CONWAY, Ark. – After falling in dramatic fashion a night ago, the University of Evansville baseball team got into the win column on Sunday afternoon as the Purple Aces picked up a 9-3 victory over Central Arkansas at Bear Stadium.
"A loss like last night can send a team into a downward spiral, so it was great to see our character and fight in the way that we came out today," UE head coach Wes Carroll said. "Guys are buying into each other at the plate right now. They have the right physical and mental approach, and for us to put up runs like this on opening weekend shows what we're capable of doing."
For the second straight game, the Aces (1-2) hopped on UCA (2-1) early, scoring the opening run in the second inning before adding five more in the fourth. UE went on to tack another in the fifth and picked up a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth. For the game, the Aces out-hit the hosts 12-9 and brought UCA's nine-game home winning streak to an end.
The Aces have scored 27 runs over the first three games of the season, which is the best total for a UE team since 2005. This weekend also marked the first time since March 2007 that the Aces had scored nine-or-more runs in three consecutive games.
After going down in order in the first, an Andrew Tanous lead-off single got it going for the Aces in the second. He'd work his way around to third thanks to a walk and a Jimmy Day flyout before a wild pitch from UCA starter Brandon Hagerla allowed him to touch home.
Jansen McCarty answered with a solo blast for UCA in the bottom half of the frame.
UE responded two innings later, beginning with back-to-back hits from Trey Hair and Tanous to pull back ahead. Day, Travis Tokarek, Conner Hasecuster and Nate Reeder put together four consecutive hits to bring home another three runs, and a Stewart Nelson groundout made it 6-1 before UCA reliever Jacob Murray struck out Brendan Krob to end the frame.
Tanous and Tokarek each went 3-for-4 in the contest, with Tanous knocking in a pair and scoring twice. Hair was 2-for-3 with three scores.
Hair added another in unorthodox fashion an inning later, leading off with a walk, advancing to second on a balk and then scoring on two wild pitches. A Rigo Aguilar two-out single in the bottom half would cancel out the score.
The Bears would put runners on in the sixth and seventh against UE starter Justin Hayden and Blake Swanger, respectively, but the Aces escaped unscathed on both occasions. Brandon Gomer ended the latter threat, sitting down six UCA hitters in order to get to the ninth, and Ryan Brady would surrender a run in the final frame before bookending a strikeout with a pair of groundballs to secure the win.
"Hayden found a way to stay out of trouble and gave us the opportunity to get the win," Carroll said. "Gomer was special with his secondary pitches today. It's great to see him be able to throw multiple pitches in any count for a strike. Showcasing those pitches in the zone will be critical for him this season."
Hayden (1-0), who was making his debut for the Aces, allowed six hits and a pair of scores over 5.2 innings to pick up the win. Hagerla (0-1) was pegged with the loss after giving up six runs on eight hits over 3.1 frames.
Two UCA players finished with multiple hits as Hunter Strong and Eddie Sanchez combined to go 5-of-7 at the plate.
The Aces will return to action on Wednesday with a trip to sixth-ranked Vanderbilt.
NOTES: UE is 24-35 all-time in opening series games … This weekend marks the first-ever series between UCA and UE … The Aces are 13-19 all-time against schools from the state of Arkansas … Since 1987, UE is 69-70 in the month of February.
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