Box Score
Printable Box Score

MACON, Ga. – Defensive miscues proved costly for the University of Evansville baseball team Friday night in Macon, Ga., as the Purple Aces committed five errors in an 8-5 loss to Mercer at Claude Smith Field.
 
"Any time you commit five errors, you are not going to have a chance to win a baseball game and that is what happened to us here today," head coach Wes Carroll said.  "I cannot remember the last time our program has made five errors and it is very difficult to overcome, especially against a good club like Mercer."
 
Three Evansville (3-1) players recorded multiple hits to lead the Aces offensively, including senior Jake Mahon, who finished the contest 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and a walk.  Sophomore Josh Jyawook provided a 2-for-4 effort with an RBI and a double and junior Jarod Perry went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
 
Junior Kyle Freeland (1-1) took the loss on the mound for UE, after surrendering seven runs, four earned, on seven this over 4.0 innings.  The southpaw also struck out five around just one walk.  Sophomore Conor Gilligan and freshman Brandon Kelley each provided scoreless efforts in relief, as Gilligan allowed just one hit and struck out a pair in 2.0 innings of relief and Kelley tossed 1.1 scoreless innings, conceding just one hit and a walk, while notching three strikeouts.
 
After two and a half scoreless innings, Mercer (6-0) got on the board in the bottom of the third, plating three runs on just one hit and four Evansville errors.  Devin Bonin reached on a one-out error to start the rally, before Sasha LaGarde singled up the middle and Chesny Young reached on a throwing error that allowed Bonin to cross the plate for the first run of the game.  Two more errors by the Aces led to two more unearned runs for the Bears and MU led, 3-0, heading to the fourth.
 
UE cut the lead to 3-2 with a pair of runs in its half of the fourth, as Jyawook delivered a one-out, RBI single and sophomore Jonathan Ramon followed with an RBI ground out that allowed fellow sophomore Eric McKibban to touch the plate.  However, Mercer would get both runs back and then some, as the Bears responded with a three spot in their half of the frame to push their advantage to 6-2.
 
Evansville once again responded by scoring a run in the fifth, when junior Kevin Kaczmarski drove in Perry with an RBI ground out.  As it did in the fourth, MU countered with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning on a Howard Joe RBI single that scored Michael Massi, who led off the frame with a single, before stealing second and scoring on Joe's hit.
 
Mercer would tack on another run in the bottom of the seventh to push its lead to 8-3, but the Aces would threaten in their final at bat.
 
Freshman Devin Williams, who pinch hit for Perry, started the inning by drawing a leadoff walk, before Mahon followed with a double to left, putting runners on the corners with no outs.  Junior Kyle Pollock loaded the bases, when he was hit by a one-out pitch out of the hand of Mercer reliever Ryan Askew, prompting the Bears to bring closer Morgan Pittman out of the bullpen.
 
Kaczmarski drove in UE's first run of the inning with a groundout and Mahon was able to scamper home on a wild pitch to make the score 8-5, but Pittman closed the door by getting a game-ending strikeout to hand Evansville its first loss of the season.
 
The top three hitters in the MU lineup combined to go 6-for-13 at the plate, including LaGarde, who finished 2-for-5, drove in two runs and scored two more.  On the mound, Brandon Barker (2-0) recorded the win by allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits over his 5.0 innings of work and Pittman earned his second save of the year by recording the final two outs of the contest.
 
"We are going to have our hands full this weekend, but I am anxious to see how our guys rebound tomorrow," Carroll said.  "Hopefully they do and give us a chance to get back in the series."
 
The Aces will look to even the series tomorrow afternoon, when the two teams meet for the second game of the three-game set at 1 p.m.