Life in the Valley

Bisons Down 9-3 in 9th Storm Back, Win on Grounder in Extras

It was day of should haves and could haves for the Evansville baseball team. In the opening 2 innings, it’s what the Purple Aces could have done with the bases loaded. In each frame, Evansville loaded the bases with 0 outs, only to come away with just 1 run – scored on Harrison Taubert’s 2-out single in the 2nd inning that cut Lipscomb’s lead at the time to 2-1 in the Tuesday afternoon game in Nashville between the teams.

Also early, it was what Evansville could have done on defense. Errors and misplays cost Evansville 2 unearned runs which helped the Bisons take a 3-1 lead after 2 innings against somewhat unlucky UE starter Owen Byberg.

In the 9th, with a 9-3 lead, Evansville needed just 3 outs to salt away its first win of the new season. But 3 UE pitchers combined to walk 4 Lipscomb batters – the easiest way to give up a big lead. A sac fly cut Evansville’s lead to 9-6 but with 2 on and 2 out, a Purple Aces victory still seemed on the cards.

That was until Jacob Tobias launched a long homer to right field on a 3-2 pitch to tie the game and send it to extra innings. It was Tobias’ lone hit of the game and just the 3rd homer of his career.

As deflating as that was, however, the Purple Aces had chances to regain control of the game. They put a runner at 3rd with 1 out in the 10th, but followed up with 2 strikeouts. The 11th and 12th innings ended in double plays. UE finally broke through in the 13th when B.J. Peart singled home Cal McGinnis to make it 10-9 with 1 out. But UE was unable to add on.

In the bottom of the 13th, an error, passed ball, and walk put 2 runners on, and a bunt moved them into scoring position with 1 out. Evansville intentionally walked Keaton Mahan to load the bases, hoping for a double play to end the inning. David Coppedge seemed to oblige, grounding a ball to short, but the throw to 2nd was late, as was the throw to first. Not turning the double play allowed Aaron Stelogeannis to score the tying run, and Jake Berg followed, capitalizing on the Evansville miscue to slide home with the winning run, just ahead of the tag by UE catcher Kaleb Wilkey, thus bringing to an end a 4-hour, 24-minute epic that left UE probably knowing a win was coming soon, but frustrated that Tuesday wasn’t the day.

Ty Rumsey, Kevin McCormick, and Drew Howard all had 3 hits for Evansville, which outhit Lispcomb, 16-10. But the Bruins drew 7 walks and were the benefactors of 6 Evansville errors. Howard was charged with 4, though some might question the scorer on a couple of those. McCormick homered in the 6th inning, a 2-run shot that was the first of his college career. It also gave UE a 4-3 lead at the time and was part of an 8-0 scoring run that left the Purple Aces up 9-3 in the 9th before things went south.

Despite the loss, UE got a strong pitching performance from Kellen Roberts, who replaced Byberg in the 4th and pitched 4 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits with 1 walks and 5 strikeouts on 73 pitches. His work allowed UE to get back into the game and take the lead while the Bisons bats were quiet. Jack Clevidence got the loss, but deserved better in all likelihood after throwing all of the extra innings (3 2/3 officially), with 2 runs (1 earned) , 2 hits, and 2 walks on 56 pitches. UE used just 6 pitchers in the game thanks to the efforts of Roberts and Clevidence.

Evansville stays close to home this weekend, hosting city-rival Southern Indiana on Friday and Sunday, while the teams will play at USI on Saturday.

Indiana State 8, Florida Gulf Coast 5: A quiet scoreless game exploded in the 2nd inning, as the Indiana State Sycamores scored 6 runs, then watched Florida Gulf Coast respond with 4, but the Sycamores never lost their lead and went on to beat the Eagles, 8-5 at Fort Myers, Fla. Indiana State’s (3-1) 6-run 2nd was highlighted by a 2-run homer from Carter Beck, while Keegan Garis had an RBI single, Carlos Pena added a sac fly, and a pair of FGCU errors allowed 2 more runs to score. Beck and Garis had 2 hits and 2 RBIs each in the win. Max McEwen got the win in relief, giving up 1 run (unearned) on 3 hits over 3 2/3 innings, with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. McEwen threw 56 pitches. He’s 1-0 on the season. The two teams play again today on ESPN+.

Tennessee Tech 10, Belmont 8: The Bruins fell to 0-4 on the season with a tough 10-8 loss to undefeated Tennessee Tech (5-0). Belmont led, 5-1 and 7-3 early, but the Golden Eagles scored in every inning but 2 to eventually take the lead and the get the victory. Mike Sprockett homered for Belmont as part of a 3-for-4 game. Ty Allen also went 3-for-4 for the Bruins, who had 13 hits. Pete Daniel went 3-for-4 with 2 runs and 3 RBIs in the loss. Daniel also stole a base. Tennessee Tech took the lead for good in the 8th inning on a 2-run double by Landon Smelser.

Wednesday’s Streaming Menu & Schedule: Light slate for the first Wednesday of the new season as the aforementioned contest between Indiana State and Florida Gulf Coast is the lone game on the card. It’s on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. Central, weather permitting.

Ed Morgans is the founder of MVCBaseball.com. An Evansville graduate, Ed has written about and broadcast college baseball, while following the sport for 40 years.