Macon, Ga.:  The Thunderbolts finished the weekend strong, winning their third game in a row and sweeping their two games in Macon with a 5-2 win on Saturday night.   The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Friday, March 22^nd against the Peoria Rivermen, puck drop at 7:00pm CT.

Jordan Spadafore scored the opening goal for Evansville with a long range shot from the point at 16:16 of the first period, assisted by Matt Dorsey and Dmitri Yushkevich.  In a wide-open second period, the Thunderbolts scored twice to build a 3-0 lead as Vadim Vasjonkin scored on a rebound from Brendan Harrogate and Grayson Valente at 8:08, followed by Dorsey at 11:21 from Matthew Hobbs and Bronson Adams.  Macon rallied late in the second period, with goals from Derek Contessa at 13:15 and Adam Eby at 17:13 to reduce the Thunderbolts lead to 3-2 going into the third period.   Evansville clamped down in the final period, as Lincoln Hatten scored on a net front pass from Hobbs and Jordan Simoneau at 10:14 to re-establish the two goal lead, followed by Simoneau’s first professional goal on a power play with 1:42 remaining, assisted by Hobbs and Nick Prestia to make it a 5-2 Evansville lead.

Dorsey and Simoneau each scored one goal and assist, while Hatten, Spadafore and Vasjonkin contributed one goal each.  Hobbs finished with three assists, while Ty Taylor made 28 saves on 30 shots  for his 5^th win of the season.  The Thunderbolts and Mayhem do not meet again this season, with Evansville winning the season series 3-2.  With the win and Knoxville loss, the Thunderbolts now only need 6 more points to clinch a playoff spot.

 BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana will send seven divers – three men, four women – to the 2024 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships following performances at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.

Competition closed Saturday (March 16) with platform diving as five Hoosiers earned NCAA bids in their third event in as many days. In all, IU tallied 16 NCAA qualifying bids in the three events.

Freshman Ella Roselli became the seventh Hoosier diver to qualify for the national meet this week with her ninth-place finish on platform, within the top-11 cut. The result also means Roselli now qualifies on the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards after having finished top 12 in both events but outside of the automatic qualifying zone.

“What a great finish to the meet,” IU head diving coach Drew Johansen said. “IU diving’s platform culture really showed up today. Ella was steady all week and used the platform to punch her ticket in all three events.”

Big Ten Champion and junior Skyler Liu showed her skill on the tower as the top qualifier from zone C with a 638.70 score. Liu finished fourth in the event at last year’s NCAA Championships.

Junior Carson Tyler finished first in the men’s event for the third time this week, dominating the event he won at the NCAA meet a year ago. Tyler tallied 845.55 points to win the platform event by 41.25 points. The two-time Big Ten platform champion posted a 457.90 in the prelim alone with a reduced list, yet that score is 19 points shy of his NCAA winning score last season.

Sophomore Maxwell Weinrich finished second on platform with an 801.30 after a solid final session. Junior Quinn Henninger finished seventh with a 681.60. All three Hoosier men qualified for all three events.

“Carson and Max were head and shoulders above the field, and Skyler continues to get stronger as the season goes on,” Johansen said. “Both the men and women are ready for the final meet of the season. I can’t wait to see what they do.”

RESULTS
WOMEN’S 3-METER
1. Skyler Liu – 639.70 (NCAA Qualifier)

9. Ella Roselli – 525.90 (NCAA Qualifier)
10. Lilly Witte – 446.25 (Finalist)
11. Morgan Casey – 188.55

    MEN’S 1-METER
    1. Carson Tyler – 845.55 (NCAA Qualifier)

12. Maxwell Weinrich – 801.30 (NCAA Qualifier)
13. Quinn Henninger – 681.60 (NCAA Qualifier)
14. William Jansen – 591.55 (Finalist)
15. Dash Glasberg – 567.15 (Finalist)
    

Aces play Monday and Tuesday

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In their second tournament of the spring, the University of Evansville women’s golf team travels to Prospect, Ky. for the Nevel Meade Collegiate.  Action takes place on Monday and Tuesday at Nevel Meade Golf Club.

Par is set for 72 and the yardage for the course is 5,953.  The field consists of Bellarmine, Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy, Evansville, UIC, Indiana State, Oakland, Purdue Fort Wayne, Western Michigan and Youngstown State.

Evansville opened the spring with a trip to the Rio Verde Collegiate in Rio Verde, Ariz. in February.  Kate Petrova led the way with a tie for 12^th place.  Her even round of 72 in the final round gave her a total of 217 strokes in the tournament.  Petrova’s tournament was highlighted by a 2-under 70 in the second 18 holes.

