ATHENS, Ga. – The moment was not too big for the University of Evansville baseball team as the Aces handled high-pressure situations in a 3-2 victory over 12th-ranked Georgia at Foley Field on Friday afternoon in Athens, Ga.
“Great way to start the season and such a great performance on the mound from Shane Gray, Michael Parks and Jakob Meyer,” said Aces head baseball coach Wes Carroll. “We handled pressure late in the game from a really good team, so we really had to earn the win.”
The tone for the afternoon was set by starting pitcher Shane Gray, who sat the Bulldogs down in order in the bottom of the first. Gray faced his first threat in the bottom of the second as Georgia put two on with one out. The sophomore got out of the inning with a strikeout and then a little help from senior catcher Ben Komonosky, who threw-out Corey Collins attempting to steal third.
In the third, Evansville’s offense got rolling with two outs. Senior Troy Beilsmith sent a base-hit to right field and subsequently stole second. Fellow senior Craig Shepherd then proceeded to single to right field, scoring Beilsmith to give Evansville its first run of the afternoon. After junior Tanner Craig and sophomore Danny Borgstrom were walked in the next two at bats, newcomer Simon Scherry scored Shepherd with an error-inducing grounder to third base that pushed the Aces lead to 2-0.
Evansville looked poised for another two-out rally in the fourth, placing runners at first and second with two down, but the Aces could not convert.
Georgia halved Evansville’s lead in the fifth as the leadoff batter Corey Collins belted a solo shot to right field, but Gray was able to keep the Bulldogs to just one run in the inning.
The Aces kept pushing the envelope in the sixth as Komonosky opened the inning on base after being hit by a pitch and eventually found his way in scoring position at third after a Shepherd single with two outs. Evansville could not capitalize on its opportunity, but continued to show their ability to threaten.
It was another two-out rally in the seventh that added the third and final run to the Aces tally as freshman Adam Euler doubled off the center field wall with two down. Euler gave way to senior Kenton Crews as a pinch runner and the veteran quickly showcased his quickness for the Aces advancing to third and eventually home on a pair of wild pitches that pushed Evansville’s lead to 3-1.
Gray’s tremendous day on the mound came to an end with the start of the seventh inning as sophomore Michael Parks took over. Parks induced a fly out to the first batter he faced, but gave up a single and hit a batter in the next two at bats. With Georgia primed to tie the game or even take the lead, Parks forced Fernando Gonzalez to ground into a double play to end the inning and the Bulldogs threat.
In the top of the eighth, Evansville put runners on first and second with just one out, but junior righty Jack Gowen struck-out back-to-back Aces to end the inning. In the Bulldogs half of the eighth, Georgia placed runners on first and second with no outs. After Parks got a pop out for the first out, Evansville turned to freshman Jakob Meyer to get the Aces out of the inning. Meyer gave up a single that scored a run for the Bulldogs in the first at-bat, but locked down Georgia’s attempts to tie the game with a groundout on a fielder’s choice and a fly out to right field.
With one last chance in the ninth, Meyer struck-out the lead-off batter and forced a groundout in the next at-bat to quickly back Georgia into their final out. The Bulldogs responded with a single, putting the tying run on base. Again in a high-pressure situation, Evansville handled it well as Meyer induced a pop up that ended the game and earned the Aces a 3-2 season-opening win.
Gray finished the contest with the win, pitching six innings and allowing just four hits and one earned run, while striking-out four. Meyer received the save, the first of his collegiate career, pitching the final 1.2 innings and striking-out three, while not allowing a hit.
Evansville generated plenty of offense with eight hits on the afternoon, while leaving 12 on base in the win.
The Aces and Bulldogs continue their series with a twin bill on Saturday afternoon beginning at 11 AM (CT). Senior left-hander Nathan Croner gets the ball in the first game, while junior righty Caleb Reinhardt will start on the mound for the Aces in game two.
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