Evansville, In.:  Despite a two-goal output from Aiden Wagner, strong penalty killing, and solid goaltending from Brendahn Brawley, the Thunderbolts came up just short against the Storm by a 3-2 score on Saturday at Ford Center.   The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Sunday, March 10^th against the Pensacola Ice Flyers, puck drop at 3:00pm CT.

Wagner gave Evansville the first lead of the night at 9:54 of the first period with a wrap-around shot, assisted by Bronson Adams.  A late first period surge by Quad City allowed them to take a 2-1 lead with goals from Cole Golka at 17:17 and Weiland Parrish at 19:52.  Wagner tied the game back up for Evansville at 4:00 of the second period, as he sniped a rebound into the net off a face-off win from Mark Zhukov for Wagner’s second goal of the night.  Evansville killed off a Storm power play a few minutes later, however the Storm continued the momentum they picked up and regained the lead as Tommy Tsicos scored at 9:24.  Despite outshooting Quad City 11 to 9 in the third period, Evansville was unable to find the tying goal, the closest attempt coming on a late power play as Myles Abbate hit the crossbar with about 3 minutes remaining.

  Wagner finished with both Evansville goals, while Brawley made 30 saves on 33 shots.  The Thunderbolts and Storm do not meet again this regular season.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball captured a gritty 70-59 Senior Night win over Southeast Missouri State University at Screaming Eagles Arena on Saturday night to conclude the 2023-24 Ohio Valley Conference regular season.
 
Saturday’s victory was Southern Indiana’s eighth win in a row, as the Screaming Eagles head into next week’s OVC Championship Tournament and the semifinal round as the No. 1 seed with a 22-6 overall record and a 17-1 conference record. In extending its second-longest winning streak of the season, USI became only the fifth team in OVC history to reach at least 17 conference wins.
 
On Saturday evening, junior guard Vanessa Shafford (Linton, Indiana) jumpstarted Southern Indiana’s offense with three consecutive triples early in the first quarter. USI went on a 13-0 run while holding Southeast Missouri scoreless for over five minutes, producing a 13-3 lead for the Screaming Eagles. The Redhawks made a small push toward the end of the opening period, but USI maintained its 10-point lead, 20-10, going to the second quarter.
 
In the second period, both sides had some trouble finding quality chances against the defenses. However, freshman forward Chloe Gannon (Manchester, Tennessee) found open spots for USI. Gannon scored multiple layups in the post, including a three-point play. Gannon’s effort helped increase Southern Indiana’s lead to 32-12 four minutes into the second frame. Scrappy play caused both offenses to stall in the late minutes of the first half, as USI took a 38-25 advantage into halftime.
 
Southern Indiana started the second half with a quick five points by Shafford that pushed USI’s lead to 18, 43-25. Southeast Missouri responded by chipping away, cutting the Screaming Eagles’ lead down to 11, 45-34, by the four-minute mark of the third quarter. Later in the third, Shafford drained her fifth three-pointer, but the Redhawks answered to stay within 11 points of USI. In the final seconds of the third quarter, senior forward Madi Webb (Bedford, Indiana) answered a SEMO three with a last-second layup to give Southern Indiana a 51-41 advantage through 30 minutes of action.
 
The slugfest continued into the early minutes of the fourth quarter. Each side had only one field goal in the first four minutes of the fourth. Gannon dropped a floater from the middle of the lane to give USI a 53-44 lead three and a half minutes into the period. Southern Indiana extended its lead back to double figures on Shafford’s sixth trey, giving Shafford 20-plus points for the game. Following a series of exchanged baskets, Southeast Missouri came back to within eight points with under a minute remaining. Southern Indiana closed out the game at the foul line.
 
Southern Indiana was 20-41 for 49 percent from the floor with eight three-pointers. USI converted 22 of 30 free-throw attempts for 73 percent. Shafford ended the night tying her career high with 26 points on 8-11 shooting with six makes from three. Gannon totaled 16 points in the contest.
 
Southeast Missouri was held to 26 percent shooting (19-73) with eight triples. The Redhawks were 13-19 for 68 percent at the charity stripe. SEMO outrebounded USI 45-37, including 25 offensive rebounds for the Redhawks. Junior guard Jaliyah Green led three Redhawks in double digits scoring with 17 points.
 
Following Saturday’s home win, USI Women’s Basketball recognized senior guards Addy Blackwell (Bloomington, Indiana) and Tori Handley (Jeffersonville, Indiana) as well as team manager Mason Auker on Senior Night for their contributions and dedication to the program.
 
The Screaming Eagles turn their attention to the OVC Championship Tournament next week at Ford Center in downtown Evansville, Indiana. Southern Indiana will have to wait to find out its opponent following Thursday’s action in the quarterfinals. The Screaming Eagles are on the top side of the bracket where the winner of No. 8 Tennessee State University and No. 5 Morehead State University in the first round will face No. 4 Eastern Illinois University in the quarterfinals with the winner from that matchup taking on USI.
 

UE falls in both contests

 

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Day two of the Low Country Classic saw the University of Evansville softball team put up a pair of late inning rallies before dropping contests to Wofford and the College of Charleston

Game 1 – Wofford 4, UE 3

In a battle that went down to the wire, Wofford scored two runs in the bottom of the 6th and overcame a late Purple Aces rally to take the 4-3 win.

