WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – During the University of Evansville’s eight-game winning streak, pitching and defense helped power the Purple Aces’ success. On Wednesday night, that wasn’t the case, as the homestanding Purdue Boilermakers scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back, as Purdue snapped UE’s winning streak with a 10-6 victory at Alexander Field in West Lafayette, Indiana.
After UE had jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by graduate first baseman Chase Hug and an RBI ground out by graduate third baseman Brent Widder, the Boilermakers sent 10 men to the plate in the bottom of the first inning and scored four runs on just two hits. In the inning, UE committed three errors, issued two walks, and hit a batter to help Purdue grab a lead it would never lose.
Purdue would add two more runs in the second inning on back-to-back RBI doubles by catcher Connor Caskenette and outfielder Keenan Taylor to grab a 6-2 lead. The Boilermakers would tack on single tallies in the third, fourth and fifth innings to build the lead to 9-2. A walk scored in the fourth inning and a hit batter came around to score in the fifth for Purdue.
UE would finally answer back in the eighth inning with a run on an RBI double by Widder. Then, after Purdue scored a run of its own in the eighth inning, UE was able to plate three runs in the ninth inning to make things interesting. Senior outfielder Kip Fougerousse had an RBI single, and Hug added a two-run single to provide the final score of 10-6.
Hug went 3-for-5 with three RBI to lead UE offensively. Graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger also went 2-for-2 and reached base in all five trips to the plate, scoring two runs. Fougerousse also had a two-hit day, while Widder drove in two RBI for UE. On the mound, UE issued seven walks and hit five Purdue batters. It equals the most free bases the UE pitching staff has allowed all year. UE’s four errors also equaled a season-high.
With the victory, Purdue improved to 26-15 overall. Evansville, meanwhile, falls to 22-18 with the loss. The Purple Aces will now return home to German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium for an important three-game Missouri Valley Conference series against Missouri State. Evansville is currently in second place in the MVC with a 10-5 conference mark, just two games behind league-leading and nationally-ranked Indiana State entering the weekend. The series will begin on Friday at 6 p.m. and continue both Saturday and Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. respectively. Tickets for each game are currently available by calling Logan Belz in the UE athletic ticket office by phone at 812-488-2623.
