NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the second consecutive day, the University of Evansville baseball team dropped a tight contest at Lipscomb as the Bisons pushed across a score in the ninth to hand the Purple Aces a 4-3 loss at Ken Dugan Field on Saturday.
 

The Aces (7-14) set up the late-inning drama with a two-out, two-run blast from Travis Tokarek in the top of the eighth. Then, after UE stranded a runner on third in the top of the ninth, LU's Michael Gigliotti reached third on a stolen base to set the stage. Back-to-back intentional walks loaded the bases to put a force-out on each base. Zeke Dodson then earned a walk to plate the game's winning run.
 

"It was another tough loss for us tonight in 'winning time,'" UE head coach Wes Carroll said. "We didn't take care of the small things, and we couldn't overcome the adversity that we were presented with. For us to get back to winning, we're going to have to play better all-around, fundamental baseball."
 

The win secures the series for the Bisons, who move to 14-8 on the season.
 

Brandon Gomer (1-1) was dealt the loss in the contest, which was largely a pitcher's duel in the early innings between UE's Connor Strain and LU's Jeffrey Passantino.
 

Strain, a senior out of Shelburn, Ind., gave up three runs on seven hits through 5.2 innings, and Passantino earned a hard-luck no-decision after allowing three runs over eight innings. The junior right-hander struck out 10 hitters in the contest without issuing a walk.
 

The Aces drew first blood in the second inning as Craig Shepherd followed up a Stewart Nelson steal with run-scoring single. The lead, however, was short-lived as Blake Thomas earned a one out walk and advanced to second on wild pitch. Another walk put Jeffrey Crisan on base, and Thomas stole second to put runners on the corners. From there, Crisan broke for second base, drawing a throw from UE catcher Andrew Tanous, which allowed Thomas to take off for home to even up the contest.
 

An inning later, a Gigliotti lead-off double was compounded by an error to put him 90 feet from home, and Cade Sorrells made the most of it, singling him home to put the hosts on top for the first time.
 

Sorrells led the Bisons in the contest, going 3-for-3 with two walks.
 

Strain left the mound with the bases loaded in the sixth, and Hunter Porterfield issued a walk to bring home a run before striking out Gigliotti to end the threat.
 

UE will close out the series on Sunday at Dugan Field. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.

=== #AcesAces ===