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EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Evansville senior left-hander Cole Isom and junior reliever Matt Rodgers combined on Evansville's second 1-0 shutout victory of the weekend on Saturday, as the Purple Aces split an afternoon doubleheader against the Western Illinois University Leathernecks at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville, Indiana.
 
After the Leathernecks used a nine-run sixth-inning explosion in game one to take a 12-1 victory, Isom (1-0) quickly silenced the WIU bats in the nightcap, scattering seven singles in seven-plus innings of work.  Rodgers then came out of the UE bullpen to toss two shutout innings to record his first save as a Purple Ace to preserve the 1-0 victory.
 
"We were fortunate this weekend to get a series victory with the way that we swung the bats offensively," said UE head coach Wes Carroll.  "But, we were able to get two great starts by junior Kyle Freeland and senior Cole Isom on the mound to give us a chance to get the series victory, and that is the most important thing.
 
"Cole really did a good job of setting the tone in the center of the diamond in game two for us today after we lost the opener, and really picked up the team.  Matt then did a great job of throwing strikes out of the bullpen to close things out.  At the end of the day, it's a series victory, and we'll take it."
 
After Evansville (6-4) held Western Illinois scoreless for 14 innings in Friday night's series' opener, the Leathernecks needed less than 14 pitches to get on the scoreboard in the opener, thanks to an RBI double by outfielder Neil DeCook and an RBI ground out by first baseman Tanner Glore to build a 2-0 lead.
 
UE would give up an unearned run in the second inning, before junior catcher Kyle Pollock launched his first home run of the year to left-center field in the third inning to cut the WIU lead to 3-1.   The score would remain 3-1 until the sixth inning, when the Leathernecks exploded for nine runs on 10 hits to break the game open and grab a 12-1 victory behind a complete-game effort from starter Tyler Willman (1-1).
 
In the nightcap, Isom and WIU starter Tom Constand (0-2) kept both offenses at bay until the third inning, when UE scratched across the game's only run on a run-scoring wild pitch with the bases loaded to grab a 1-0 lead.  WIU would threaten by loading the bases with one out in the fourth inning, but Isom would get out of things with a double-play ground ball to short, and Isom and Rodgers would combine to strand eight Leathernecks on the basepaths in the victory.
 
Senior Jake Mahon led Evansville offensively in the doubleheader by recording three hits, while Pollock had two hits, including his first home run of the year in game one for UE.  Glore paced WIU offensively in the doubleheader with five hits, including going 4-for-4 in the nightcap against Isom and Rodgers.
 
Due to expected wintry conditions in the Evansville area on Sunday, the series finale between the two schools has been cancelled.  The Purple Aces will return to the diamond next on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m., as UE will travel south to Clarksville, Tennessee to take on defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Austin Peay State University in a non-conference contest.