UE defeats St. Bonaventure and Bellarmine

 LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On Sunday, the University of Evansville softball team erupted for 36 runs in two games to defeat St Bonaventure and Bellarmine.  With the performance, the Purple Aces have won four of their last five games.

Game 1 – UE 19, St. Bonaventure 4

Evansville scored 10 runs in the first inning and never looked back, cruising to a 19-4 victory over St. Bonaventure in the first game of the day.  Marah Wood got things rolling with a 3-run home run.  Hits by Alexa Davis and Brooke Voss set the table to Jenna Nink, who brought both in on a 2-run single.

Kayley Batts was hit by a pitch before Zoe Frossard singled to load the bases for Hannah Hood.  She came through with a grand slam to left that capped the 10-run start.  Batts and Nink each had RBI hits while Jess Willsey added a sac fly in a 3-run second inning before Brooke Voss had a 2-run shot in the third to give the Purple Aces a 15-3 lead.

Four more runs would score in the fifth as Lacy Smith, Taylor Howe and Callie Meinel picked up RBI hits to complete the scoring and a 19-4 UE win.  Mikayla Jolly made the start.  She pitched three innings with three runs scoring.  Elle Jarrett threw the final two frames.  Voss and Nink picked up three hits apiece while Hood led the way with four RBI.  Voss added a team-high four runs scored.

Game 2 – UE 17, Bellarmine 7

Another nice start saw Evansville pick up three runs in both the first and second innings on its way to a 17-7 victory.  Marah Wood and Abby Bode each had RBIs in the first while Bode struck again with a 2-run single in the top half of the second.

Two more runs crossed the plate in the third as Hannah Hood picked up a sacrifice fly and Jess Willsey picked up an RBI single to extend the lead to 8-2.  Evansville put a 5-spot on the board in the fifth.  Kayley Batts and Willsey each picked up 2-RBI hits in the frame while Hannah Hood notched an RBI single.

Following scoreless 5^th and 6^th innings, the Aces were back at it with a 4-run seventh with all four scoring with two outs.  After Hood led the inning off with a double, two quick fly outs brought Abby Bode to the plate.  She launched a 2-run homer to bring in hood.  Alexa Davis reached on a dropped fly ball to bring up Brooke Voss, who hit a homer of her own to make it a 17-7 game and that would be the final.

The Aces accumulated 17 runs on 16 hits in the game as Willsey led the way with three hits.  Bode notched a team-high five RBI while Willsey notched three.  Frossard and Hood scored three runs apiece.  Sydney Weatherford made the start, giving up five runs in 2 1/3 innings.  Megan Brenton threw the final 4 2/3 with two runs scoring on four hits.

Missouri Valley Conference action begins this week with UE facing Indiana State at 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday at Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James & Dorothy Cooper Stadium.

Evansville, In.:  Deadlocked at 2-2 in the third period’s final stretch, Vadim Vasjonkin scored with only 16.6 seconds remaining to break the tie and win the game for Evansville, 3-2 over Pensacola at Ford Center on Sunday afternoon.   The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Friday, March 22^nd against the Peoria Rivermen, puck drop at 7:00pm CT.

Matthew Hobbs opened the scoring with a breakaway goal at 13:36 of the first period, assisted by Brendan Harrogate and Jordan Spadafore to give the Thunderbolts a 1-0 lead.  2:55 into the second period, another breakaway resulted in Evansville taking a 2-0 lead as Harrogate scored unassisted.  Pensacola bounced back as Lucas Herrmann scored on a power play at 5:08 to trim Evansville’s lead to 2-1, followed by Malik Johnson at 14:19 to tie the game.  Despite getting into penalty trouble again in the third period, Evansville’s penalty kill units managed to get the job done, and along with a couple more brilliant saves from Ty Taylor, kept the game tied at 2-2 until Vadim Vasjonkin’s turnaround shot with 16.6 seconds remaining snuck its’ way into the Pensacola net for the game-winning goal from Harrogate and Nick Prestia.

