CONWAY, Ark. – Jimmy Day enjoyed a memorable first game for the University of Evansville baseball team on Friday afternoon but his efforts ultimately went for naught as the Aces fell 15-9 to host Central Arkansas at Bear Stadium.
"We didn't pitch and play defense well enough to win on a Friday night," UE head coach Wes Carroll said. "It was great to see our bats and offense not give up in that game. They kept trying to fight us back into it, but we ran out of innings. We're going to try and get back at it tomorrow."
Day, the younger brother of former Ace Johnny Day, left the park in his first collegiate plate appearance, homering over the left field wall. He went on to finish the day 2-for-4 at the plate with three runs batted in and a score.
Trey Hair was the only other Ace with multiple hits as he put together a 3-for-5 showing with a pair of doubles.
UCA (1-0) took advantage of some early-season rust from Aces starter Connor Strain as he issued four walks and tossed a wild pitch in the opening stanza. The Bears would go on to add another in the third and five more in the fourth to take an 8-1 lead.
The Bears were led by Hunter Strong, who finished 3-for-5 at the plate with three scores and a pair of RBI. Josh Somdecerff also enjoyed a productive day going 2-for-5 with four RBI, including a three-run blast, and William Hancock ended 2-for-5 with four scores.
UE answered with a five-run frame of its own. Stewart Nelson earned his first walk of the season and Brendan Krob and Hair singled and doubled to bring home the first two runs. A Korbin Williams fielder's choice later in the inning added another, and Day completed the rally with a two-run double down the left field line.
After UCA responded with a three-run sixth, Nate Reeder capped a three-run top of the seventh with a pair of two-out RBI to cut the deficit back to two at 11-9. The Bears once again had an emphatic reply, scoring five more times over the course of the ensuing two innings to put the game out of reach.
Strain was pegged with the loss in the contest, allowing three runs (two-earned) on one hit and five walks. He struck out five.
Strain's counterpart Cody Davenport was on the hook for one of UE's runs through four innings, and Tyler Gray earned the win as UCA's most productive reliever, throwing 2.1 one-hit innings.
The Aces will continue their season-opening series with Central Arkansas on Saturday with a 5 p.m. showdown with the Bears on Saturday. The series will conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m.
NOTES: UE is now 18-21 in season openers since 1979, which includes an 8-17 mark in road contests … UE is 24-33 in the opening series of the season over that timespan … This is the first ever series between UE and UCA … The Aces are 13-17 all-time against schools from the state of Arkansas … Since 1987, UE is 68-69 in the month of February.
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