Box Score (pdf)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – For the second straight game, Hammons Field featured a pitcher’s duel with junior right-handers Kyle Lloyd and Cody Schumacher battling on the mound for eight innings apiece Saturday afternoon. Lloyd and the University of Evansville baseball team overcame the Missouri State Bears, 3-1, tying the series, 1-1.

Lloyd (4-3) allowed just one run, six scattered hits, two walks, while striking out three en route to his fourth win of the season. Junior Josh Biggs closed the ninth and picked up his sixth save of the spring, keeping the Bears off the board, while limiting them to one hit.

On the other side, Schumacher was also impressive, giving up two runs on seven dispersed hits, and struck out eight. However, Evansville handed him his first loss of the season, as Schumacher fell to 7-1 on the year. Tyler Burgess tossed one inning out of the pen, giving up one unearned run and one hit.

Offensively, the Aces worked together to outhit MSU, 8-7, with junior Eric Stamets leading the way, going 3-for-4 at the plate, including his 200^th career hit on his last one of the day. Freshman Kevin Kaczmarski and junior Jason Hockemeyer each recorded multi-hit games, as they went 2-for-4.

After a scoreless affair through the first three innings, Evansville broke onto the board for the first time in the series in the fourth. Kaczmarski doubled down the right field line with one out and scored on Hockemeyer’s two-out single, also to right field, for a 1-0 lead.

However, the Bears countered in the bottom of the fifth as Trey Massenberg singled and was brought home on Spiker Helms’ RBI double to shallow centerfield, tying the game, one all.

The hurlers continued to duel through the sixth and seventh frames, both facing the minimum, but the Aces got the bats going with a two-out rally in the eighth to take the lead for good. Stamets logged his third hit and reached the 200 milestone with a single up the middle. He moved up to second with his 99^th career stolen base and 29^th this season, setting up Jake Mahon’s 35^th RBI of the spring, as he drove a double to right field.

The Aces added an insurance run in the top of the ninth, following some heads-up and aggressive base running by Kaczmarski. The freshman centerfielder singled to second base, just beating the throw, advanced to second on junior Chris Pearson’s sacrifice bunt, and scored when MSU shortstop Eric Cheray tried to get him at third on Hockemeyer’s grounder. However, the throw hit Kaczmarski, scooted a few feet from the bag, and without hesitation, Kaczmarski raced home safely, again just beating out the tag.

With the win, the Aces improve to 29-22 overall and 8-9 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while the Bears fall to 35-16 on the year and 11-5 in the MVC.

Sunday’s rubber match will feature freshman southpaw Kyle Freeland (3-5, 3.4.98 ERA) for UE and junior righty Pierce Johnson (2-5, 3.11 ERA) for the Bears. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. CT.