Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Game 1 Printable Box  |  Game 2 Printable Box

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – In a night that featured a pair of games decided by walk-off singles, the University of Evansville baseball team split a doubleheader header with Austin Peay Wednesday night at Raymond C. Hand Park in Clarksville, Tenn.  The host Governors captured the opener, 7-6, on a walk-off hit in the 11th, before the Purple Aces returned the favor by walking-off with a 10-9 victory in the nightcap.
 
Junior Kevin Kaczmarski had a big night for Evansville (13-8) at the plate, as he finished the evening by going 4-for-9 with a pair of home runs, four RBI and three runs scored to lead the Aces offensively.  Junior Jarod Perry and sophomore Shain Showers each finished 3-for-7 at the plate with two runs scored, while sophomore Josh Jyawook was 4-for-10 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored.  Senior Jake Mahon only had two hits on the night, but his second came at the opportune time, as he provided the heroics for UE in the nightcap with a walk-off single.
 
"It was nice to see us get that win on Jake Mahon's hit in the second game," head coach Wes Carroll said.  "I thought our team showed some toughness.  After giving up five runs in the top of the inning and having them tie the game, we were able to get the winning run across and salvage a midweek split.  Hopefully we can keep that momentum going into the weekend."
 
On the mound, sophomore Conor Gilligan earned the first win of his collegiate career in the nightcap, after putting an end to Austin Peay's (10-14) five-run rally in the seventh.
 
Game 1 Recap:  Austin Peay 7, Evansville 6 (11 inn.)
In a game that was scheduled for seven innings, it took 11 to decide a winner, as Austin Peay's Ridge Smith came through with the game-winning hit for the Governors in the bottom of the 11th, to score Matt Wollenzin and give APSU a 7-6, walk-off victory.
 
Evansville got off to a quick start, as Jyawook led off the game with a double to right center and later scored on a single by Kaczmarski to give the Aces a 1-0 lead, but Austin Peay countered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first on RBI hits from Alex Robles and Smith to take a 2-1 advantage after the first.
 
The Governors led 4-1 after two full innings, following a two-run home run by Roland Gautier in the bottom half the second, but UE countered by scoring three runs in its half of the third to knot the score at 4-4.  Jyawook started the rally with a one-out single through the right side, before Kaczmarski and Pollock belted back-to-back homers with two outs.
 
Evansville regained the lead, 5-4, in the top of the fourth, when sophomore Jonathan Ramon led off the frame with a double down the line in left and scored on a one-out single off the bat of Jyawook.
 
APSU drew even once again in its half of the sixth.  P.J. Torres reached on an infield single to third to start the inning, before scampering to third, when Gilligan, who came in in relief, committed a throwing error when trying to cut down the lead runner on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Chase Hamilton.  Later in the inning, Torres would tie the game at 5-5, when he stole home with Garrett Copeland at the plate and UE's Sam Johns on the mound.
 
In the top of the seventh, Kaczmarski put Evansville ahead, 6-5, when he went deep for the second time, but Austin Peay would counter with a run in the bottom half of the inning to send the game to extra frames.
 
Neither team would score again until the bottom of the 11th, when Wollenzin doubled to left and scored the game-winning run on Smith's walk-off single.
 
Sophomore Brent Jurceka suffered his first loss of the season on the mound, as he allowed just the one run on two hits over the final 2.2 innings and Austin Peay's Jared Carkuff improved to 1-2 on the year by retiring all nine UE batters he faced over the final 3.0 innings.
 
Game 2 Recap: Evansville 10, Austin Peay 9
Evansville, who was listed as the home team on the scoreboard in game two, returned the favor and posted a walk-off win of its own, when Mahon ripped a single through the right side to score Perry and lift the Aces to a 10-9 triumph.
 
UE jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the nightcap, taking advantage of a pair of Governor errors and a hit by pitch in the bottom of the second.  Ramon was plunked by a pitch to start the frame, Showers moved him into scoring position and freshman Max Foley drove in the first run of the contest with a single to right center.  Perry and Jyawook continued the inning by reaching on back-to-back errors and Mahon drove in the fourth and final run of the inning with a single to right.
 
APSU got two runs back in the top of the third on a two-run single by Robles, but Evansville got one back in the bottom of the inning on a single by Perry to take a 5-2 lead into the fourth.
 
The Aces extended their margin with another run in the bottom half of the fifth, as Ramon was able to score on Austin Peay's third defensive miscue of the game, making the score, 6-2, in favor of UE.
 
The Governors scored two runs in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to 6-4, but Evansville once again answered, as junior Boomer Synek drove home two more runs with a double down the right field line, before he later scored on a double by Showers, putting UE ahead, 9-4, entering the final inning.
 
In the seventh, APSU recorded just two hits, but were able to score five runs, as Evansville committed an error behind freshman starter Jimmy Ward to start the inning, before Ward gave up a double to Cayce Bredlau and issued a free pass to Garrett Copeland to load the bags.  Fellow freshman Brian Jestice came out of the bullpen to replace Ward, but prompt hit Robles with a pitch and walked Dre Gleason, allowed Austin Peay to score two runs and cut the gap to three.
 
Gilligan came on in relief of Jestice and got Smith and Tommy Hager to fly out for the first two outs of the inning, but both fly balls were deep enough to allow runners to tag and score from third, trimming the Aces' lead to 9-8.  Gautier then tied the game with a single to right, but was thrown out when he tried to extend the hit to a double to end the inning.
 
In UE's half of the seventh, Perry represented the game-winning run by reaching on an infield single to start the inning and moved up 90 feet on Jyawook sacrifice bunt.  Mahon then followed with a walk-off single to end the game.
 
Evansville will be back at Braun Stadium this weekend, when it hosts Eastern Kentucky for a three-game series beginning Friday night at 6 p.m.