Aces drop finale to UL Monroe

 

MONROE, La. – Sunday’s finale of the Best on the Bayou Tournament saw the University of Evansville softball team drop a 9-1 contest to UL Monroe.

UL Monroe stranded a pair of runners in the bottom of the first but rebounded with two runs in the second.  Evansville cut the deficit in half with some 2-out magic with Hannah Hood doubling to center before Keghan Pye brought her home after reaching on an error.

In the bottom of the fourth, Jacelyn Buck led off with a home run to center while Meagan Brown hit a bases clearing triple to highlight a 5-run inning that extended the lead to 7-1.  One inning later, the Warhawks completed the scoring as they tacked on two more runs while stranding the bases loaded.

As a team, ULM recorded nine hits while the Purple Aces were held to one hit.  Mikayla Jolly took the loss as she allowed seven runs in 3 1/3 innings.  Victoria Abrams earned the win, allowing one run in 4 1/3 frames.

Evansville will be in Charleston, S.C. next weekend for the Low Country Classic.

NEW ORLEANS, La. –  The University of New Orleans baseball team rallied for a run in the bottom of the ninth inning, and plated a run in the tenth on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to pick up a 3-2 victory over the visiting University of Evansville at Maestri Field in New Orleans, Louisiana.

“You have to credit New Orleans,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “They had some great pitching efforts on their side today to really quiet our bats at big times.  I thought that Nick Smith and Kenton Deverman did an outstanding job for us battling on the mound, but we just lost a close game today.

“We have to come out tomorrow and try and salvage a game in the series.  We have to be ready to go from the start tomorrow in all three phases of the game.”

Saturday’s game was a pitcher’s duel from the start.  Both teams would plate runs in the third inning, with UE getting its run first on an RBI single by junior second baseman Cal McGinnis in the top-half of the frame.

The game would remain tied at 1-1 until McGinnis’ next at-bat, when he doubled home junior outfielder Harrison Taubert with two outs in the fifth inning to give UE a 2-1 lead.

After senior starter Nick Smith went the first four innings allowing just a single run, freshman reliever Kenton Deverman took over and retired eight of the first nine men he faced in order, and would keep the Privateers at bay.

Evansville would put men on base in every inning from the fifth inning-on, including putting two men on in the top of the ninth inning, but the Purple Aces could not add to the lead.  UNO then finally broke through in the ninth inning against Deverman on a lead-off double by catcher Miguel Useche and an RBI single by outfielder Mitchell Sanford, who has been a thorn in the side of the Purple Aces all weekend, going 6-for-8 with six RBI in the first two games of the series.

Tied at 2-2 in the tenth inning, Evansville got a two-out pinch-hit single by freshman Kaleb Wilkey, but went scoreless to begin extra-innings.  The Privateers, meanwhile, took advantage of a pair of hit-by-pitches and a walk to load the bases, and won the game on a sacrifice fly off the bat of first baseman Maika Niu to win the game.

McGinnis went 2-for-5 with two RBI to lead the UE attack, which out-hit UNO, 8-6.  Useche and Sanford combined for four of the Privateers’ six hits on the day.

The three-game series will conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m.  Freshman LHP Kevin Reed is expected to start on Sunday for Evansville in a game that can be seen live on ESPN+.

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University baseball team hit the diamond for another busy day of baseball Saturday at Jerry Blemker Field.

The Trailblazers kicked off their split doubleheader day by falling to Olney Central College 8-1 before bouncing back to close out the day with a big 12-2 win over NJCAA Division III No. 7-ranked Joliet Junior College.

VU’s offense came alive with a big six run inning against Joliet, which helped propel the Blazers to a run-rule, walk-off victory.

Vincennes began their day with their eighth straight game versus an NJCAA Division I opponent, this time coming in the form of Olney Central College.

Early on Saturday afternoon the two pitchers were dueling, with each starting pitcher carrying a no-hitter into the fourth inning.

