Box Score

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Freshman Kyle Freeland tossed a gem Sunday afternoon at Abe Martin Field, leading the University of Evansville baseball team to a 6-2 win over Southern Illinois in the final game of the three-game series. Preventing the sweep, the Aces improved to 20-12 on the season and 4-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while the Salukis fell to 18-14 overall and 5-4 in the MVC.

Freeland (3-3) tossed seven innings, allowing just one run, four scattered hits, two walks, while striking out four in his third win of the season. The southpaw threw four perfect frames in the outing, and gave up just two hits out of the infield – a solo home run and a double in the seventh.

Junior Josh Biggs closed the contest for the Aces, allowing a run, four hits, a walk, and struck out one in the final two innings.
Offensively, Eric Stamets and Kevin Kaczmarski both went 3-for-5, followed by Chris Pearson’s and Kyle Pollock’s two-hit games. Jason Hockemeyer led the Aces with three runs batted in with one hit in the victory.

Evansville got on the board quickly in the Easter Sunday series finale as Stamets led off with a one-pitch single and scored on Kaczmarski’s RBI single to left field.

In the third, the Aces expanded the lead, stringing together five hits for three runs. After Mahon brought home Stamets with no outs, Kaczmarski and Trentt Copeland lined singles to load the bases, and Hockemeyer drove in two with a liner to the right side.

UE tacked on one run in both the fifth and sixth innings to take a 6-0 advantage. Pollock led off the fifth with a single, stole second and scored on Hockemeyer’s fielder’s choice, while Mahon walked to reach base in the sixth and crossed the plate on Kaczmarski’s two-out double to right-center.

SIU’s Jordan Sivertsen spoiled the shutout with a leadoff home run in the seventh, and in the ninth, the Salukis tried to rally with back-to-back singles. After Biggs got the double play ball, John Menken singled home one last run, before Biggs recorded a punch out to end the game.

Sam Coonrod (1-2) took the loss for SIU, tossing 4.1 frames, allowing five runs, 10 hits, and struck out four.

The Aces are back in action Wednesday, traveling to Murray State before returning home for 12 straight games beginning with Wichita State Friday.