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LEXINGTON, Ky.—The University of Evansville baseball team exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by a grand slam home run by sophomore third baseman Cody Fick, to cruise to an 11-7 victory on Wednesday night over the University of Kentucky Wildcats at Cliff Hagan Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.
Fick’s grand slam to left field ignited the seven-run frame, as senior shortstop Peter Tountas and freshman second baseman Trentt Copeland also added run-scoring base hits in the frame. It was one of just two innings in which the Purple Aces scored on the night, but with the second being a four-run first, Evansville was able to knock off the Southeastern Conference Wildcats.
“I was really pleased with how the guys competed tonight in the batter’s box,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “After yesterday’s game at Southeast Missouri State, I challenged the hitters to step up and compete in the batter’s box, and they did that tonight. Up and down the line-up, guys came through, and hopefully, that will carry over to this weekend’s series against Missouri State.”
Evansville jumped to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning as UE sent eight men to the plate in the opening inning. Sophomore outfielder Greg Wallace began the scoring three batters in, as he followed a one-out double by Fick with an RBI triple to left field.
A Tom Heithoff sacrifice fly would bring home the second run of the frame, before a pair of walks put runners on first and second with two out. Tountas would then come through with an RBI single to left-center field which would score two, as the second run would come across on a wild throw into the UE dugout to give the Purple Aces a 4-0 lead.
Kentucky would quickly answer back with a single run in the second inning and three more in the third inning to tie the game at 4-4, before the Purple Aces exploded for seven runs in the top of the fourth inning to grab an 11-4 lead. Evansville sent 11 men to the plate in the frame, which was highlighted by Fick’s seventh home run of the year, a grand slam to left field.
The Wildcats would scratch across two runs in the fifth inning and one more in the seventh to trim the UE lead to 11-7, but reliever J.R. Carbonell and Heithoff combined to shut out Kentucky in the final two innings to preserve the four-run victory.
“Cody’s grand slam was huge, because Kentucky had come back after our early outburst to tie the game at 4-4,” said Carroll. “After we got up seven, our pitchers really did a nice job, especially Corey Davisson, when he came in and shut them down in the sixth, and J.R. Carbonell and Tom Heithoff continue to be lights out for us, as they have all season long.”
Fick led the Evansville attack going 3-for-5 with two doubles, a grand slam and four RBI. Wallace, Heithoff, Copeland, Tountas, and senior catcher Andrew Gher also had two-hit nights, as the Purple Aces pounded out 15 base hits, including four doubles, a triple, and Fick’s grand slam.
With the victory, Evansville improves to 19-20 overall, while Kentucky falls to 21-19 on the season. The Purple Aces will now return home to face No. 30 Missouri State in a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series which begins Friday night at 6:00 p.m. in a game that can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.
