EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Evansville baseball team picked up right where it left off against the Murray State pitching staff on Wednesday night, as six different Purple Aces posted multi-hit efforts and UE exploded for 13 runs in the first four innings to cruise to a 14-5 victory over the visiting Thoroughbreds at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.

 

After scoring 16 runs in the final four innings on Tuesday afternoon in a wild 20-17 extra-inning victory at Murray State, Evansville kept the offense rolling in the first inning on Wednesday, as UE plated three runs in the bottom of the first against MSU starter Seth McFarlin (0-1) to grab a 3-0 lead. 

 

Murray State would answer back with a pair of two-run home runs by designated hitter Wes Cunningham and catcher Jason Laws in the third inning to take a 4-3 lead, but the lead would be short lived. UE would explode for six runs in the bottom of the third inning and four more in the bottom of the fourth inning to quickly build a 13-4 cushion.

 

An RBI double by junior outfielder Nate Smith started UE’s six-run third inning, while junior designated hitter Shawn Kuester, junior outfielder Greg Wallace and junior infielder Cody Fick also added RBI base hits in the frame, as UE batted around. Evansville would then send 10 men to the plate in the fourth inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Smith to tack on four more runs.

 

Murray State would get an unearned run in the sixth inning to cut the deficit back to 13-5, but that would be as close as the Thoroughbreds would get, as UE would eventually tack on a 14th run in the eighth inning on a Fick RBI double off of the wall in left-center field to improve to 17-16 overall and get above the .500 mark for the first time this season after starting the year 3-9.

 

“It was good to see our offense carry the momentum of yesterday’s game over to today’s contest, as I thought up and down our lineup, guys had great at-bats and really battled at the plate,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “It was also nice to see some pitchers who threw yesterday make some adjustments and have solid outings here tonight.

 

“Overall, I’m pleased with the effort we gave tonight, and hopefully, we can carry this momentum over into this weekend’s series with Arkansas State. It’s also nice to be back above .500 record-wise. Our goal now is to remain above .500 and continue to play good baseball, and I think that we have the talent to be able to do that.”

 

Freshman catcher John Day led Evansville’s 20-hit attack by going a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with a sacrifice fly and two runs scored. Smith also added three hits and three RBIs, including a pair of run-scoring doubles, while sophomore infielder Trentt Copeland also went 3-for-6 with three runs scored for UE. Cunningham led Murray State’s offense by going 2-for-4 with his 14th home run of the year and three RBI.

 

Freshman reliever Sam Johns (3-2) picked up the victory on the mound by yielding just an unearned run on a walk in 2.0 hitless innings of relief work. UE’s bullpen, which was touched for 12 runs on Tuesday afternoon in the 20-17 game, allowed just one unearned run on one hit in 6.0 innings of work on Wednesday.

 

With the victory, Evansville improves to 17-16 overall. Murray State, meanwhile, falls to 18-15 with the loss. The Purple Aces will return to Braun Stadium this weekend to host Arkansas State (21-11 overall) in a three-game series beginning on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. The big game of the series will be on Saturday at 4:00 p.m., as UE will retire the jersey number of former UE great and Major League pitcher Andy Benes in pre-game ceremonies scheduled for 3:40 p.m. Benes was the 1988 NCAA Player of the Year at UE before going on to become the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 1988 Major League Draft by the San Diego Padres. He went on to have a stellar 14-year Major League career for the Padres, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals.