EVANSVILLE – A three-run fourth inning proved the difference on Sunday afternoon as the University of Evansville baseball team had to settle for a series split with visiting Milwaukee, falling in 8-2 fashion at Charles H. Braun Stadium.
 
"Milwaukee did an excellent job of keeping us off-balance at the plate today," UE head coach Wes Carroll said. "We didn't have the kind of surge the second and third time through the lineup that we normally have. That put us in a tough position when it came to winning time."
 
After UE starter Connor Strain managed to only surrender one run from a pair of jams in the second and third innings, the Panthers (6-5) took advantage of an Aces error and broke through for three runs in the fourth. Chris Kelly and John Boidanis led off the frame with back-to-back singles, and Cole Heili reached on an error to put the Panthers ahead. A Devin Rybacki single and a wild pitch plated two more to make it 4-1.
 
The Panthers scored the first run of the game with a Boidanis double in the second. The senior first baseman starred for Milwaukee on the day, going 3-for-3 with four runs batted in and a pair of scores. Kelly also collected three hits and touched home three times.
 
UE (3-8) leveled the score temporarily in the third with a mammoth home run to right field off the bat of Nate Reeder. It was the second home run of the sophomre's career.
 
The Panthers tacked on two more runs in the fifth before a Korbin Williams double and Craig Shepherd single reclaimed a run in the bottom half of the frame.
 
Shepherd was the only UE player to record multiple hits, going 2-for-3 at the plate. As a team, the Aces were out-hit 13-7.
 
Milwaukee starter Jay Peters allowed six of those hits over eight innings to earn the victory, his second of the season, while Strain (0-2) was pegged with the loss after surrendering four runs (one earned) on six hits over four innings.
 
The Panthers brought home two more on a Dylan Detert single and a Boidanis sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth to account for the final score.
 
UE will return to action on Tuesday with the first of two scheduled midweek encounters at Braun Stadium. The Aces will square off against Indiana at 6 p.m. before returning a day later to take on Austin Peay. The IU contest will mark the first this season to be featured as a part of The Valley on ESPN3.
 
 
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