EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Evansville junior outfielder Harrison Taubert laced a one-out RBI single down the left-field line in the bottom of the 10th inning on Wednesday night to help the Purple Aces walk off with a 6-5 victory over visiting Southeast Missouri State at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.
“Overall, I am just really pleased with the gritty effort that we got tonight from our ballclub,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “We had a lot of different guys step up and deliver big at-bats for us after we got behind early, and I thought that our bullpen was electric tonight.
“I am also really proud of Harrison Taubert for battling and working the count like he did tonight in that 10th inning. Hopefully, a win like this will really spark us and we can carry that momentum over to this weekend’s series at Michigan State.”
Taubert’s extra-inning single capped a rally by Evansville, as Southeast Missouri State jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after two-and-a-half innings. Taubert actually kick-started the rally in the bottom of the third inning with a lead-off single for UE’s first hit of the contest. Junior second baseman Cal McGinnis then followed with an RBI double to left-center field to score Taubert and trim SEMO’s lead to 4-1.
Freshman catcher Kaleb Wilkey would then reach base on a fielder’s choice, before graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger came through with a single to put two men on base with only one out. After a strikeout, graduate third baseman Brent Widder came through with an RBI double to cut SEMO’s lead in half, before a walk and an RBI single by graduate designated hitter Brendan Hord capped UE’s three-run third inning.
SEMO would answer with a run in the top of the fourth inning, before UE would tie the game with two runs in the fifth inning. Shallenberger led off the frame with a triple, before scoring on an RBI ground out by senior first baseman Kip Fougerousse. Junior outfielder Ty Rumsey then came through with a two-out, two-strike RBI double down the right-field line four batters later to tie the game at 5-5.
From there, UE’s bullpen silenced the SEMO attack, as relievers Ethan Bell, Shane Harris, Jace Kressin and Jakob Meyer combined to allow just three hits in 6.0 innings of work, while recording eight strikeouts. SEMO threatened in the top of the 10th inning by putting the lead-off man aboard, but Meyer recorded back-to-back strikeouts before getting an infield ground out to get out of the jam. UE senior shortstop Simon Scherry then led off the bottom of the 10th with a single, before Rumsey delivered a one-out double two batters later to put two men on base. After a pitching change, Taubert pulled an inside slider down the left-field line for the game-winner.
Taubert, McGinnis, Shallenberger, Widder, and Rumsey all had two-hit days for UE, as the Purple Aces pounded out 12 base hits in the contest. Outfielder Michael Mugan led SEMO by going 4-for-5 with two home runs, two runs scored and three RBI.
With the victory, Evansville improves to 8-8 overall and 5-1 at home. SEMO, meanwhile, falls to 7-11 with the loss. Evansville will return to action next on Friday at 2:35 p.m. central, as the Purple Aces will travel north to East Lansing, Michigan to open a three-game series with the Michigan State Spartans. Friday’s game can be seen live on Big Ten Network Plus, and heard live in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS with the Voice of the Aces Jevin Redman providing the play-by-play coverage.
