EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In the final game of a five-game homestand, the University of Evansville baseball team was able to get a one-run win over the Southeast Missouri Redhawks.
In a back-and-forth game, the Purple Aces were able to keep the upper hand for their second straight win. UE also evened the series with SEMO in Evansville with the 7-6 victory on Tuesday. Both teams have now won four games at German American Bank Field since 1980. The Aces offense was led by first baseman Cal McGinnis (Kimberly, Wis. / Bradley) and catcher Matt Flaherty (Lake Zurich, Ill. / Bellarmine), with three hits each. McGinnis had the winning hit for UE with a single up the middle in the bottom of the eighth that hit the second base bag to skip into center field and score the seventh run.
“It was a complete game for the club tonight,” said Head Coach Wes Carroll following the win. “It was our first midweek win in quite some time. We got some great efforts on the mound from multiple guys, especially Clevidence and Jack Wills on the backen,d throwing strikes and being able to land some off speeds to give us a chance. And then our defense threw up a goose egg in the error column while our offense did just enough.
“We had some back-to-back-to-back two-out RBI knocks, which was really crucial at the beginning of the game. And then Flaherty delivered the big barrel, and we had something go our way. We got a bounce that went our way as Cal McGinnis hit off the second base bag for the go-ahead run. I’m proud of our club for competing all nine innings against a quality opponent in SEMO. And hopefully, we’ll keep this momentum going when we get on the bus Thursday to go to Chicago.”
Evansville had another big start to a game on Tuesday, taking down SEMO in order while also adding two hits in the first inning. But the Redhawks scored first in the top of the second after getting a lead off double and back-to-back sacrifice plays to bring in a run. The Aces were able to get out of the frame with a fly out on the next at-bat.
UE answered the run in the bottom of the second like the Redhawk’s. Flaherty put a lead off double down the left field line. He scored for Evansville two at-bats later on back-to-back infield groundouts. The Aces were able to get another runner on base but were not able to bring him home as they headed to the third inning.
SEMO threatened in the top of the third loading the bases after a lead off strikeout. But with two outs on the board, reliever Parker MacCauley (Paducah, Ky. / Tennessee Tech) got the Redhawks swinging to get out of the jam. UE’s bats really got going in the bottom of the third with a two-out rally to take an early lead.
Left fielder Charlie Longmeier (Seymour, Ind. / Seymour HS) started the rally with a double into right. Evansville had a second runner on base just after as SEMO’s pitcher walked right fielder Harrison Taubert (Casper, Wyo. / Northeast CC). The Aces then had three straight batters hit singles to the outfield to score three runs to make it a 4-1 game. UE scored one more run in the bottom of the third on a catcher’s balk to hold a four-run lead a third of the way through the game.
The Redhawks were able to get back some of the runs from Evansville in the top of the fourth. SEMO had two batters get on base to start the inning, and a double in the third at-bat scored the first run. The Redhawks then scored two more runs to clear the bases on a groundout and a passed ball. SEMO added one more hit in the fourth, but the Aces got back-to-back outs to end the inning to keep a one-run lead.
Neither team scored over the next two innings as UE added two hits to its stat line. The Redhawks tied the game up in the top of the seventh with a solo home run. The homer was immediately answered by Evansville in the bottom of the inning as Flaherty had his second long ball in as many games. The Aces were back in front but did not stay there for long as SEMO scored another tying run on a double in the top of the eighth.
Despite the Redhawks connecting on their second tying run of the game, UE kept fighting at the plate in the bottom of the eighth. Evansville began the offensive frame with a single from third baseman Drew Howard (Ferdinand, Ind. / Forest Park HS). Howard soon moved into scoring position on a wild pitch from SEMO’s closer.
The Aces got another runner on base as outfielder Ty Rumsey (Evansville, Ind. / North HS) was hit by a pitch to take first. McGinnis then came to the plate and put the winning hit through the middle to score Howard for the 7-6 score. UE’s defense held on in the top of the ninth with three straight outs as winning pitcher Jack Wills (Shelbyville, Ky. / Shelby County HS) threw his second strikeout of the night.
Seven Evansville batters had hits on Tuesday night for 13 overall hits. Along with three hits from Flaherty and McGinnis, McConnell and Howard also had multiple hits against the Redhawks. Flaherty and Howard also led the team in RBIs with two each. While Wills picked up the win ,the Aces used five pitchers on Tuesday who combined for nine hits, five earned runs, five walks, and eight strikeouts. Reliever Jack Clevidence (Ankeny, Iowa / Ankeny HS) threw the most strikeouts for UE with eight Ks.
Evansville returns to conference play this weekend with a trip up to the Windy City. The Aces will play three games at UIC starting on Friday, April 4. First pitch for the first game of the series is set for 4 p.m. in Chicago.
