EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Evansville baseball team posted its fourth-straight win and 16th victory in the last 23 contests on Saturday with a 7-4 victory over visiting Arkansas State on a special day at UE’s Charles H. Braun Stadium in which the Purple Aces’ baseball program retired the jersey number of former UE standout and Major League pitcher Andy Benes.

 

Outfielders Alex Acheson and Greg Wallace led UE’s offensive attack with three hits and three RBI each in the victory, while UE pitchers Sam Johns (4-2), Zach Taylor, Jake Naumann and Tom Heithoff (save) combined to strike out 11 men on a day which honored UE’s all-time strikeout leader in Andy Benes.

 

“What a great day for our program,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “We had a lot of friends and alumni come out to honor a guy in Andy Benes, who really helped put Evansville baseball on the map back in 1988. It was great to see some of the former players and former coach Jim Brownlee be able to come back to honor Andy, who is so deserving of having his jersey number retired with everything he accomplished at Evansville and in the professional ranks.

 

“And, then, for our guys to go out and compete the way that they did both at the plate and on the mound was great to see. Hopefully, we can come to the park tomorrow with the same type of energy and enthusiasm.”

 

After Arkansas State opened the game with a run in the first inning for the second-straight day thanks to the speed of lead-off man Michael Faulkner, Evansville responded quickly with four runs in the second inning to grab a lead it would never lose. Acheson and Wallace both delivered two-run doubles in the frame off of ASU starter Ross Humes (4-2) to help UE build a 4-1 lead.

 

The teams would trade single runs in the bottom of the third inning and top of the fourth inning to push the score to 5-2, before UE would tack on another run in the sixth inning on another RBI base hit by Wallace. The Red Wolves would quickly answer back to cut the lead to 6-4 in the seventh inning, before Acheson delivered arguably the defensive play of the year to keep Evansville in the lead.

 

After Faulkner roped an RBI triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Murray Watts, Arkansas State’s Ryan Emery scorched a ball towards the gap in left-center field. Acheson, on the full run, laid out fully-extended to make a diving catch in the gap, and with ASU’s Giovanni Garcia off with the pitch, he was able to double-up Garcia at second base to keep UE in the lead, 6-4.

 

“What a catch by Acheson out in left field,” said Carroll. “That catch really saved the game for us, because if that ball gets down, Arkansas State ties the game up at 6-6 and they have the momentum. But, Acheson really went all out to make that catch to end the inning, and then we were able to tack on another run in the next half inning and Naumann and Tom Heithoff were able to slam the door.”

 

Acheson would actually deliver UE’s seventh run in the bottom of the seventh inning with a two-out RBI single to score Heithoff and give UE a 7-4 lead. Naumann would then work a perfect eighth inning and Heithoff worked around a lead-off single against Naumann and a two-out walk to pitch a scoreless ninth and earn his second save of the series and Missouri Valley Conference-leading eighth save of the year.

 

Acheson finished the afternoon going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, two stolen bases and three RBI. Wallace, meanwhile, went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI. Faulkner was one of four Red Wolves to record a two-hit effort, as he went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.

 

Johns earned the victory on the mound for UE by scattering four runs on 10 hits in 6.0 innings of work, while striking out nine men. Humes, who entered the game with a 4-1 record and 2.66 ERA, was charged with five runs on eight hits in 4.0 innings of work in taking the loss.

 

Evansville retired Benes’ #30 in pre-game ceremonies prior to Saturday’s contest. Benes was the 1988 NCAA Player of the Year at Evansville before being the No. 1 overall pick in the 1988 Major League Draft by the San Diego Padres. He went on to post a 155-139 overall record in 14 seasons at the Major League level with four different teams, and still holds UE career records for both ERA (3.32) and strikeouts (320). Benes is just the second member of the UE baseball program to have his jersey number retired, joining former head coach Jim Brownlee (#6).

 

With the victory, Evansville improves to 19-16 overall. Arkansas State, meanwhile, drops to 22-13 overall with the loss. The two teams will conclude the series on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at Charles H. Braun Stadium.