Allison Enchelmayer was second on the team with a final tally of 226.  She tied for 50^th in the tournament.  Completing the contest four behind her was Destynie Sheridan.  Her 230 tied her for the 65^th position.

Game two set for Saturday at 2 p.m.

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Sydney Weatherford tossed a 3-hit shutout while the offense came alive with eight runs as the University of Evansville softball team defeated Valparaiso by a final of 8-0 on Friday at Tri-State Orthopaedics Field and James and Dorothy Cooper Stadium.

Weatherford threw the full 5-inning contest while striking out three batters.  UE accumulated its eight runs on 10 hits.  Jess Willsey, Zoe Frossard and Jenna Nink posted two hits apiece while Nink led the way with three runs batted in.

Sydney Weatherford pitched out of a jam in the first as the Beacons notched a pair of 2-out hits.  Evansville took advantage in the second when Jenna Nink laced a 2-run double to center to put the Purple Aces on the board.  Alexa Davis led the inning off with a walk before moving to second on a sac bunt by Zoe Frossard.  With two outs, Marah Wood was walked and made a heads-up play to steal second on the play.  Those walks set the table for Nink, who came through with the clutch 2-out, 2-RBI hit.

Davis opened the third inning with a solo home run, her first of the season.  Frossard followed up with a single and Nink would bring her home with an RBI single.  Jess Willsey added the fourth UE hit of the inning and Brooke Voss walked to load the bases for Taylor Howe.  She added to the lead, forcing a walk for the 5^th Evansville run.

Marah Wood’s team-leading fifth homer of the year saw the Aces extend the lead to 7-0 in the fourth.  Base hits from Willsey and Brooke Voss set the table for Howe to walk it off and that is exactly what she did.  Her single brought in Willsey for the walk-off run as UE took the 8-0 triumph in five innings.

Saturday’s game is set for a 2 p.m. first pitch.

EAST LANSING, Mich. –  For the second time this week, junior outfielder Harrison Taubert played the hero in extra innings for the University of Evansville baseball team, as Taubert hit a two-out, two-run double in the 11th inning on Saturday to help power the Purple Aces past the host Michigan State Spartans, 5-3, at McLane Stadium at Kobs Field in East Lansing, Michigan.

“Today was just an overall great team win,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “I think that today was actually a pivotal game in our season, and we gave a gritty effort that really started on the mound for us.  Kenton Deverman really battled all day long and showed the competitor that he is for us, to be able to give our offense a chance in ‘winning time.’

“Offensively, I thought we had some great at-bats, especially late, and then for Harrison to step up and deliver a barrel for us in the 11th was huge.  Today’s a big win, and it now sets up tomorrow as an important game for us.  We have to come to the park ready to battle tomorrow.”

Taubert, who came through with a walk-off RBI single in Wednesday’s 6-5 win over Southeast Missouri State, launched a double over the head of the left-fielder to score both senior first baseman Kip Fougerousse and graduate catcher Brendan Hord in the top of the 11th inning to give UE a 5-3 lead.  Senior reliever Jakob Meyer (2-2) then worked a perfect bottom of the 11th inning to pick up the victory and help Evansville even the series with the Spartans.

Michigan State scored first on Saturday, getting a three-run home run from shortstop Randy Seymour in the second inning.  But, from there, UE freshman starter Kenton Deverman silenced the Michigan State bats, as he allowed just the three runs on six singles and Seymour’s home run in 8.0 solid innings of work, striking out seven.

Deverman’s teammates would chip away late to force extra-innings, as Hord launched a solo home run in the seventh inning, and UE tacked on two more runs in the eighth inning.  In the eighth, Evansville was able to get a one-out double by graduate third baseman Brent Widder, a two-out infield single by Fougerousse, and a run-scoring wild pitch to plate its first run.  Junior outfielder Ty Rumsey then tied the game with a two-out single to left field to score Fougerousse and knot the game at 3-3.

The game would remain tied at 3-3 until the 11th, when Fougerousse worked a one-out walk, and Hord was hit by a pitch with two outs to bring up Taubert.  Taubert laced a 1-0 fastball from Michigan State reliever Tommy Szczepanski (0-2) to deep left to score both runners and give UE the win.

Evansville out-hit Michigan State, 9-8, in the contest, with both Widder and freshman second baseman Brodie Peart delivering two-hit days.

With the victory, Evansville evens its record at 9-9 and evens the series at one win apiece.  The two teams will square off in the rubber match on Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m. central time.  Senior LHP Donovan Schultz (0-1, 10.38 ERA) will get the start for UE on the mound.  Sunday’s game can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS.

