EVANSVILLE, Ind. –  Four University of Evansville pitchers combined on a two-hitter on Wednesday night, as the host Purple Aces cruised past the visiting Butler Bulldogs, 4-1, at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.
“Tonight was another great effort on the mound in a mid-week game,†said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “Tyler Denu had multiple pitches working tonight, which was great to see.  John MacCauley had to deal with some emotions, but handled it well, and didn’t give up a run or hit in three innings.
“We are ready to hop on the bus and head to Illinois State this weekend.â€
Denu set the tone for the evening in the first inning, as he struck out two in a scoreless frame.  Evansville then gave him the lead in the bottom of the first inning thanks to an opposite-field RBI single by sophomore catcher Evan Waggoner.  Denu struck out the side in order in the second inning, and UE’s strong night on the mound was in full force.
The Bulldogs would take advantage of an Evansville error to score a two-out run in the fourth inning to tie the game at 1-1, but that would be the next-to-last Butler batter to reach base on the evening.  Evansville would also quickly respond with a solo home run by fifth-year outfielder Danny Borgstrom to right field in the bottom of the fourth inning to grab a lead UE would never lose.
The Aces would tack on two more runs in the sixth inning on an RBI double by junior designated hitter Brendan Hord off of the center-field wall, a ground out and a Butler throwing error to grab a 4-1 lead.  From there, Evansville’s bullpen trio of graduate reliever John MacCauley, freshman pitcher Max Hansmann, and junior closer Nate Hardman combined to allow just a one-out walk in the eighth inning to nail down the victory.
Denu (4-3) earned the win in a scheduled short-start by scattering an unearned run on two hits, while striking out seven men on just 55 pitches.  MacCauley, pitching against a team which he pitched five seasons for before transferring to UE this season, tossed three perfect innings of relief with a pair of strikeouts.  Hansmann and Hardman both worked a scoreless, hitless frame with a strikeout to finish out the contest.
Offensively, Hord led Evansville by going 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored and an RBI.  Borgstrom, meanwhile, went 1-for-3 with his third home run of the year and two runs scored.  Waggoner, junior second baseman Kip Fougerousse and junior shortstop Simon Scherry had UE’s remaining three hits.
Evansville improves to 26-18 overall with the win, while Butler falls to 9-35 overall.  The Purple Aces will return to Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend in Normal, Illinois, as UE will take on Illinois State in a three-game series beginning on Friday night at 5 p.m. in a game that can be seen live on ESPN+.  The series will continue on Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 1, with all three games being heard live in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS and the Old National Bank/Purple Aces Sports Network from Learfield.
