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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team broke a 2-2 tie by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth and got eight strong innings from junior Kyle Freeland on the mound in a 5-2 win over Indiana State Friday night at Braun Stadium in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams.
 
Sophomores Jonathan Ramon and Shain Showers each drove in two runs to lead Evansville (11-6, 1-0 MVC) offensively and fellow sophomore Josh Jyawook finished the night 3-for-5 with a trio of singles to propel the Aces to their fourth-straight victory.
 
Freeland (3-1) scattered nine hits in his 8.0 frames, as he allowed just two runs and fanned six without issuing a walk.  Senior Sam Johns came on in the ninth and retired all three batters he faced to pick up his fifth save of the year.
 
UE was efficient in its hitting, as Evansville scored five runs on just seven hits, but took advantage of six walks and four hit batters issued by Indiana State (14-4, 0-1 MVC) pitchers.  The Aces took advantage of one of those walks to score the first run of the game in the bottom of the second, as junior Boomer Synek drew a free pass to lead off the inning and scored on Ramon's RBI double to left, which proved to be the only extra-base hit of the ballgame.
 
The Sycamores tied the game in the top of the third, when Derek Hannahs and Connor McClain led off the frame with back-to-back singles and advanced into scoring position on a Freeland wild pitch.  Landon Curry followed by scoring Hannahs with a sacrifice fly into foul ground down the left field line to make the score 1-1.
 
UE manufactured a run to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth, when Synek came through with a leadoff single and moved up 90 feet following a Ramon walk.  Sophomore Eric McKibban then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both into scoring position, before Showers scored Synek with a ground ball to second.
 
ISU once again countered in its next at bat and knotted the game at 2-2 on a two-out, RBI single off the bat of Jacob Hayes, but Evansville would break the game open by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth.
 
Senior Jake Mahon led off the Aces' fifth with a single to left, before junior Kevin Kaczmarski and Synek coaxed walks to load the bases.  Ramon picked up his second RBI of the night, when he was hit by a pitch, allowing Mahon to score and McKibban drove home Kaczmarski with a fly ball to shallow center.  Showers capped the rally with an RBI single to right that allowed Synek to score from second and give UE a 5-2 lead.
 
That would be all the offense that Freeland would need, although the junior southpaw would be tested in the top of the sixth, when Indiana State loaded the bases with no outs, when Mike Fitzgerald and Michael Eberle both singled, before Tyler Wampler was plunked to fill the bags.  Freeland was able to get out of the jam, when he fielded a walk grounder off the both of Zahn to get the force out at home, before fanning both Hannahs and McClain to end the threat.
 
Neither team would put a runner in scoring position over the final two and a half innings, as Johns made quick work of the Sycamores in the ninth to lock down the UE win.
 
Eight of ISU's nine batters recorded at least one hit in the contest and Wampler was the lone Indiana State player to notch multiple hits, as he finished 2-for-3 and was hit by a pitch.
 
David Stagg (4-1) suffered his first loss of the season on the mound for the Sycamores, as the lefty was tagged for five runs on five hits over 4.2 innings.  Stagg struck out two and walked five.  Nick Kolarik finished the night on the hill for ISU by tossing 3.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts against just one walk.
 
Evansville and Indiana State will continue the three-game set tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m.  Sophomore Connor Strain is scheduled to get the start for the Aces, while the Sycamores are slated to send Brad Lombard to the mound.