DANVILLE, Ill. – The Vincennes University baseball team hit the road Sunday afternoon for the final two games of this weekend’s four-game Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) series with Danville Community College.

The series shifted to Danville, Ill. after the first two games were played yesterday at Jerry Blemker Field.

VU got off to a tough start to the day, falling in game one 10-2 before closing out the weekend strong and taking game two of the day 16-7.

The day got off to a rocky start for the Trailblazers, with Danville getting on the scoreboard in the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead.

VU would match this run in the second after a leadoff single by sophomore Blake Heyerly (Monroe, Ind.) and a walk by sophomore Keegan Schlotterbeck (Centerville, Ind.).

The pair moved up to second and third on a successful sacrifice bunt by sophomore Trevor Newman (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Heyerly would come in to score on a sacrifice fly by freshman Yancey Edlin (Pekin, Ind.) to even the score at 1-1.

The Jaguars would regain the lead in the bottom half of the second and add to this lead with three runs in the third, three runs in the fourth and a pair of runs in the fifth to take a 10-1 lead.

Vincennes would get on the board again in the sixth after Blake Heyerly reached on a fielder’s choice and came around to score on a wild pitch.

Danville would hold the Blazers scoreless in the seventh to close out the 10-2 victory in game one of the day.

Sophomore Josh McCormick (Indianapolis, Ind.) got the start in game one for VU, throwing four innings, allowing eight runs, four earned runs, on 10 hits and striking out two.

Sophomore Max Lines (Indianapolis, Ind.) came out of the bullpen to throw the final two innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits.

Vincennes looked to close out the weekend strong and build some momentum in game two and wasted little time getting going.

Freshman Bradyn Douglas (Frankton, Ind.) led off the game with a single and stole second before advancing to third on a wild pitch.

Douglas would score the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Jack Robinson (Mooresville, Ind.) to give VU the early 1-0 lead.

UE will face Seattle on Monday

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Gage Bobe and Kenny Strawbridge Jr. scored 11 points apiece to lead the University of Evansville men’s basketball team to a 64-63 victory over Quinnipiac in the opening round of the Ro CBI at the Ocean Center.

With the victory, UE advances to play Seattle at 5:30 p.m. CT.  FloHoops will have the coverage.  Bobe was 3-for-5 from long range on his way to the 11 points while Strawbridge added five boards.  Tanner Cuff and Chuck Bailey III added 10 points apiece.  Cuff led the way with 9 boards and 5 assists.

Cuff and Cam Haffner picked up early baskets as the Purple Aces took a 6-2 lead in the opening five minutes.  UE’s defense held the Bobcats to a 1-for-9 start from the field.  The Bobcats turned the tables as they scored the next nine points to take an 11-6 lead with under 12 minutes left in the half.  Quinnipiac connected on four of their next five shots.

Chuck Bailey III hit a pair of free throws to put Evansville back on the board but the Bobcats continued to roll, going up by nine points (19-10) with eight minutes on the clock.  Over the final minutes of the half, the Aces outscored the Bobcats by a 20-11 margin to tie the game at the break.  Kenny Strawbridge Jr. knotted the score at 23-23 before a Quinnipiac basket saw them retake the lead on their next possession.

With two minutes remaining, Strawbridge drained a triple that put UE on top by a 28-27 score before both squads struck in the final moments leading to the 30-30 tie at the break.

Neither team could get into a groove to open the second half as the teams combined to hit just two of their opening 11 attempts in the first four minutes as the Bobcats held a 34-32 lead.  Sekou Kalle had a putback before a triple from Gage Bobe gave UE a 39-36 advantage.

As the game entered the final nine minutes, Bailey drove for a dunk and two minutes later, Cam Haffner drained a 3-pointer to give the Aces their largest lead at 53-43.  The Bobcats stormed back over the next sequence, getting within three points at 55-52 with 3:30 on the clock.

In the final minute, Quinnipiac made it a 1-possession game once again, but Antonio Thomas converted two free throws and Strawbridge added a late layup as UE hung on for the win.  Evansville shot 46.6% in the contest while limiting the Bobcats to 37.5%.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. –  Murray State catcher Taylor Howell launched a solo home run leading off the top of the tenth inning on Sunday to snap a 5-5 tie and power the visiting Racers to a 6-5 victory over the University of Evansville baseball team at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.

Howell lifted a 2-0 fastball into the wind blowing out to left field and over the left-field fence for his eighth home run of the year and second home run of the series to help the Racers snap a 5-5 tie in extra-innings.  Reliever Thomas McNabb (3-0) then worked a perfect bottom of the tenth inning to nail down the victory for Murray State.

Evansville jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI double by graduate third baseman Brent Widder.  UE took that lead into the sixth inning, as starter Donovan Schultz held Murray State to just two base hits through the first five innings.  Murray State would erupt for five runs though in the sixth inning, sending 10 men to the plate to take a 5-1 lead.

Evansville would answer back in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-run home run to left field by senior shortstop Simon Scherry to trim the deficit to 5-3.  UE then got a two-out, two-strike pinch-hit single by junior Evan Waggoner in the seventh inning to tie the game at 5-5.

Evansville would load the bases against McNabb in the eighth inning, but he got a fly out to right to end the threat.  The Purple Aces would then get a lead-off double by senior first baseman Kip Fougerousse in the ninth inning, and eventually put men on the corners with two outs, but McNabb once again got out of the jam.  McNabb tossed 3.0 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to earn the victory.

Graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger led UE by going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a hit-by-pitch to extend his on-base streak to 39-straight games.  Scherry and Waggoner both drove in two runs for UE.  Howell was one of three Racers to have two-hit days, while he drove in two.

With the victory, Murray State moves into a first-place tie in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 17-6 overall record and 3-0 conference mark.  Evansville, meanwhile, falls to 9-14 overall and 0-3 in the Valley.  The Purple Aces return home on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. to host SIU-Edwardsville in non-conference action.

Belmont takes 2-1 win on Sunday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jess Willsey launched her third home run of the season, but it was the pitching of Belmont that limited the University of Evansville softball team to one run on five hits in a 2-1 win on Sunday.

Zoe Frossard picked up a hit in the first while Brooke Voss added one in the second.  After recording a hit in the first, the Bruins picked up three singles in the second, but a baserunner leaving early was pivotal in keeping things scoreless.

With two outs in the top of the third, Jess Willsey hit a home run to center field to break the scoreless tie.  It did not take long for Belmont to counter as a 2-run double put them in front for the first time.

Both squads left a pair of runners on in the fourth inning while the Bruins left two more on base in the fifth.  Down to its final three outs, Taylor Howe hit a 1-out single in the top of the 7^th before the Bruins closed out the game with the 2-1 win.

Sydney Weatherford threw the first five innings with two runs scoring on ten hits.  Megan Brenton threw a scoreless 6^thframe.  Alex Clesi made the start, giving up one run on four hits on the way to her fourth win of the season.  Ellie Giles picked up the save with three scoreless frames.  Evansville finished the game with five hits by five different players.

UE is back home next weekend for a 3-game series against UIC.