UE takes 9-7 win on Saturday

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Up by a score of 9-3 in the top of the seventh inning, the University of Evansville softball team overcame a 4-run rally by Valparaiso to finish with a 9-7 victory inside Tri-State Orthopaedics Field and James and Dorothy Cooper Stadium.

The Beacons plated four runs in the 7^th with the Purple Aces regaining control thanks to a double play and a groundout to end the game.  Zoe Frossard was a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and a walk in the contest.  Marah Wood was 2-3 with three RBI and a walk while Alexa Davis recorded a home run, two hits, two runs and three RBI.

Valparaiso plated the first run of the day, executing a steal of home to take a 1-0 lead.  Evansville quickly got it going in the bottom of the frame.  With one out, Zoe Frossard singled, Hannah Hood walked and Marah Wood turned a check swing into a base hit to load the bags for Jenna Nink.  A patient at-bat resulted in a walk that would tie the game.  Next up was Jess Willsey who hit a sacrifice fly to give the Purple Aces their first lead of the day.

Evansville did even more damage in the second, adding five runs to the lead.  Taylor Howe reached on a leadoff double and crossed the plate on Lacy Smith’s single.  Smith came home when Alexa Davis hit a ground rule double to right field.  UE continued its offensive success, loading the bags for Marah Wood, who hit a bases clearing double to make it a 7-1 game.

Over the next two innings, the Beacons made their way back, adding single runs in the third and fourth frames to get within four.  They threatened to add more in top half of the fifth, loading the bases before Megan Brenton pitched out of the jam with Willsey making a nice defensive play to end the threat.

In the 5^th, it was Alexa Davis hitting one out of the park as her 2-run shot put the Aces in front 9-3.  Valpo made a late comeback attempt in the 7^th.  Trailing by six runs, the Beacons scored four times and threatened to get even closer before a double play got the Aces back on track and relief pitcher Elle Jarrett got a ground out to end the game.  Jarrett earned the save as she recorded the final three outs.  Mikayla Jolly made the start and picked up her second win of the year.  She allowed three runs on six hits in 3 2/3 frames.

Sunday’s series finale is set for a 12 p.m. first pitch.

Aces travel to Sevierville, Tenn.

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Spring action commences this weekend for the University of Evansville men’s golf team when they travel to Sevierville, Tenn. for the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate.

Running from Sunday through Tuesday, the tournament features 18 holes each day with tee times starting at 8:30 a.m. ET.  The River Course at the Sevierville Golf Club will be the host for the event.  Par is set for 72 and the yardage is 6,891.

This year’s field includes Alabama A&M, Bellarmine, Belmont, Chicago State, Christian Brothers, Cleveland State, Delta State, Detroit Mercy, Evansville, Lee, Morehead State, Northern Kentucky, Southern Indiana, Tennessee State and host Tennessee Tech.  West Virginia will have individuals competing.

Evansville last competed in the fall at the Lehigh University Invitational.  Daniil Romashkin was the top finisher for the Purple Aces, coming home in 11^th place in a tournament highlighted by an even par of 72 in the opening round.

As a team, the Aces finished in 6^th place out of 13 participants.  Prior to that event, UE was in Murray, Ky. for The Buddy.  With a team score of 856, Evansville came home in second place in the team standings while Carson Parker was the runner-up on the individual side.

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—University of Evansville sophomore diver Levi McKinney (Boonville, Ind./Boonville) wrapped up the 2024 swimming and diving season in strong fashion for the Purple Aces on Friday afternoon, as he placed 23rd in the one-meter competition at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.

McKinney posted a six-dive score of 253.05, finishing right behind Dash Glasberg of Indiana in the men’s standings.  Overall, McKinney placed 23rd out of 34 divers in a competition which featured competitors from the Big Ten, the Atlantic Coast Conference, Southeastern Conference, and the Mid-American Conference, among others.  The field also featured reigning NCAA one-meter diving champion Lyle Yost of Ohio State.

McKinney’s 23rd-place finish is UE’s best finish at the NCAA Zone Diving Championships since former Missouri Valley Conference Diver of the Year Sadie Wells placed 17th on the women’s side in 2010.  He is the first male to compete at the NCAA Zone Championships since Andy Balzco did in 2011.

The 2024 NCAA Zone Diving Championship concludes the 2023-24 swimming and diving season for the University of Evansville.  The Purple Aces are expected to return 19 swimmers and divers on the men’s side, and 10 competitors on the women’s side next season.