Box Score
EVANSVILLE, Ind. –  The University of Evansville softball team fell 1-0 in today’s the series finale against Wichita State. The loss drops the Aces to 11-26 on the season as UE falls to 4-11 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Sophomore Katie Sears led the Aces at the plate, accounting for half of the Aces’ hits with a 3-for-4 performance in the batter’s box. Freshman Victoria Dellorto and seniors Amy Gaertner and Maggie Little each ended the day with a hit as well.

Junior Sarah Patterson (6-13) took the loss in the circle, scattering five hits and striking out three batters in the complete-game effort.

The Aces will return to action on Tuesday, traveling to Carbondale, Ill., for a midweek league doubleheader against Southern Illinois.

Game Recap:
The Aces threatened to score in the bottom of the second, as Gaertner led off the inning with a single to left center before junior #Kendall  Kautz reached base on a Shocker fielding error. Sophomore Niki Rahming moved the runners to second and third with an infield groundout before freshman Lauren Lum# worked a full-count walk to load the bases. With one out on the board, freshman pinch-hitter Alli Nolan blasted a frozen rope right at the second baseman, but the line drive was caught and Lum was picked off in the double play, ending the inning with the game still tied at 0-0.

The Aces put pressure on Wichita State again in the bottom of the third, as Dellorto and Sears led off the bottom of the third with back-to-back singles before moving to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by junior Tamara Robey. A strikeout brought Gaertner to the plate with two outs on the board, but Wichita State easily fielded a groundball to make the play at first and end the threat.

Wichita State took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth, as Brianne Bond led off the inning with a double down the left field line. Holly Eckert, who entered as a pinch runner for Bond, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on a long sac fly by Danika Miller.

A hit and a pair of walks gave the Shockers bases loaded with one out in the top of the sixth, but UE’s defense got out of the jam unharmed as Patterson forced a pair of infield flyouts to end the inning and keep the score at 1-0.

A two-out single by Sears in the bottom of the seventh looked like it could spark a comeback rally, but Wichita State reliever Sloan Anderson secured the win and notched her second save of the weekend with a flyout to end the game.