Aces head to Louisville Friday through Sunday

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Impending weather in the Louisville area, the schedule for this weekend’s Bellarmine tournament has been altered.  The University of Evansville softball team will play in four contests over the weekend running Friday through Sunday.

Friday’s contest against Bellarmine will remain at 2:30 p.m. CT while Saturday’s action will feature a single game against Bellarmine at 11 a.m. CT.  The final two games will be on Sunday with the Purple Aces facing St. Bonaventure at 12 p.m. CT and a third game versus the Knights at 2:30 p.m. CT.

Evansville is fresh off its first win of the season as the Aces took down Lindenwood buy a 2-1 final on Wednesday evening.  Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Marah Wood launched what would be the game-winning 2-run home run.  Hannah Hood scored on the play after walking earlier in the inning.

In the circle, Megan Brenton was exceptional in earning the victory.  She scattered six hits and a run over the course of seven innings of work.

Bellarmine enters the weekend with a 6-10 record by gave the University of Kentucky a fight on Wednesday night, falling by a score of 3-1.  St Bonaventure holds a 1-8 mark with a win coming over Quinnipiac last weekend.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team will begin a rugged stretch of seven out of eight games against Power Five competition this weekend, as the Purple Aces will travel to Starkville, Mississippi to battle perennial Southeastern Conference power Mississippi State in a three-game series.  All three games are scheduled to be streamed on the SEC Network+ streaming service.

Evansville will bring a 7-5 overall record into this weekend’s series after winning three out of four games against Purdue Fort Wayne over the weekend.  The UE offense has started the season on fire, as the Purple Aces rank among the NCAA’s top 15 in five major offensive categories entering the weekend:  doubles (2nd-41), hits (6th-152), batting average (9th-.345), on-base percentage (13th-.454) and scoring (13th-10.4 runs per game).  Graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger currently leads the UE offense and the Missouri Valley Conference with a .447 batting average, and will ride an 11-game hitting streak into Friday’s series opener.  Senior shortstop Simon Scherry (.405) and junior second baseman Cal McGinnis (.404) also both hit above .400 on the season for UE.

Mississippi State will bring a 9-4 overall record into the series after rallying past Southern Miss, 5-4, on Tuesday.  The Bulldogs have won six-straight games, and Mississippi State has done it with power pitching.  MSU ranks 32nd nationally in team earned run average at 3.76, and the Bulldogs rank 11th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (12.0) and fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.03), as they have racked up 153 strikeouts against just 38 walks in 13 games.

The series is scheduled to start on Friday at 6 p.m., although rain is forecast for the Starkville area all day on Friday.  It will continue on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. with single contests.  UE will send senior RHP Nick Smith (0-1, 8.71 ERA) to the mound in the opener.  He is expected to be opposed by MSU junior RHP Nate Dohm (2-0, 1.02 ERA).  This series will mark the first ever meetings between UE and Mississippi State in baseball.