The Blue Knights were the first to break the scoreless tie, plating three runs in the fifth and adding on with four runs in the sixth to take a 7-0 lead.

Vincennes would respond in the sixth after a single by sophomore Jack Robinson (Mooresville, Ind.), followed by a walk by sophomore Kade Hinton (Fort Wayne, Ind.).

Robinson would come in to score on an RBI single by sophomore Brandon Juarez (Evansville, Ind.) cutting the deficit to 7-1.

Olney Central answered back in the top of the seventh with a run of their own before closing out the game by retiring the Blazers in order in the bottom half of the inning, giving Olney Central the 8-1 victory over VU.

Vincennes freshman Kaleb Marrs (Terre Haute, Ind.) got the start on the mound in game one for the Blazers and threw four and one-third very solid innings, allowing three runs on four hits and striking out four.

VU Head Baseball Coach Chris Barney then turned the game over to sophomore Christian Pinson (Elizabethtown, Ky.) who allowed four runs on two hits and striking out three in one and one-third innings of work.

Freshman Bryce Gross (Bridgeport, Ill.) entered to close out the final inning and one-third, allowing one run on three hits and striking out one.

The Trailblazers then looked to bounce back and regroup ahead of another tough test in the night cap of the day, facing off against Joliet Junior College who comes into the weekend ranked No. 7 in NJCAA Division III baseball.

Vincennes set the tone early in game two of the day, leading off the bottom of the first with a double by freshman Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.), who later came around to score on a single by Kade Hinton and a fielding error to give the Blazers the early 1-0 lead.

The Trailblazers added to this lead in the second with the first four batters in the inning reaching base and back-to-back singles by sophomores Dylan Ecken (Louisville, Ky.) and Bryton Griffy (Louisville, Ill.), followed by a walk to Bryce Gross and a bases loaded walk by Douglas.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Every single point mattered.

Indiana women’s swimming and diving won its seventh Big Ten Championship – first since 2019 – on Saturday (Feb. 24), outscoring runner-up and four-time defending champion Ohio State by one-half of a point at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center.

The Hoosiers walked it off, placing second in the 400-yard freestyle ahead of third-place Ohio State to earn the necessary two-point advantage over the Buckeyes. OSU led through three legs, but sophomore Kristina Paegle’s 46.65 anchor got IU home in 3:11.37, over a second quicker than Ohio State’s relay.

The previous closest difference between first and second at a Big Ten women’s championships was 2004, when Michigan edged Penn State 604.5-590.5.

Because the team results were decided by such a small margin, every performance was crucial. Juniors Ching Hwee Gan, Brearna Crawford and Skyler Liu all won individual Big Ten Championships during the final night, but the Hoosiers could not have done it without freshman MacKenna Lieske, who had to win a swim-off in the morning to get into the 200-yard breaststroke C final, earning maximum points from her heat. It could not have happened without springboard specialist Anne Fowler’s perhaps last performance on platform, getting her own 17th-place finish and the nine points with it. Anna Freed swam an exhausting 200 fly, 200 back double and finished fifth in both races. There’s a hero in every Hoosier that swam, dove or encouraged her teammates.

“I am still in a state of disbelief,” IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “What our women did tonight was simply unbelievable. We basically witnessed a near-perfect performance by everyone. This is a championship that I will never forget!”

Moments before the relay, Liu hinted that perhaps destiny was having its day. As the top seed stepped to the end of the 10-meter platform for her final dive, she needed 78.80 points to summit the top of the leaderboard. She said her arms were “trembling” as she went into her handstand 30 feet above the water. Somehow, she got into position, executed three-and-a-half somersaults into a pike position and glided into the water. Liu scored 79.20 points, winning her second Big Ten title in two days. She was named the Big Ten Diver of the Championships.

“That was the ultimate team victory,” IU head diving coach Drew Johansen said. “I have never seen four days of competition come down to half of a point. Every girl on this team made a difference. To see Skyler hit that last dive to win by less than a point was spectacular, and then to see our relay out-touch OSU was like a storybook ending.”

