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EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Evansville freshman second baseman Trentt Copeland’s RBI single just out of the reach of a diving Josh Street in the ninth inning on Friday night scored pinch-runner Ty Legan from second base to give the Purple Aces a 3-2 walk-off victory over the visiting Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougars at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.
Senior shortstop Andy Smith began UE’s ninth-inning rally with a lead-off walk. After a sacrifice bunt by senior catcher Andrew Gher moved Legan to second, Copeland flared a 1-1 pitch from SIUE reliever Aren Cummings to right-center field that Street just came up short on with a full-extension dive attempt. SIUE right-fielder Chase Thrasher tried to throw out Legan at home, but the throw was high and Legan slid in safely to help UE cap a late-inning rally.
“Trentt has come through all season long when we have needed him to, and tonight was no different,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “This might not have been the prettiest win of the season, but it is a win, and now we are back to .500 with a chance to go above .500 tomorrow.”
Evansville fell behind early 2-0, as the Cougars were able to take advantage of an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt to score the game’s first run. A steal of home later in the frame after a runner was picked off first base then gave SIUE the two-run advantage.
The score would remain 2-0 until the sixth inning, when Evansville was able to score its first run of the contest on a one-out single by sophomore outfielder Greg Wallace, a stolen base, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly by junior designated hitter Andy Pascoe. UE would then tie the game at 2-2 in the eighth inning on a fielder’s choice ground ball off of the bat of junior first baseman Tom Heithoff that sophomore third baseman Cody Fick was able to beat home with one out. Copeland would then provide the heroics in the ninth inning to make a winner out of senior RHP John Foley.
Foley improved to 6-2 on the season by tossing a complete-game five-hitter. Foley allowed two runs (one earned) while striking out seven men against just one walk. He needed just 103 pitches to toss the complete-game effort.
“John was really on his game the entire night,” said Carroll. “From the first batter, you could tell that John was locked in tonight.
“SIUE made things interesting against Foley late, especially in the sixth and seventh innings when they had men in scoring position with only one out. But, John really dug deep and battled and kept us in the game until the very end. That is what you like to see out of your Friday night starter.”
Copeland led UE’s offensive attack by going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Wallace also had two hits, including a double, to go along with a run scored. Street led SIUE with a 2-for-4 effort and a double.
With the victory, Evansville evens its record at 22-22. SIUE, meanwhile, falls to 10-30 on the season. The two teams will continue the series on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. with a doubleheader which will consist of two seven-inning contests.
