BOX SCORE

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The University of Evansville baseball team saw its ninth-inning rally come up one run short, as the Purple Aces fell, 8-7, to host Arkansas-Little Rock Saturday at Gary Hogan Field.  The Trojans scored three in the fourth and put up a five spot in the fifth to seal the win.
 
Five Evansville (1-1) players recorded multiple hits on the afternoon, as senior Jason Hockemeyer led the UE offense by going 2-for-4 with a triple, four RBI and two runs scored.  Freshman Jonathan Ramon finished 3-for-5 at the plate with his first-career triple and an RBI and redshirt junior Johnny Day added an RBI, going 2-for-4 with a double.
 
“It was a hard fought game that went back and forth,” head coach Wes Carroll said.  “We took a lead, before they came back and took a lead, but we fought back.  We had an error that really opened the flood games for them in the fifth, but I really like the way our club fought back in the top of the ninth and put us in a position to tie the game and send it to extra innings.”
 
The Aces jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in their half of the first, as Hockemeyer drove in redshirt sophomore Kevin Kaczmarski, who doubled earlier in the frame, with a sacrifice fly to center.  Evansville added two more in the top of the third on RBI groundouts by Hockemeyer and sophomore Kyle Pollock and led 3-0 after three complete.
 
Arkansas-Little Rock (1-1), who sent just nine hitters to the plate in the first three innings, knotted the score at 3-3 with a three-run fourth.  Ben Crumpton and Myles Parma led off the inning with back-to-back singles and Crumpton scored on a double-play ball, before Bryson Thionnet drove home a pair of runs with a two-out double to center.
 
Evansville answered back in the top of the fifth and regained the lead at 4-3 on a Ramon single to left field that scored Hockemeyer from second.
 
The Trojans responded in a big way and broke the game open in the bottom of the frame, scoring five runs on just three hits, while taking advantage of an Evansville error.  Austin Pfeiffer started the inning with a double to left center, chasing Aces starter Sam Johns after just four innings of work.  Senior Cole Isom came on in relief of Johns and surrendered the tying run, when Pfeiffer scored on a UE error.  Later in the inning, Blake Johnson delivered a three-run blast to give UALR an 8-4 lead after five.
 
Neither side would score again until the ninth, when the Aces would mount their rally.  Junior Jake Mahon and Pollock both singled to open the inning, before Hockemeyer brought them both around to score with a triple to right.  Day pulled UE to within one with one-out, RBI single to left that allowed Hockemeyer to cross the plate.  However, Trojan reliever Dillon Moritz shut on the door on Evansville’s comeback by picking junior David Patton, who pinch ran for Day, off of first and getting senior Chris Pearson to ground out to end the game.
 
“I am learning a lot about this young club,” Carroll said.  “It is still early on in the season and it is an exciting time.  We are still in a position to go in tomorrow and win the series, which is what our goal was heading into the weekend.”
 
Johns did not factor into the decision after going 4.0 innings and allowing four runs, all earned, on six hits with three strikeouts.  Isom (0-1) was saddled with the loss after giving up four runs, three earned, on four hits while striking out five in 3.0 innings of relief.  Freshman Connor Strain made his collegiate debut on the mound by tossing a scoreless inning, striking out a pair, while issuing two walks.
 
UALR reliever Cameron Allen (1-0) was credited with the win, going 3.1 innings out of the bullpen, while giving up three runs, two earned, on seven hits to go with a strikeout and no walks.
 
The rubber match between Evansville and Arkansas-Little Rock will be Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., as the Aces will send senior Kyle Lloyd to the mound against UALR’s junior righty Ethan Schlechte.