Patrick Schnieders’ complete game and an impressive offensive display on Saturday pushed the University of Evansville baseball team’s winning streak out to four games as the Purple Aces dealt visiting Florida Gulf Coast a pair of losses to secure a three-game sweep at Charles H. Braun Stadium.
“This was a great day for our program, really through all 18 innings,†UE head coach Wes Carroll said. “It started on the mound with Patrick Schnieders, and then Alex Weigand came out and did well battling the conditions and making pitches when we needed him to. Our offense really clicked all day. I think we were able to set the tone on the mound, but really, the team played well in all three aspects of the game all weekend. I feel like things are starting to come together for us at the right time with Valley play starting next week.â€
With the wins, which came in 5-1 and 13-7 fashion, the Aces are 14-11 on the year. FGCU, meanwhile, dropped to 13-14.
Schnieders (3-1), who put together a fourth consecutive quality start, was nothing short of dominant, as he picked up the steam from Connor Strain’s performance a day earlier, to toss nine four-hit innings while allowing just one score and striking out seven.
The junior right-hander was also the recipient of early run support as the Aces pushed across three scores in the opening stanza. Singles from Stewart Nelson and Trey Hair got things started for the Aces before a Boomer Synek triple and Jonathan Ramon sac fly plated a pair to make it 3-0.
Josh Jyawook added another in the fourth after he led off with a single. The senior out of Hoffman Estates, Ill., then went to work on the base paths, stealing both second and third before scoring on a Jeff Christen single.
Synek, who ended 3-for-4 to lead all hitters in the contest, plated another in the fifth, and the Eagles grabbed a consolation score with a Matt Reardon sac fly in the top of the eighth.
While the Aces rode dominant pitching to wins in the first two games of the series, the line-up would do the bulk of the work in the finale as UE touched home 11 times in the first four frames to take control.
After swapping a score over the first two innings, Synek and Ramon each brought home a score to put the Aces ahead in the bottom of the third. Jyawook followed up in the ensuing at-bat with a rocket over the fence in right field to score three more. It was the third home run of the season for the preseason All-Missouri Valley selection, and it sent the game into the fourth inning with the Aces leading 6-1.
The Eagles would reclaim three scores in the ensuing half-inning, but the rally was all for naught as Ramon’s two-run single highlighted another five-run frame for the Aces.
Ramon ended the game 4-for-4 with five runs batted in, and Christen enjoyed a three-hit outing as UE out-hit the visitors from Ft. Myers, Fla., 17-11.
Alex Weigand picked up the win on the mound to improve to 2-1 on the season.
UE will be back in action on Tuesday as the team will hit the road once again for a midweek showdown, this time at Western Kentucky. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
NOTES: This weekend marks the first-ever series between Florida Gulf Coast and Evansville … Eleven different Aces players have hit home runs this season, which is the most since 2001, when 13 players left the park … This weekend marks the second series sweep of the season for the Aces … The first was a three-game sweep of Northern Illinois at Braun Stadium last month … UE is 4-0 against the Atlantic Sun this season … Since 1978, UE is 12-30 against teams that hail from the Sunshine State.
