BUIES CREEK, N.C. — After falling in the opener, the University of Evansville baseball team responded with a win in the rubber game on Saturday, splitting a doubleheader with Campbell at Jim Perry Stadium to earn the Purple Aces their first series victory of the season.
"Overall, it was a great effort today," UE head coach Wes Carroll said. "It felt like a Valley weekend to come out here and take two out of three on the road. We're starting to get a feel for what guys can and can't do, and I think we've started to turn a corner. It was a good day for our pitching staff, and we played some great defense."
The Aces dropped the first game in 8-1 fashion before returning the favor with a 6-2 decision in the evening. Both the Aces and Campbell close out the weekend with 6-9 overall records.
In the afternoon contest, Matthew Barefoot led the way with a 4-for-5 showing at the plate with a pair of runs scored, touching home in the first and third innings as the Camels got out to a quick 3-0 start.
Campbell grabbed hold of the game in the sixth with a Kyle Mehl homer, and then a pair of bases-loaded singles brought home three more to make it 7-0.
A Kenton Crews single picked up a consolation run for the Aces an inning later. He'd lead UE in the contest, going 3-for-4 at the plate.
Justin Hayden (1-2) was pegged with the loss after allowing six runs, and Campbell reliever Alex Yarem earned his first victory after coming out of the bullpen to throw 6.2 one-run innings.
In the second game, UE capitalized on three Campbell errors to push across four runs in the fourth. After Crews reached on an error to lead things off, consecutive singles from Korbin Williams, Trey Hair and Andrew Tanous brought home three scores. Stewart Nelson added another on a wild pitch later in the inning.
The Camels reclaimed a run in the bottom half of the frame, but UE would tack on two more in the fifth as Troy Beilsmith scored on a wild pitch and Hair doubled home another.
Both Hair and Williams finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate.
Austin Allinger (2-0) came out of the pen to earn the win. UE starter Connor Strain allowed one run through four innings of work, and the duo of Ryan Brady and Brandon Gomer gave up a single run over the final four frames.
Campbell added another in the eighth and loaded the bases in the ninth, but Gomer would leave them stranded, striking out Bryce Myers to bring the game to an end.
The Aces will continue the current four-game road swing with a trip to SIUE on Wednesday.
—#AcesAces —
