Evansville spotted Bradley seven runs in the top of the first inning, as the Braves jumped to a 7-0 lead thanks to an inning-opening error, five UE walks, a hit batsman, and just two Bradley singles. UE, which started seven freshmen on the night, would quickly settle down and answer back with a trio of three-run innings.

 

UE would strike for three runs in the bottom of the second inning on a double by freshman outfielder Nate Smith, a walk, and a titanic three-run home run to dead center field by freshman third baseman Sean Loggins, his first of the year.

 

“Sean’s home run in the second inning really gave us life,” said UE head coach David Seifert. “It energized the entire ballclub and gave us a good lift after the toughest first inning we have had this year.”

 

The Purple Aces would trim the Bradley lead back to 7-6 in the third inning, on back-to-back doubles by sophomore catcher Andy Pascoe and junior first baseman Derek Melton, and run-scoring singles by rookie outfielders Greg Wallace and Ryan Fleming.

 

The score would remain 7-6 until the seventh inning, as sophomore relief pitcher Sean McCarthy kept Evansville in the game with 6.1 innings of six-hit, two-run (one earned) relief. The Braves would get to McCarthy for an unearned run in the seventh inning and eventually load the bases in the seventh, before sophomore reliever Corey Davisson would come on to throw one pitch to get Matt Fritz to fly out to center field to end the threat.

 

UE would make a winner out of Davisson (1-1) in the bottom of the seventh inning, as the Purple Aces would score three runs off of the Bradley bullpen, keyed by an RBI ground out by Smith, a run-scoring single by Fleming, and a perfectly-placed bunt with two outs by freshman second baseman Shawn Kuester to score the eventual game-winning run. 

 

“Shawn’s bunt in the seventh was actually his own call,” said Seifert. “He has been working on it in practice, and tried it in a game the other day and nearly beat it out, but tonight, he saw Bradley back and laid down a great bunt and was able to get the go-ahead run home, which was all that mattered in that situation.”

 

Junior RHP J.R. Carbonell would toss two scoreless innings of relief, striking out two including Fritz with runners on the corners and two out in the ninth to record his second save of the year.

 

“This is a great win for our team,” said Seifert. “The team came to the park today with a great attitude and they really believe that they can win right now after this win. They believe that no matter what the deficit is, they can come back, which is a great thing. Of course, now, we have to go out and carry that over into tomorrow’s game and try to win the series.”

 

With the victory, Evansville improves to 1-0 in the MVC and 2-15 overall. Bradley, meanwhile, slips to 6-9 overall and 0-1 in the Valley. The two teams will continue the series on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at UE’s Braun Stadium. Saturday’s game can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.