University Of Evansville Men’s Baseball Team Sweeps Bradley

PEORIA, Ill. – On a cold and dreary afternoon in Peoria, Illinois, the University of Evansville baseball team delivered a complete a team effort to double up Bradley, sealing the deal on a Missouri Valley Conference series victory Saturday, at Dozer Park.

It began on the hill, as junior left-hander Nathan Croner shutout the Braves across the first four frames, striking out three in the process.

Croner also received early run support, After senior center fielder Nate Reeder hustled out an infield single in the second inning, he was moved over to second on a grounder, the speedy Reeder swiped third. That move would set up freshman second baseman Danny Borgstrom for an RBI single to left, putting UE out in front, 1-0.

In the top of the third, red-hot sophomore first baseman Tanner Craig continued his clutch swinging, with a run-scoring lace to left, that tallied junior right fielder Troy Beilsmith, doubling the lead to 2-0. Later in the inning, Evansville would load up the bases, and a wild pitch would allow Tanner Craig to race home with yet another run, making it 3-0 UE.

In the bottom of the frame, with a runner on first, Bradley’s Chad Garon sent a single to right. Brendan Dougherty raced for third, but a bullet from Troy Beilsmith to Sam Troyer gunned down the Braves’ hopes for a rally, ending the inning.

Nathan Croner had his dreams of a shutout shattered in the fifth frame, as a sacrifice fly brought in Bradley’s first run of the series, making it 3-1 Evansville. The junior southpaw would limit the damage there, and exited the game after five innings, allowing one run on seven hits, while striking out three.

Freshman right hander, Shane Gray would take over in the sixth and tossed back to back scoreless innings. However, in the eighth, Gray was tagged for a solo home run by Dan Bolt, shaving the UE lead down to one. The Braves would go onto put two aboard later in the frame, but Gray induced an inning-ending double play, keeping Evansville in front, 3-2.

In the ninth inning, Tanner Craig would give the Aces back their two-run margin, belting an RBI double to left, scoring Beilsmith from third.

Leading 4-2 in the bottom of the innings, the Aces turned to senior right hander reliever Austin Allinger for the second day in a row. After getting the first two outs quickly, Allinger would walk the next two batter, putting the tying and winning runs on base. However, the senior would bear down and get Chad Garon to fly out to end the game, earning Allinger his fourth save of the season, while Nathan Croner move to 5-2 on the year.

The win improves Evansville’s record to 13-9 on the season, surpassing their entire win total for all of 2018. The loss drops Bradley to 12-9. The Aces go for the series sweep of the Braves Sunday afternoon at Dozer Park, with senior left-hander Alex Weigand taking the hill for UE. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

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