SPRINGFIELD, Mo.—University of Evansville sophomore left-hander Seth McCabe gave UE seven strong innings on Sunday, and senior Tom Heithoff added two RBI base hits and nailed down his fifth save of the year to help the Purple Aces pick up a series victory at Missouri State with a 3-2 victory over the Bears at Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri.

 

“I’m really proud of my guys today,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “They really competed hard today and battled against a very good pitcher in Mike Kickham to pick up this victory and the series victory overall. We had so many different guys step up in clutch situations and make plays, and now, we’re able to go back to Evansville with a series win, which was the goal when we got on the bus back on Thursday.

 

“I could not be more proud of Seth McCabe today. He really stepped up and put the entire team on his back and said, ‘We are going to get this series win.’ Then, Tom Heithoff really stepped up as well, and came through with some key base hits to give Seth a lead, and then was able to pick up the save in the ninth.”

 

Evansville jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI ground out by sophomore infielder Trentt Copeland, but Missouri State would answer back with an RBI single by freshman Luke Voit in the bottom of the first inning to tie the game at 1-1.

 

Heithoff would then follow a lead-off double by senior designated hitter Andy Pascoe with an RBI base hit to right-center field to give UE a 2-1 lead in the second inning. From there, McCabe (3-0) took over and scattered seven hits and two walks over 7.0 innings of work, while keeping the score 2-1. 

 

UE would tack on an insurance run in the seventh inning to take a 3-1 lead on an RBI double by Heithoff. The run would be needed, as Missouri State threatened in both the eighth and ninth innings against the Purple Aces.

 

The Bears would load the bases in the eighth inning against the UE bullpen, only to have senior reliever Corey Davisson work out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam to keep the lead 3-1. Missouri State would then finally break through for a run against Heithoff in the ninth inning on a pair of infield singles, before the right-hander bounced back to get first baseman Tyler Ryun to fly out to right field to preserve the win and earn his fifth save of the year.

 

Heithoff was the lone Purple Ace with a multi-hit effort on Sunday, as he went 2-for-3 with two RBI, driving in two of UE’s three runs. Second baseman Kevin Medrano led five Missouri State players with multi-hit games with a 3-for-5 effort. Missouri State out-hit Evansville 12-7 on the afternoon, but the Bears stranded 12 men on base, compared to just two for Evansville.

 

With the victory, Evansville improves to 12-13 overall and 2-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Missouri State, meanwhile, falls to 8-15 overall and 1-2 in the Valley with the loss. The Purple Aces will be off until next Friday, when UE welcomes preseason MVC favorite Wichita State to town for a three-game series. The series begins Friday night at 6:00 p.m. and continues on both Saturday (2:00 p.m.) and Sunday (1:00 p.m.) afternoon, with the entire series being on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.