Crawford captured her second-career 200-yard breaststroke title in a season-best 2:07.25. She previously won it as a freshman in 2022 but was foiled last season by teammate Noelle Peplowski, now an assistant coach for the program. Indiana has won eight of the last nine Big Ten 200-yard breaststroke championships. The junior also earned a bronze medal for her performance in the 100-yard event on Friday.

Gan and fellow junior Mariah Denigan kicked off the evening session in style with their medal performances in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Swimming out of the first of five heats, Denigan dropped a 15:59.66 in her first mile swim of the season. Only Gan and Wisconsin’s Madeline Waggoner would beat that in the remaining four heats. Gan was ruthless in her victory, going wire-to-wire in the top-seeded heat and touching in 15:54.83. It’s Gan’s first individual Big Ten championship after finishing third in the event as a freshman and second last season and IU’s first mile title since 2014.

All four Hoosiers on the clinching relay previously competed in 100-yard freestyle finals. Junior Anna Peplowski (47.53) and Paegle (47.65) both medaled. Senior Ashley Turak (49.09) was eighth, and Ella Ristic (49.89) finished 24th. Peplowski led off the relay in 47.72, followed by Turak’s nearly identical 47.71. Ristic was 49.29, giving way to Paegle’s incredible 46.65 anchor.

IU had three top-10 finishers in the 200 fly via Freed’s fifth (1:57.76), sophomore Katie Forrester’s sixth (1:57.97) and Ava Whitaker winning the B final in 1:57.67. In the 200 back, Freed (1:54.80), sophomore Mya DeWitt (1:54.620 and junior Kacey McKenna (1:57.19) followed suit. A pair of freshmen also earned points on platform as Ella Roselli and Lily Witte each performed in the consolation final, their third final in three days.

TEAM SCORES
1. Indiana – 1,359

2. Ohio State – 1,358.5
3. Michigan – 1,207
4. Wisconsin – 978
5. Minnesota – 816
6. Purdue – 572.5
7. Northwestern – 463.5
8. Nebraska – 409
9. Penn State – 382
10. Rutgers – 363.5
11. Iowa – 303
12. Illinois – 204

    RESULTS

1,650 FREESTYLE

1. Ching Hwee Gan – 15:54.83 (Big Ten Champion, NCAA B Cut)
2. Mariah Denigan – 15:15.66 (Bronze, NCAA B Cut)
3. Elyse Heiser – 16:16.88 (NCAA B Cut)
4. Katie Carson – 16:00.89 (Exhibition, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)

200 BACKSTROKE
4. Mya DeWitt – 1:54.62 (NCAA B Cut)

5. Anna Freed – 1:54.80 (NCAA B Cut)
6. Kacey McKenna – 1:57.19

   100 FREESTYLE
   2. Anna Peplowski – 47.54 (Silver, NCAA B Cut)

7. Kristina Paegle – 47.65 (Bronze, NCAA B Cut, Career Best)
8. Ashley Turak – 49.09 (NCAA B Cut)
9. Ella Ristic – 49.89

200 BREASTSTROKE

1. Brearna Crawford – 2:07.25 (Big Ten Champion, NCAA B Cut)
2. Reese Tiltmann – 2:14.38
3. MacKenna Lieske – 2:13.34 (NCAA B Cut, Career Best)

200 BUTTERFLY

5. Anna Freed – 1:57.76 (NCAA B Cut)
6. Katie Forrester – 1:57.97 (NCAA B Cut)
7. Ava Whitaker – 1:57.67 (NCAA B Cut)

PLATFORM

1. Skyler Liu – 342.40 (Big Ten Champion, NCAA Zone Qualifier)
2. Ella Roselli – 246.65 (NCAA Zone Qualifier)
3. Lily Witte – 209.55
4. Anne Fowler – 210.75

400 FREESTYLE RELAY

2. Anna Peplowski, Ashley Turak, Ella Ristic, Kristina Paegle – 3:11.37 (Silver, Program Record, NCAA A Cut)