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Box Score 2 LYNCHBURG, Va. – After running off their longest winning streak in nearly a decade, the University of Evansville baseball team saw its seven-game run upended on Saturday with a pair of losses to Liberty and Central Connecticut State at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
"We couldn't bounce back from an emotional first game," UE head coach Wes Carroll said. "Our bats weren't able to capitalize on a couple of opportunities in the first game, and in the second, we just didn't get anything going until it was too late. We have a chance to bounce back tomorrow, and hopefully, we can salvage the weekend."
The day seemed to start well enough for the Aces (8-6) as the pitching staff built on Friday's shutout victory by tossing a scoreless opening five innings to help UE take a 3-0 lead, but things would start to unravel in the sixth when host Liberty pushed across five runs. The frame ended an 18-inning scoreless streak and handed UE its first deficit since last weekend's Northern Illinois series.
A walk and a one-out double from Will Shepherd put the Flames (9-6) on the board in the sixth, and three consecutive singles from Dalton Britt, Andrew Kowalo and Sammy Taormina tied things up. A Payton Scarbrough two-out single later in the frame cashed in two more runs to put LU ahead for good.
UE didn't wait long to draw first blood in the game as Trey Hair doubled and scored on a wild pitch in the first. The Aces would go on to add another with a Korbin Williams double in the fifth, but the top of the sixth proved to be a turning point as UE only managed one run from a bases loaded situation with no outs. Stewart Nelson brought home the score with a sacrifice fly, but LU reliever Caleb was able to sit down both Boomer Synek and Hair to work out of the jam.
Hair ended the day 3-for-5 at the plate to lead UE, and both Britt and Taormina paced the Flames with two hits apiece.
Connor Strain, who pitched three scoreless innings for UE in his return to the mound, was given the start, and Brent Jurceka (3-1) was pegged with the loss after surrendering five runs on seven hits over three innings.
In the day's second game, CCSU (5-5) avenged its Friday night loss thanks to an impressive outing from starting pitcher Casey Brown. The Blue Devil hurler allowed just one unearned run and seven hits over eight innings of work.
Once again, an Aces first-inning run would prove all for naught as CCSU would score two in the fourth, one in the sixth and three in both the seventh and ninth to take a commanding lead.
After Hair scored the opening run on the Blue Devil error, fourth-inning doubles from Ryan Costello and Corey Lerche helped put CCSU ahead, and an error came back to haunt the Aces in the sixth as John Lippincott scored to double the advantage and make it 3-1.
Trailing 9-1 in the bottom of the ninth, UE's offense finally got a bit of momentum off Blue Devil reliever Adam Neveski. Nate Reeder started things with a one-out double before a pinch-hit homer from Jonathan Ramon made it 9-3. Synek earned a walk in the ensuing at-bat before Hair doubled home another score, and Williams rounded out the frame with a run-scoring single.
Hair ended 4-for-5, and Reeder was the only other Ace with multiple hits, going 2-for-4. Meanwhile, Brandon Gomer (0-3) picked up the loss after allowing six runs (five earned) over 6.2 innings of work.
Costello finished 4-for-4 at the plate to lead the way for the Blue Devils.
UE will return to action on Sunday at Liberty Baseball Stadium as the Aces will take on the hosts at 3 p.m.
NOTES: UE's seven-game winning streak was the longest since March 13-23, 2007 … At 12 games, Eric McKibban is currently riding the longest hitting streak of any Aces player … Both Trey Hair and Eric McKibban have reached base in all 14 UE games this season … This weekend marks the first-ever contests between UE and both Central Connecticut and Liberty … Since 1978, the Aces are 3-1 against schools that hail from the state of Connecticut and 2-9 versus those from the state of Virginia.
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