Harrogate led the way with a goal and two assists, while Hobbs and Vasjonkin each scored one goal.  In goal, Ty Taylor made 31 saves on 33 shots for his 3^rd win of the season.  The Thunderbolts and Ice Flyers meet again on March 29^th at Pensacola Bay Center.

GODFREY, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team closed out the opening weekend of Mid-West Athletic Conference play Sunday afternoon in style, falling in game one 5-3 before taking game two at Lewis & Clark Community College 12-1 thanks to a big eight-run second inning.

Vincennes got off to a bit of a rocky start Sunday afternoon in game one of the day, with Lewis & Clark getting on the scoreboard first with a run in the first inning.

VU would answer back however in the second inning after freshman Corbin Napier (Indianapolis, Ind.) reached on a hit by pitch and moved up to second on a wild pitch, sophomore Jace Parnin (Fort Wayne, Ind.) drove him in on an RBI double to even the score at 1-1.

Parnin would later come around to score on a dropped third strike and throwing error, putting the Blazers on top 2-1.

Vincennes would add to this lead in a big way in the third inning with sophomore Jack Robinson (Mooresville, Ind.) leading off the inning with a solo home run to increase the VU lead to 3-1.

The Trailblazers continued to ride the hot hand on the mound in freshman Carson Allen (Louisville, Ky.) who faced the minimum in the third, fourth and fifth innings before falling victim to back-to-back home runs for Lewis & Clark in the sixth inning.

Lewis & Clark completely shifted the game in the bottom of the 6th, scoring four runs in the inning and taking all momentum with a 5-3 lead.

Vincennes looked to create some two-out magic in the seventh inning after freshman Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.) walked and Jack Robinson hit a single, but were unable to push a run across as Lewis & Clark took game one of the day over VU 5-3.

Carson Allen got the start on the mound for the Trailblazers in game one and threw five-plus very solid innings, allowing three runs on five hits and striking out four.

Jace Parnin again was asked to step on the mound from his defensive position, finishing out the sixth inning, allowing two runs on two hits in an inning of work, while striking out one.

The Trailblazers then looked to end the weekend on a high note in the series finale and quickly grabbed all of the momentum back with a massive eight-run second inning.

The first 10 batters in the inning reached base safely for the Trailblazers in the second, including an RBI single by sophomore Keegan Schlotterbeck (Centerville, Ind.), a bases loaded hit by pitch by sophomore Bryton Griffy (Louisville, Ill.) and a big bases clearing, three-RBI double by Jack Robinson.

The inning continued with sophomore Kade Hinton (Fort Wayne, Ind.) driving in Robinson on an RBI double of his own before later scoring on a wild pitch.

The final run of the inning crossed on a bases loaded walk by Schlotterbeck, giving him two RBIs in the inning and putting the Blazers firmly ahead 8-0.

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers opened postseason play Sunday afternoon inside the Physical Education Complex.

The Lady Blazers earned the No. 2 seed in the 2024 NJCAA Division I Region 24/Midwest District Championship tournament and faced No. 7 seed Lincoln Trail College in the opening round.

Vincennes held serve on the home court, using a big third quarter scoring run to run away with a 96-54 victory over the Lady Statesmen.

The Lady Trailblazers got off to a quick start Sunday afternoon, opening the game by outscoring Lincoln Trail 21-3.

Lincoln Trail would close the first quarter on a 7-2 scoring run, but still trailed after the first 10 minutes of play 23-10 to VU.

Vincennes continued to add on to their lead in the second quarter, using an 11-2 scoring run to increase the lead to 34-14, before using a 10-0 scoring run late in the second quarter to take a 46-19 advantage.

Lincoln Trail would answer before the halftime break, scoring the final two baskets of the second quarter to head into the locker room trailing the Lady Trailblazers 46-24.

Vincennes again opened the third quarter firing from the floor, outscoring Lincoln Trail 9-2 early in the second half before fully pulling away with a massive 18-0 scoring run to take a 73-31 lead.

The two teams traded baskets for the rest of the third quarter, with the Blazers holding a 75-35 lead going into the final 10 minutes of play.

