Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A pair of momentum-shifting home runs were the difference on Saturday afternoon as the University of Evansville baseball team fell 10-6 to 16
th-ranked Missouri State at Hammons Field.
"We gave up eight runs in the first five innings, and we can't afford to dig ourselves a hole like that," UE head coach Wes Carroll said. "We saw three quality arms today, but we still had a lot of chances. Our offense did a good job at keeping us somewhat in the game, and we were just one swing away from tying it up in the sixth. After the start we got off to, I think that shows the kind of competitiveness that we have in the line-up."
With the loss, the Aces drop to 22-15 on the season with a 5-3 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play. Meanwhile, the Bears improve to 28-9 and 3-4, respectively. Both teams will square off once again on Sunday in a rubber game that is set for 1:05 p.m.
Things started off well enough for the Aces as MSU starting pitcher Dylan Coleman had to work through some control issues on the mound. The freshman right-hander gave up a pair of walks and hit Trey Hair with an errant pitch to load the bases, and Josh Jyawook followed up with a two-run single through the right side to give UE the early edge.
However, the Bears wasted little time in responding as both Hunter Steinmetz and Spencer Johnson singled to lead off the bottom half of the frame, and Jake Burger pushed MSU ahead with a three-run blast over the wall in center.
Burger, who leads the Valley in home runs this season, now has two in the series to take his season total to 16.
It would take three innings for the pendulum to swing back in the Aces direction, and it did with a trio of singles from Jyawook, Jonathan Ramon and Shain Showers to level the game at 3-3. However, that would be all UE could muster as Stewart Nelson grounded into a double play to end the threat.
Once again, MSU answered emphatically as Jeremy Eierman also left the park for the second straight contest with a two-run shot to left to make it 5-3.
Both sides traded scores over the next two innings as the Bears tacked on three in the bottom of the fifth, and the Aces bounced back with two through a Showers single in the ensuing half-inning.
Showers ended the day 2-for-4 at the plate with three runs batted in.
Once again, UE was unable to halt the MSU offense in the bottom half as a two-out, two-run double from Paulsen re-established the five-run cushion, and Hair went on to knock in a consolation run with an eighth-inning double to account for the game's final score.
Brandon Gomer was dealt the loss in the decision as he tossed 4.1 innings while allowing eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and a pair of walks. The freshman dropped to 1-5 on the year.
First pitch in Sunday's rubber game is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
NOTES: The Aces will be playing in a Missouri Valley Conference rubber game for the third successive week … Since 1978, the first season that UE competed at the NCAA Division I level, UE is 37-49 vs. MSU … The Aces are 85-67 all-time against Missouri schools … Last season, the Aces were swept by Missouri State at Charles H. Braun Stadium.
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