NORMAL, Ill. –  University of Evansville sophomore catcher Evan Waggoner came through with a two-out RBI double in the top of the ninth inning Saturday to snap a scoreless tie and propel the Purple Aces to a 1-0 victory over the homestanding Illinois State Redbirds at Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Illinois.
“What a ballgame!†said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  “With the elements today and the stiff wind blowing in, we really had to battle and find a way today offensively, and both Simon Scherry and Evan Waggoner came up huge for us in the ninth inning against a very tough closer for Illinois State to help us get this win.
“I can’t say enough about the job that both Donovan Schultz and Michael Parks did in this game today to get us the series victory.  Donnie had a great bounce-back effort today after a tough start last weekend, and Michael was able to tough it out after pitching last night to nail down the victory.  We are positioned very well going into tomorrow pitching-wise to try and earn the series sweep.â€
On a day with a 20 mile-per-hour wind blowing in a majority of the game, pitching was the story of the contest.  UE junior LHP Donovan Schultz and Illinois State RHP Jayson Hibbard traded zeros back and forth all afternoon long through the first eight innings.  The two hurlers mirrored each other through the first two innings, working around a one-out double in the first, and setting both teams down in order in the second.
Evansville threatened in the third, as sophomore outfielder Ty Rumsey had a one-out single and stole second base, but was stranded there as Hibbard worked out of trouble.  Then, after striking out the side in the third inning, Schultz worked around a situation with two men in scoring position and only one out in the fourth inning, as he was aided by a great defensive play by junior shortstop Simon Scherry for a big second out, and got a ground out to first to escape the jam.
Schultz would toss seven scoreless innings, allowing just five hits and a walk, while striking out seven.  Hibbard, meanwhile, would go eight scoreless innings for Illinois State, allowing six hits and striking out three.
The game would remain scoreless until the ninth, when Evansville was able to rally against Illinois State closer Elijah Dale (2-4).  Scherry singled through the left side with two outs, then advanced to second base on a wild pitch.  Waggoner then roped a double down the right-field line to easily score Scherry and give UE a 1-0 lead.
Parks, working his second inning for the second-straight day, was able to work around a lead-off single by Illinois State power-hitter Daniel Pacella by getting pinch-hitter Noah Rabin to hit into a double play with one out to end the contest.
Scherry and fifth-year first baseman Chase Hug both went 2-for-4 to lead Evansville offensively.
With the victory, Evansville wins the series and improves to 28-18 overall and 11-9 in the Missouri Valley Conference.  Illinois State, meanwhile, falls to 17-26 overall and 6-14 in the MVC with the loss.  Evansville will try to sweep the season series on Sunday, as the two teams will battle at 1 p.m. in Normal, Illinois.  Junior RHP Shane Harris (4-2, 5.67 ERA) will get the starting nod for Evansville.
