CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.—After being held to just seven total runs over the last two games, the University of Evansville baseball team exploded for seven runs in the first two innings on Tuesday night, as the visiting Purple Aces built a 15-5 lead and then held off the host Austin Peay State University Governors, 15-11, at Raymond C. Hand Park in Clarksville, Tennessee.

After an RBI ground out in the first inning plated UE’s first run, the Purple Aces sent 10 men to the plate in the second inning to chase Austin Peay starter Stephen Huff (2-2) with six runs on five hits. Junior second baseman Ryan Oesterle, senior outfielder Alex Acheson, junior outfielder Greg Wallace, and sophomore third baseman Trentt Copeland all delivered RBI base hits in the frame.

Evansville would grow the lead to 9-0 in the fourth inning on a two-run single by Copeland, only to have the Governors answer back with five runs in the bottom half of the frame to trim the UE lead to 9-5. UE would respond right back with three runs in the fifth inning on an RBI double by Acheson and a two-run home run by Wallace to push the lead back out to seven runs, 12-5.

UE would add single runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to grow the lead to 15-5, before the Governors would make things interesting in the bottom of the eighth. Austin Peay was able to take advantage of an Evansville error, four walks and a wild pitch to score six runs on just three base hits to trim UE’s lead back to 15-11. The Governors would put runners on the corners with two outs, but senior right-hander Corey Davisson would work out of the jam to keep the game a four-run contest. He then worked around a hit-by-pitch in the ninth inning to record a scoreless ninth and preserve the victory with his first save of the year.

“What a wild game,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “The fans definitely got their monies worth tonight with 26 runs and 27 base hits between the two teams.

“Offensively, it was great to see us come to life after struggling the last two games. Sometimes, we’ve started out hot and then fallen off in mid-week games like this, but tonight, I really thought we had a good approach throughout the game. Greg Wallace was especially locked in, which was great to see. Greg is a very important part of our offense, and tonight, you could see the type of influence he can have on a game with four extra-base hits, five RBI and four runs scored.”

Wallace paced Evansville’s 16-hit attack by going 5-for-6 with three doubles, a home run, four runs scored, and five RBI. Copeland also went 3-for-5 with four RBI and Acheson went 2-for-3 with four runs scored and two RBI as all nine starters in the UE lineup collected hits in the contest.

With the victory, Evansville improves to 7-10 overall and the Purple Aces have now won four out of the last five contests. Austin Peay, meanwhile, slips to 9-7 with the loss. Evansville will remain on the road on Wednesday afternoon, as the Purple Aces will travel to St. Louis, Missouri to take on the Saint Louis University Billikens (8-9) in a non-conference contest. First-pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.