IU 6, UE 5 (10 innings)
UE 7, IU 5

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team bounced back from a tough, 6-5, extra inning loss in game one to win the nightcap, 7-5, over Indiana University Sunday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind.

With the split, the Aces are now 11-8 on the season.

With two outs in the bottom of the 10^th inning, senior Cody Fick belted a liner to the left field gap that would have scored senior Greg Wallace from first base, tying the game, but the ball hopped the fence for a ground-rule double, stopping Wallace at third and Fick at second. That is where they stayed as Indiana recorded the final out to take a 6-5 win in game one.

After starting the game Saturday in Evansville, rain caused the contest to be postponed until today, and Evansville made the morning bus ride to Bloomington to continue play in the fifth inning with the score tied 1-1. Kyle Lloyd made the start on day one, throwing four complete innings, allowing one run in the fourth on two hits. Ryan Oesterle scored UE’s run in the third after #Nate Smith, Trentt Copeland, and Jared Baehl hit three straight singles to bring Oesterle around.

On day two, Evansville took the lead in the sixth with two runs as sophomores Chris Pearson and Eric Stamets crossed the plate on Fick’s double.

Freshman Cole Isom recorded two perfect innings on the mound, before IU tallied a run in the seventh on a double and single to start the frame.

Both squads marked two runs on three hits in the eighth inning as the Aces maintained their one-run advantage. Shawn Kuester singled through the left side to lead it off for UE, and Fick doubled to left field, scoring the senior. Fick crossed the plate on Oesterle’s single to center, making the score 5-4.

In the ninth, Justin Cureton walked and advanced to second on Isom’s balk. Isom struck out Dillon Dooney for the second out and was a pitch away from earning the win, but Dustin DeMuth doubled down the left field line to tie up the game, 5-5.

Unable to score in the bottom of the frame, it went to extra innings, and Indiana scored a run in the 10^th when Wes Wilson hit home Micah Johnson who reached on a walk and stole second.

Isom (3-2) took the loss, throwing 6.0 innings, allowing seven hits, five earned runs, three walks, while striking out three. Ryan Halstead (3-1) earned the win for the Hoosiers.

However, in game two, the Aces were resilient as the recorded seven runs on 16 hits. Evansville struck in the second with five runs on six hits, as Stamets, Wallace, Smith, Copeland, and Kuester all recorded hits and crossed the plate. Fick hit a two RBI single to cap the inning and to give UE a 5-0 head start.

IU scored one in the bottom of the frame when Fick pitched his way out of a jam. Johnson singled to lead off of the inning and Fick surrendered two walks to load the bases and then another to walk in a run. However, Fick was able to get the groundball out to end the side with just a scratch.

The Aces got the run back in the fourth though as Oesterle hit home Wallace on a single after the British Columbia native reached on a single and advanced on a wild pitch. UE struck again in the seventh when Baehl led off with a single, advanced on Pearson’s sacrifice bunt, and scored on Stamets’ bunt single, giving the Aces a 7-1 advantage.

However, the Hoosiers rallied in the bottom of the seventh with four runs of their own. Fick gave up two consecutive singles and a double, scoring two, before sophomore Jake Naumann came in relief. Two more scored on a single and an error, totaling four runs on four hits and an error in the inning.

That was as close as IU would get though, as Naumann got through the eighth unharmed and closer Adam Culiver earned the save in the ninth.

Fick (4-0) threw 6.0 innings, allowing eight hits, three runs, five walks, and struck out two to earn the win. In two innings of work, Naumann allowed two hits, two runs, a walk, and struck out one, while Culiver allowed one hit, no runs, and struck out one, as well.

At the plate, Fick led the Aces on the day with six total hits, two runs scored and five RBI, going 3-for-4 in both games. Wallace also had a stellar series with six total hits (4-for-6 and 2-for-4), two runs scored, and an RBI, while Smith, Baehl, and Stamets all had four hits on the day.

The Aces are back in action Tuesday when they host cross-town rival USI at 6:00 p.m. CDT at Braun Stadium. UE also plays at St. Louis on Wednesday before hosting IPFW for a three-game series next weekend.