Vincennes looked to put the game away for good in the fourth quarter, opening the final period of play on a 15-2 scoring run to take a 90-37 lead.

At this point VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Harry Meeks opted to play his reserves to run the game out.

Lincoln Trail continued to battle and would close out the game by outscoring VU 17-6 but were unable to overcome the deficit as Vincennes advances to the Region 24/Midwest District Semi-Finals by winning 96-54 over the Lady Statesmen.

The Lady Trailblazers were led offensively by a big night inside the paint by sophomore Elikya Baseyila (Paris, France), who just missed out on a double-double with a game-high 22 points, matching her season high. Baseyila also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists in the game.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Southern Indiana Baseball held off Bellarmine University, 9-7, to open a three-game series Sunday in Louisville, Kentucky. USI is 5-8 in the non-conference season, while Bellarmine goes 1-12.

USI opened the scoring in its first at bat when senior rightfielder Ren Tachioka (Japan) scored on a RBI ground out by senior designated hitter Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) for the 1-0 a lead. The 1-0 lead lasted until the bottom of the frame when the Knights picked up the tying for 1-1 score after one.

The game would remain tied, 1-1, until the top of the fourth when the Screaming Eagles plated a trio of runs. The Eagles manufactured the three runs on a fielder’s choice, a sac bunt, and a RBI-single after loading the bases on a single and a pair of walks.

USI increased its lead to six runs, 7-1, with three more tallies in the top of the fifth. Junior first baseman Thomas Emerich (Ava, Missouri) highlighted the three-run fifth with two-run single, while graduate second baseman Nolan Cook (Evansville, Indiana) had a RBI-single to cap off the inning.

Following a three-run frame of its own, Bellarmine narrowed the gap to 7-4 in the bottom of the fifth.

The Eagles pushed the margin back to five, 9-4, when Ebest hit a two-run home run to right field. The home run was Ebest’s team-best third of the season and his second in as many games.

The Knights would make another run at the Eagles in the final two innings. Bellarmine pulled to within three, 9-6, with two in the eighth before scoring once in the ninth. USI shut the door on the Knights with the tying run at the plate.

On the mound, USI freshman right-hander Grant Parson (Owensboro, Kentucky) posted his second win of the year. Parson (2-0) allowed three runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out five.

Junior right-hander Tyler Hutson (Villa Hills, Kentucky) earned his second save of the year after getting USI through the ninth. Hutson gave up the one run on two hits, while striking out two.

STARKVILLE, Miss. –  The Mississippi State baseball team scored seven two-out runs on Sunday, as the Bulldogs swept a three-game series from the visiting University of Evansville Purple Aces with a 13-3 victory at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville, Mississippi.

The Bulldogs took control of the contest in the first inning thanks to a pair of home runs.  With one out, outfielder Dakota Jordan launched his third home run of the series with a two-run blast to left-center field to open the scoring.  Jordan went 1-for-2 on the day and was intentionally walked three times, as he finished the series going 7-for-9 with two doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI.

The two-out magic then began for Mississippi State, as a two-out single and walk preceded a three-run home run to dead center field by outfielder Connor Hujsak just outside of the reach of UE center-fielder Ty Rumsey to push the lead to 5-0 after one inning.

Rumsey would get Evansville back into the contest briefly in the fourth inning, as he launched a three-run home run to right field to trim the MSU lead to 5-3.  That would be as close as Evansville would come though, as the Bulldogs would score a run in the fourth inning, before scoring two two-out runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to push the lead to 10-3.  Mississippi State scored three runs in the eighth inning to enact the mercy rule.

Rumsey led Evansville by going 2-for-3 with his second home run of the year and three RBI.  Junior second baseman Cal McGinnis also went 2-for-4 for the Purple Aces.  Shortstop Dylan Cupp led Mississippi State by going 4-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and three RBI.

With the victory, Mississippi State has now won nine games in a row, as the Bulldogs improve to 12-4 overall.  Evansville, meanwhile, drops to 7-8 with the loss.  The Purple Aces will return home briefly to German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium on Wednesday night to host Southeast Missouri State at 6 p.m.