Game 1 Box Score (HTML)
Game 2 Box Score (HTML)
MALIBU, Calif.—For the sixth consecutive year, the University of Evansville baseball team recorded a victory against nationally-ranked competition on Saturday, as the Purple Aces split a doubleheader with #10 Pepperdine at Eddy D. Field Stadium in Malibu, California. Evansville posted a 2-0 victory in the opener behind a combined three-hit shutout by junior Wade Kapteyn and senior J.R. Carbonell, before Pepperdine rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning in the nightcap to earn the doubleheader split.
Kapteyn and Carbonell were the story in game one, as the duo combined to limit Pepperdine to just three singles while striking out nine men in the seven-inning contest. Kapteyn (2-1) earned his second victory of the week and moved his scoreless innings streak to 11 with four shutout innings on the mound. Carbonell then came on to strike out a career-best six men in three shutout innings of relief work to earn his first save of the year.
Senior lead-off man Jim Viscomi manufactured the only offense the Purple Aces would need in the opener in the first inning, as he led off the game with a walk, stole second, advanced to third on a ground ball, and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by sophomore third baseman Cody Fick.
UE would then tack on an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning on a two-out, RBI single by junior first baseman Tom Heithoff to grab a 2-0 lead. Heithoff finished 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI to lead the UE offense in the opener.
In the nightcap, Viscomi once again gave UE a 1-0 lead in the first inning, as he led off the game with a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, stole third, and scored on an RBI ground out by Fick. Fick would then give UE a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, as he launched his third home run of the year, a solo shot to left-center field, to open the frame.
Pepperdine would answer back with a run of its own in the bottom of the fourth inning to trim the UE lead back to 2-1, before the Waves used five singles to string together three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally for a 4-2 victory.
“I am extremely proud of the effort our pitchers gave us this week, especially today,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “All week long, they competed and gave us a chance to be successful, and today, they were outstanding.
“Wade Kapteyn continued a great week on the mound today with four more scoreless innings to really set the tone for the doubleheader. J.R. Carbonell then came in and pitched as well as I’ve ever seen him pitch. I am so proud of the way he pitched today against a very good Pepperdine team.
“All-in-all, I really liked how this team competed this week. From our pitchers to our hitters to our defense, we really battled hard all week and I think that we learned a lot about ourselves on this trip. Hopefully, this group will continue to compete and work hard, because the wins will come.”
With the doubleheader split, Evansville moves its record to 3-8 overall. #10 Pepperdine, meanwhile, moves to 9-3 on the season with the split. The Purple Aces will now return home to Evansville to host the Dunn Hospitality Diamond Classic II next weekend, as UE will host IPFW, Purdue, and Mississippi Valley State in the three-day, six-game tournament which begins on Friday. Purdue and Mississippi Valley State open Dunn Hospitality Diamond Classic Tournament play at 11:00 a.m. central time on Friday, before UE hosts IPFW at 3:00 p.m. at Charles H. Braun Stadium. Friday’s contest can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.