Marah Wood reached on an error and Brooke Voss walked to put runners on in the first but it was Wofford striking first with a run in the bottom half of the 2nd.  Evansville looked to bounce right back as Zoe Frossard and Kaylee Lawson picked up UE’s first two hits of the game but could not get on the board.

Looking to tie the game in the 5th, the Aces put two runners on once again including a single by Wood before the Terriers escaped unscathed.  They broke through in the bottom of the frame when the second run of the game scored on a fielder’s choice.

Jess Willsey led off the top of the 6th with a double as the Aces would finally be able to cash in.  Jenna Nink scored Willsey on a 1-out single through the right side before a double by Niki Bode brought in Nink to knot the score at 2-2.

Just as fast as UE tied the game, Wofford stormed back with two runs to retake the lead.  After loading the bases with no outs, the Terriers plated the go-ahead scores.  Down to their final three outs, the Aces rallied in the 7th when Abby Bode led off with a single before scoring on a RBI knock from Frossard.  Unfortunately, the Aces stranded the tying run and fell by the 4-3 final.

Mikayla Jolly had another nice start, allowing two runs in five innings.  Elle Jarrett took the loss, giving up two runs in the 6th.  Evansville mustered eight hits with Frossard recording a pair.

Game 2 – Charleston 11, UE 4

The offense for the College of Charleston scored in all six of its innings and finished with an 11-4 victory on Saturday evening.

Evansville wasted little time getting in the second game, plating the first run in the top of the first.  Marah Wood and Zoe Frossard picked up early walks before a Jess Willsey single loaded the bases.  Wood crossed the plate on a wild pitch to open the scoring before two runners were left stranded.

Charleston countered with a pair of scores in the bottom of the first with both crossing the plate on a Shealyn Starks double.  They tacked on three more runs in the second and two in the third to open a 7-1 advantage.  UE got closer in the top of the fourth with a pair of runs crossing the plate.  Dori Brown notched an RBI single in the frame while Abby Bode would late score on a wild pitch to make it a 7-3 game.  Bode added a sacrifice fly in the fifth for the Aces’ fourth run of the game.

Despite Evansville’s best efforts, the Cougars continued to rack up the runs, completing the sixth inning with an 11-4 lead.  UE made one last attempt to come back with Jenna Nink and Niki Bode opening the 7^th with walks, but a double play quickly halted the threat with Charleston winning by the 11-4 final.

UE’s offense outhit its counterpart by a 10-8 margin, but three Aces errors turned into runs on the other side.  Willsey, Hood and Abby Bode notched two hits apiece.  Elle Jarrett made the start, allowing five runs in just over an inning of work.

The weekend tournament comes to a close with a 10 a.m. CT game versus Buffalo on Sunday morning.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. –  After dropping the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader, the University of Evansville baseball team exploded for 16 runs in the nightcap and freshman left-hander Kenton Deverman continued to dazzle on the mound, as the Purple Aces split a doubleheader with the visiting Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.

“The first game really got away from us, but I really liked the way that we bounced back in game two,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “Throughout the course of a series and a season, momentum can be stopped or created by the guy in the center of the diamond, and I thought that Kenton Deverman really did a great job of getting the momentum back in our dugout in game two.

“Overall, a great effort both offensively and on the mound in game two.  We need to carry that momentum over to Sunday, as it is a big game for us.”

Deverman set the tone early for UE in game two, as he allowed just a walk through the first two innings.  Evansville then took advantage of a Mastodon error to plate three runs in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a two-out, three-run home run to right field by junior outfielder Ty Rumsey.

UE would double the lead to 6-0 in the third inning after another scoreless frame from Deverman, as junior second baseman Cal McGinnis capped a string of three-straight UE base hits with an RBI single to score the inning’s first run.  Then, junior outfielder Harrison Taubert laced a two-run double two batters leader to extend the lead to 6-0.

Evansville blew things open in the fifth inning, as the Purple Aces plated eight runs on eight hits while sending 13 men to the plate.  Graduate third baseman Brent Widder delivered the big blow of the inning with a titanic three-run home run to left-field into the netting that protects the Lloyd Expressway for his fourth home run of the year.  UE would add a single run in the sixth inning on a Ben Stuart pinch-hit double and a Purdue Fort Wayne error to move the lead to 15-0.

The Mastodons would finally get to Deverman for three runs in the seventh inning to end his outing, but the freshman yielded just three runs on eight hits in 6.2 innings of work.  Of the eight hits, he allowed only four through the first six innings, with three of them being infield singles.  In fact, Deverman allowed just four balls total to leave the infield against him through the first six innings of work.

Taubert capped the scoring for UE in the seventh inning with his second RBI double of the night, as he went 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI to lead the Purple Aces’ offense.  McGinnis and graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger also had three-hit nights, and all nine UE starters collected hits, as Evansville pounded out 20 base hits.

The game two win was needed for UE after Purdue Fort Wayne took the opener on Saturday, 11-3.  Freshman second baseman Brodie Peart was a bright spot in game one, going 3-for-3 with an RBI.  Evansville actually led 3-2 after four innings, but a five-run fifth inning broke things open for the Mastodons in the opener.

The two teams will conclude the four-game series on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. with a single contest.  Freshman left-hander Kevin Reed (1-0, 5.00 ERA) will get the start for the Purple Aces.