EVANSVILLE – Five Purple Aces walked to the plate in the ninth inning on Saturday afternoon, and each would reach base safely as the University of Evansville baseball team earned a walk-off victory over visiting Western Michigan at Charles H. Braun Stadium.
The Aces (7-10) pushed across three runs in the bottom of the ninth, which restored the one-run lead the team owned when the frame began. The Broncos (8-7) had manufactured three scores in top half against UE reliever Brandon Gomer before stranding the bases loaded to take a 5-3 lead.
However, WMU reliever Jake Bartels was immediately tested as the trio of Craig Shepherd, Kenton Crews and Trey Hair led off with consecutive singles in the bottom half. A wild pitch cut the deficit to one, and after Korbin Williams earned a walk, an Andrew Tanous single plated a pair to bring the game to an end.
"I think we really needed this kind of win," Tanous said. "I came up to the plate looking to make good contact and try to drive it deep enough to bring home the winning run or get a sac fly to tie it. [Assistant] Coach [Jake] Mahon told us to try to attack fastballs, and that was the plan from the first at-bat."
Tanous was one of six UE players with multiple hits on the day, going 2-for-5 with a score. Kenton Crews led the team with a 3-for-5 showing, and Travis Tokarek was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs as well.
The Broncos were led by their Nos. 6-8 hitters, Jesse Forestell, Nate Grys and Tyler Frank, who combined for eight of the team's 12 hits and three RBI.
Austin Allinger was given the starting nod on the mound for the Aces, and he was strong, tossing five innings of four-hit baseball while allowing just one score.
UE grabbed the first lead in the game with a back-to-back Tanous and Tokarek doubles to lead off the second inning. A Matthew Jones single doubled the advantage to make it 2-0, where it would stay until the fourth.
Frank, who finished 4-for-5 for WMU, cut the lead in half with a two-out single in the top half of the fourth, but the score was wiped out in the ensuing half when Conner Hasecuster successfully executed a squeeze play to bring home Tokarek.
The Broncos added another with a Nick Vogelmeier sacrifice fly in the seventh, ultimately setting up the dramatic final stanza.
Earlier in the day, the Aces completed the suspended game from the night before, which saw UE trail 9-0 after seven innings. The visitors from Kalamazoo, Mich., pushed ahead further, going on to win 11-2.
Prior to Saturday's on-field action, the University of Evansville formally dedicated the old National Guard armory that sits alongside Braun Stadium as the Maikranz Family Indoor Facility. The project, which was initiated last fall, featured a complete overhaul of the 87-year-old building. The facility features 12,000-square-feet of turf and it will serve as the all-weather home of Aces Athletics.
The Purple Aces will return to action on Sunday with the rubber game against Western Michigan. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
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