UE baseball begins the weekend with a 7-3 win over Valparaiso
The Purple Aces won their first home conference game on Friday night
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team earned its first Missouri Valley Conference win at German American Bank Field on Friday night against the Valparaiso Beacons.
The Purple Aces led from the bottom of the second and never looked back in their 7-3 win over Valparaiso. Three UE batters had two hits, while four others had a hit with five multi-base hits. Starting pitcher Kenton Deverman (Dardenne Prairie, Mo. / Fort Zumwalt West HS) evened his record at 2-,2 while reliever Max Hansmann (Elmhurst, Ill. / York HS) picked up his first save of the year.
“I feel like it was a complete nine inning game on the mound, at the plate, and in the field,” said Head Coach Wes Carroll following the win. “It was a great way to start the weekend with an opportunity to win a series on Saturday. Deverman and Hansmann were great on the mound tonight. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow as we reveal the banners that represent the special 2024 season!”
It was a quick first inning and a half at Charles H. Braun Stadium as both pitchers faced no more than five batters. Evansville struck first in the bottom of the second as left fielder Charlie Longmeier (Seymour, Ind. / Seymour HS) put a double into right with only one out on the board. Longmeier made his way to third on a fly out to right and scored the Aces’ first run on a single up the middle by second baseman Drew McConnell (Blue Springs, Mo. / Blue Springs HS). Designated hitter Aaron Nehls (Evansville, Ind. / North HS) also scored on the McConnell single after getting on base with a walk and stealing second.
UE kept the 2-0 lead for an inning until they added another run in the bottom of the third as infielder Cal McGinnis (Kimberly, Wis. / Bradley) hit a solo home run past the right field wall. The homer was McGinnis’s second of the year and the first to be hit by Evansville on its home field. The Beacons answered with a solo home run of their own in the top of the fourth inning to make it a 3-1 game.
Neither team scored in the fifth as the Aces had the only hit of the inning, an infield single from center fielder Ty Rumsey (Evansville, Ind. / North HS). UE was able to add some insurance to its lead in the bottom of the sixth as shortstop Brodie Peart (Markham, Ontario) led off with a single to right center. Peart wouldn’t be on the base paths long as he was out on the next play, but Longmeier kept an Evansville runner on base.
Longmeier again moved into scoring position at third base on the next at bat as catcher Matt Flaherty (Lake Zurich, Ill. / Bellarmine) had an infield single that was overthrown by Valpo to first, allowing the extra base. Nehls put the ball into play during his plate appearance, scoring Longmeier, while Flaherty became the second out for a 4-1 Aces lead.
The Beacons cut UE’s lead by one as they had a leadoff triple that scored on a wild pitch. But Evansville was able to answer right back in the bottom of the seventh with three runs on four hits. Rumsey, right fielder Harrison Taubert (Casper, Wyo. / Northeast CC), Peart, and Flaherty all scored with two of the hits scoring runs.
Rumsey began the half inning with a double down the left field line and scored the Aces’ fifth run soon after on Taubert’s single up the middle. Taubert didn’t make it home as he was caught stealing, but Peart hit his first collegiate triple an at-bat later to get into scoring position. Longmeier was walked after Peart’s triple, putting runners at the corners for UE.
It was Flaherty who had the dagger of a hit putting a double back into right center. On Flaherty’s double, both Peart and Longmeier scored, making it a five-run lead for Evansville. Valparaiso added one more run in the top of the eighth with two hits, a single and a triple. The triple from the Beacon’s center fielder scored their third run of the game with two outs.
The Aces offense went down in order in the bottom of the eighth with three putouts in the field. But UE’s defense did the same to Valpo as Hansmann threw back-to-back strikeouts to secure the Evansville win. Hansmann tied his career-high in strikeouts on Friday, retiring five batters in 3.1 innings of work.
The Aces will get right back to it on Saturday afternoon for the second game of the series with the Beacons. UE will celebrate its historic 2024 season by unveiling two banners at Charles H. Braun Stadium before first pitch. Saturday’s game is set to begin at 12 p.m.
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