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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team put together a ninth-inning rally, but the Purple Aces came up short in a 4-2 loss to Bowling Green in their opening game of the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational in Winter Haven, Fla.
 
Junior Kyle Pollock led Evansville (6-5) offensively by going 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, a run scored and a walk.  Sophomores Josh Jyawook and Eric McKibban also tallied multiple hits, as McKibban finished 3-for-4 on the day with his third double of the season and Jyawook recorded two hits in five at bats and drove in one of the Aces' two runs.
 
On the mound, senior Cole Isom (1-1) allowed four runs on eight hits over 4.1 innings to take the loss, while relievers Brandon Kelley and Tyler Miller combined to allow just three hits in 4.2 scoreless frames.
 
Bowling Green (5-10) scored the first runs of the game in the top of the third, as the Falcons got back-to-back RBI singles from Andrew Kubuski and Jeremy Shay to take a 2-0 lead.
 
BGSU doubled its lead in the fifth, when Greg Basalyga led off the inning with a solo home run to left and Shay came through with yet another RBI single to chase Isom and put Bowling Green in front, 4-0.  Miller came out of the pen to end the rally, as he stranded the bases loaded by getting a strikeout and an inning-ending ground ball.
 
Falcon pitchers Jason Link and Ben Singer (2-1) combined to shut out UE over the first eight innings and limit Evansville to just six hits, before Evansville finally broke through in the bottom of the ninth against Ethan McKenney.
 
Pollock and junior Boomer Synek started the Aces' rally by drawing consecutive walks to start the frame, before Pollock moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of sophomore Shain Showers.  McKibban followed with a double to the gap in right center and freshman Devin Williams was hit by a pitch to bring the winning run to the plate.
 
After Jarod Perry popped up on the infield, Jyawook drove in UE's second run with a single through the left side to plate Showers.  However, McKenney was able to secure the win for Bowling Green by getting Jake Mahon to ground out on a 3-2 pitch to end the game.
 
The top three hitters in the Falcons' lineup combined to go 7-for-14 with three RBI and two runs scored, as Shay led BGSU at the plate by finishing 3-for-4 and driving in a pair of runs.
 
Evansville will continue the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational tomorrow evening, when it plays Northwestern at 5:30 p.m.