Box Score BOX SCORE

MURRAY, Ky. – The University of Evansville baseball team dropped a 12-6 decision to host Murray State Wednesday afternoon in non-conference action in Murray, Ky.  The Purple Aces were able to score first, but the Thoroughbreds scored four in the third were able to pull away in the middle inning en route to the victory.
 
Offensively, Evansville (14-20) was led by senior Chris Pearson and redshirt sophomore Kevin Kaczmarski.  Pearson finished 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and a pair of walks, while Kaczmarski drove in two runs with a 2-for-4 effort.
 
On the mound, freshman Phillip Diehl (0-1) took the loss in his first decision of the season, as he allowed five runs, all earned, on six hits in 1.2 innings of relief.  Tim Vonder Haar (2-3) earned the win for Murray State (13-19), allowing just one run in 3.0 innings of work.
 
The Aces grabbed an early 1-0 advantage in the top of the first, scoring on a two-out hit from senior Jason Hockemeyer.  Pearson set the table with a one-out double to left, before coming around to score on Hockemeyer’s single to center field.
 
In the bottom of the third, freshman Connor Strain took over on the mound for UE starter Josh Biggs, who tossed two scoreless innings, but his stint was short lived, as he issued a pair of walks on just nine pitches and was replaced by Diehl.  Following a sacrifice bunt by Ty Stetson to move both runners into scoring position, Brandon Elliott tied the game with an RBI groundout to second.  Later in the inning, Mike Kozlowski gave MSU a 3-1 lead with a two-run double to left center and Dylan Wheeler capped the frame with a run-scoring single through the right side to put Murray State in front, 4-1.
 
UE cut the deficit to 4-3 by scoring a pair of runs in its half of the fourth on an RBI ground out by redshirt junior Johnny Day and a sacrifice fly off the bat of redshirt junior Nick Hathcoat, but the Thoroughbreds answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to open up a 7-3 margin.
 
Day picked up his second RBI drawing a bases-loaded walk in the top of the fifth to pull Evansville back within three runs at 7-4, but MSU once again responded, scoring a run on a Ben Lott single to extend its lead to 8-4.
 
Murray State scored for the fourth-straight inning by plating two more runs in bottom of the sixth, as Kozlowski drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to right center and Wheeler singled home Brandon Eggenschwiler with a base hit to left.
 
Kaczmarski drove in the Aces’ final two runs with a two-run double in the top of the eighth and the Thoroughbreds scored a pair in the bottom of the inning to make the final score 12-6.
 
Seven different pitchers took to the mound for UE and only two, Biggs and sophomore Forrest Herrmann, did not allow a run.  Biggs struck out three and issued a walk without giving up a hit in 2.0 innings, while Herrmann walked one and did not give up a hit in his inning out of the bullpen.
 
Evansville will host Xavier in a three-game, non-conference series this weekend at Braun Stadium, with the first game of the set beginning Friday at 6 p.m.