EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Evansville junior outfielder Nate Smith’s solo home run to dead center field in the bottom of the eighth inning snapped a 4-4 tie, and senior closer Tom Heithoff made the one-run lead stand up in the ninth inning, as the Purple Aces rallied past the visiting Arkansas State University Red Wolves, 5-4, on Friday night at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.

 

After the game featured a pitcher’s duel between Evansville’s Keegan Dennis and ASU’s Andy Ferguson through the first six innings, the offenses would come alive in the seventh inning. The Red Wolves scored three two-out runs off of Dennis and reliever Corey Davisson (4-1) in the top of the seventh inning on an RBI single by designated hitter Ryan Emery and a two-run double by catcher Kyle DeGrace to grab a 4-1 lead.

 

Evansville would answer right back with three runs of its own in the bottom of the seventh though to tie the game back up at 4-4, as UE took advantage of a pair of Arkansas State errors to score a trio of runs. Smith would then quickly snap the 4-4 tie leading off the bottom of the eighth inning, as he crushed a 2-1 fastball from ASU reliever Daniel Wright (3-2) to dead center field for his second home run of the year to give UE a 5-4 lead. 

 

Heithoff would then work around a lead-off error and two-out single to strike out DeGrace to end the game and earn his Missouri Valley Conference-leading seventh save of the year.

 

“What a great win,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “You really have to credit their starting pitcher tonight, because that was the best-pitched ballgame by an opposing pitcher we have seen so far this year. But, our guys kept battling, and Keegan Dennis did a great job of battling on the mound to give us a chance to win, and finally Nate Smith was able to come through with the big hit in the eighth inning to get us this win.

 

“Now, hopefully, we’ll be able to come to the park tomorrow and carry that momentum over to tomorrow’s game on what should be a very special afternoon at Braun Stadium with the retirement of Andy Benes’ jersey number.”

 

Ferguson held Evansville to just a lone run on four hits while striking out six in 6.0 innings of work for Arkansas State in the no-decision. Dennis, despite having to throw 50 pitches in the first two innings due to a pesky ASU lineup, matched Ferguson basically pitch-for-pitch though, as Dennis finished giving up two runs on six hits in 6.1 innings on the mound, while striking out eight.

 

“I was really proud of the effort that Keegan gave us tonight,” said Carroll. “He really didn’t have his best stuff tonight and Arkansas State really made him work in the first two innings, but Keegan never backed down and kept fighting to keep us in the game. That’s what you like to see out of your Friday night starter, and Keegan has definitely developed into that go-to-guy for us on Friday nights this year.”

 

Freshman catcher John Day continued to swing a hot bat for UE on Friday night to pace the Purple Aces’ offense, as he went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Senior outfielder Alex Acheson also had two hits and scored a run, while junior infielder Cody Fick went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Emery and outfielder Josh DeMoney both had two hits to lead Arkansas State.

 

With the victory, Evansville improves to 18-16 overall, having won 15 of its last 22 games. Arkansas State, meanwhile, saw its four-game winning streak come to an end, as the Red Wolves dropped to 22-12 with the loss. The two teams will continue the series on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. at Braun Stadium in a special afternoon at UE. Evansville will retire the jersey number of former UE standout and Major League pitcher Andy Benes in pre-game ceremonies which are scheduled to begin at 3:40 p.m. Benes’ number 30 will join former head coach Jim Brownlee’s number six as the only two numbers retired in UE baseball history. Saturday’s game can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.