SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Connor Strain was sharp for the bulk of the game for the University of Evansville baseball team, but his effectiveness was canceled out with a seven-run seventh inning for Indiana State as the Purple Aces fell in 13-4 fashion to the Sycamores in the opening contest of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship at Hammons Field.
Strain, who sat down 10 consecutive ISU batters at one point, was dealt the loss, giving up five runs (three earned) over six-plus innings of work. The Shelburn, Ind., native was named to the conference's first team earlier this week, and he racked up seven strikeouts while tossing a season-high 120 pitches. He is 2-5 on the season.
"Connor gave us a really gutsy performance, and it was unfortunate to see the game end that way," UE head coach Wes Carroll said. "We were hoping that he could empty the tank, and he did that. We couldn't get those first two outs of the seventh inning, and that's where the wheels kind of came off."
The sixth-seeded Aces (17-38) took the game's first lead as hits from Troy Beilsmith and Kenton Crews put runners on in the opening frame. A wild pitch would bring home Beilsmith to put UE on the board.
An inning later, a pair of wild pitches and an error resulted in two runs for the third-seeded Sycamores, who improved to 28-24 on the season.
UE got back on track in the fourth as Craig Shepherd followed up an Andrew Tanous double with one of his own to tie the game up. The Jasper native would touch home moments later as Stewart Nelson laced a single through the left side to make it 3-2. A Travis Tokarek sacrifice fly an inning later doubled the lead.
Both Beilsmith and Tanous finished with two hits to lead the Aces, who were out-hit in the contest 12-9.
ISU's comeback efforts began in the sixth as Jeff Zahn singled in a score, but the Aces would seemingly take some momentum into the seventh as Strain was able to strand the bases loaded to keep UE ahead.
In that decisive seventh frame, Strain, Brandon Gomer and Nathan Croner all saw time on the mound as four walks and two errors highlighted a seventh frame that saw a ball leave the UE infield on just two occasions. The Sycamores went on to add three more in the ensuing inning, highlighted by Zahn two-run blast.
Zahn ended 2-for-4 with three RBI, and Tony Rosselli led the way for the Sycamores, finishing 3-for-4 with a trio of scores.
Will Kincanon earned the start for ISU, giving up all four runs on seven hits and three walks. He also struck out 10. Ryan Keaffaber picked up the victory, allowing just two hits over the final 2.1 frames.
UE will return to conference tournament play at 9 a.m. on Thursday as the team will play the loser of the contest between Bradley and Dallas Baptist in an elimination game.
NOTES: UE is now 25-36 in the MVC tournament … The Aces are 4-7 in tournaments that have been scheduled in Springfield and 3-7 as a No. 6 seed … UE has played more 9 a.m. games than any other team in Valley history … The Aces have not won an MVC tournament opener since the 2010 season … Since 1978, UE is 44-62 against Indiana State, which includes a 3-4 mark in the tournament.
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