the year.”

“Then the other part of it is that we executed tonight both offensively and defensively,” Barney added. “We executed two hit and runs. Carter Whitehead made a great catch in left field early in the game. Then executed a squeeze play with Juarez with Clifton at third. You put all of that together, running up against their top arm who is a Purdue commit, is really good. That pitcher is as good as we’ve seen all year.”

“Hopefully we can feed off of this and build off of this,” Barney said. “This is a quality win for our program and we’re excited about it with opportunities to hopefully get two more tomorrow.”

Forward Nevaeh Thomas led the Purple Aces in three statistical categories

MURRAY, Ky. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball team struggled to keep up with the Murray State Racers’ physical play in an 85-59 loss.

Freshman forward Neveah Thomas led the Aces in almost every statistical category on Friday night with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high four assists. UE led for the first quarter in their penultimate road game of the season but couldn’t hang on in the following 10 minutes. Three Evansville players ended the night in double figures as Thomas, guard Kynidi Mason Striverson, and forward Maggie Hartwig all had 10+ point games.

The Aces got to a hot start with an early three from guard Lexie Sinclair. Buckets from outside the arc kept UE in front early as it was an even game in the paint between the two teams. Evansville’s largest quarter lead came only three minutes into the game with a six-point advantage. Murray State responded with a brief run but a free throw and a third three from guard Kynidi Mason Striverson had the Aces back up by four. The quarter ended with traded shots until UE had back-to-back field goals in the final minute to head into the second quarter up by five.

Evansville got the first points in the second as well, making it a seven-point lead for the team’s largest of the half. But the Racers began to find their shooting outside the arc, making two threes in 30 seconds to cut the lead down to only one. The lead was traded twice before Murray State ended the half on a 14 to two run putting the Aces at an 11-point deficit.

Guard Julia Palomo had the first bucket of the second half to make it a single-digit game again. The Racers were able to respond with a three and a layup to make it a 14-point game. UE put together a four-point run to get back within 10 before the teams traded points for a minute. Murray State had another quick run that ended with Evansville’s last four points of the quarter from forward Maggie Hartwig. The third ended with a six-point Racer run, making it a 20-point game.

The Aces got most of their early points in the fourth quarter at the line, going four of four in the first two minutes. UE picked up its first field goal of the final frame at 6:19 from Thomas in the paint. The teams mostly traded points down the stretch as Murray State held onto a 20+ lead the entire quarter.  Evansville ended the game at the line as Mason Striverson split free throws for the 85-59 final.

The Aces will play their final road game of the season on Sunday afternoon in the Music City. UE visits Belmont for a 1 p.m. tip-off on Sunday, March 3.

Aces and Bruins meet up at 4 p.m. in Nashville

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Regular season play comes to a close on Sunday when the University of Evansville men’s basketball team will be in Nashville to face Belmont at the Curb Event Center.  Tip is set for 4 p.m. CT with ESPN+ and the Purple Aces Radio Network on the call.

Season Win Notes           

– For the first time in five seasons, the Purple Aces have won double digit games, earning win #10 of 2023 with an 82-51 victory over Tennessee Tech on Dec. 20

– With the win, UE clinched its first 10-win season since earning 11 victories in 2018-19; the 10th win also doubled the win total from the entirety of last season

– UE earned its 12th win of the season on Jan. 27 against Illinois State; it is the first time UE has won 12 games since 2017-18

– When UE racked up its 11th win on Jan. 17, the program won as many games this season as the last two years combined

– Victories over Chattanooga and SEMO in the Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Classic saw the Purple Aces improve to 6-0 on the season

– It is the first time UE has won its first six games since the 1964-65 undefeated national championship team

Last Time Out

– Shooting 50.8% on the night, Indiana State picked up an 85-67 win over UE in Wednesday’s home finale

– Seniors Gage Bobe, Kenny Strawbridge Jr., Antonio Thomas and Yacine Toumi were recognized during Senior Night festivities

– Strawbridge led UE with 14 points while Bobe and Tanner Cuff scored 10 apiece

– Toumi recorded 9 points and a team-high 8 boards

Finishing on a High Note

– As the regular season comes to a close, Gage Bobe is playing his best basketball of the season and finished with 10 points on Senior Night

-  He hit 3 of his 5 outside attempts against the Sycamores and has hit a triple in 7 consecutive games, shooting 56.5% (13-of-23)

– At UIC, he was a perfect 4-for-4 from long range on his way to 12 points; it tied his season mark of 12, which came at home against Murray State where he was also 4-for-4 from outside

Double Digits

– Tanner Cuff scored 10 points in the home finale and has now picked up 9+ points in 7 of the last 11 games while averaging 9.1 PPG (100 points) over that span

– In the home win over UIC, he recorded a career-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting

– Over the last 13 games, Cuff has 21 assists and 11 turnovers; the 6 games prior saw him post 6 assists and 10 turnovers

Finishing Strong

– Wednesday’s home finale saw Yacine Toumi finish with a solid 9 points and 8 rebounds

– In the two prior games, he averaged 5.0 points and 4.5 caroms

– After scoring 20 points three times at UE, Toumi reset his high with 22 points against UIC on 8-of-10 shooting

– His season shooting mark of 55.2% ranks 6th in the MVC