Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Evansville softball defeated Missouri State today in its series finale, 6-3. The Aces won the series against the Bears, 2-1, as they split in Saturday’s doubleheader in Springfield, Mo.
 
Senior Kendall Kautz led the offense with an impressive 3-for-4 at bat with one double, one run, and an RBI. Adding to the senior leadership, Alicia Betancur and Halie Malone combined to go 4-for-7 at the plate while adding one RBI to the Aces’ total of four on the day.
 
“We knew that they were going to keep pressing us so it’s always nice to jump out there early and score some runs,” said head coach Mark Redburn.  “Our defense, hitting, and pitching were really good coming into today and we were able to get our fourth series win in conference. Everyone is playing well and confidently and they really depend on one another and lift each other up as a team.”
 
UE tallied 13 hits on the day, the largest amount so far this season as they racked up 12 against Murray State in early March. The Aces notched six runs, one double, four RBIs, one walk, and went a perfect 1-for-1 in stolen bases against Missouri State.
 
Evansville (19-25, 10-9) will continue on in conference play as they head to Carbondale to wrap up its series with Southern Illinois on Tuesday, April 23, beginning at 5:00 p.m. CST.
 
Game Recap: Missouri State 3, UE 6
With three errors by Missouri State early on in the first inning, the Aces were able to manufacture a pair of runs after a ground out by sophomore Kayla Fortner and an RBI single to center field by Kautz allowed runners to reach home plate and take the lead over the Bears, 2-0.
 
Missouri State was able to cut the lead in half in the bottom half of the first as an RBI single to second base drove in a runner and made it a 2-1 game with UE still on top heading into the second.
 
After a scoreless second frame, Evansville was again able to score a pair of runs in the third after Malone singled through the left side and a throwing error by Missouri State’s infield allowed the Aces to expand their lead, 4-1.
 
The Bears were able to answer back in the bottom half of the third inning with a pair of runs of their own after an error by UE’s infield put a runner in scoring position and was followed by a double and another error by the Aces that made it a 4-2 game. The second run came after a sacrifice bunt as Missouri State continued to close the gap in the Aces’ lead, 4-3.
 
Evansville’s offense did not relent in the sixth inning as Fortner was able to score off yet another throwing error by the Bears’ infield to further UE’s lead, 5-3. Soon after, junior Kacey Rogers drove in the Aces’ final run after a sacrifice fly to left field sent Kautz to the plate and capped off the inning, 6-3.
 
The Bears were unable to produce any runs in the sixth and seventh innings as Evansville took the win, 6-3, and the series, 2-1.
 
UE freshman pitcher Sarah Baldwin picked up her third win in the circle for the Aces as she moved to 3-6 on the season. Baldwin struck out three while not allowing any runs in 4.0 innings of work.  Senior Sarah Patterson notched the second save of the season for Evansville as she finished the game striking out three in just 3.0 innings.
 
Chelsea Jones suffered the loss for Missouri State as she moved to 9-17 in the circle. Jones pitched 4.0 innings while allowing one run and issuing one walk. Reliever Rachel Brisker saw 3.0 innings as she allowed one run and struck out one.
 
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