EVANSVILLE – The University of Evansville was one-hit away from breaking through on Sunday afternoon as the Aces pushed across all three of their runs in the final two innings to fall 5-3 to visiting Indiana State at Charles H. Braun Stadium.
"We were trying to put ourselves in good counts at the plate, but we just couldn't get the big hit," UE head coach Wes Carroll said. "It's always good for our young players to play in these kind of close games. We just need to keep working and learn how to win games like this. We're getting some valuable experience, but we just have to find a way to get over the hump."
With the loss, the Aces dropped to 10-22 on the season with a 1-5 record in Missouri Valley Conference play. Meanwhile, the Sycamores improved to 15-13 and took home their first league series to move to 2-1.
UE starting pitcher Justin Hayden fell to 2-5 on the year after giving up five runs (four earned) over the game's opening five frames. The junior out of Mayfield, Ky., allowed seven hits and walked six.
His counterpart, Will Kincanon, enjoyed a strong day on the mound, giving up five hits over 6.1 innings to move to 2-3 on the year. He recorded seven strikeouts.
Tony Rosselli opened the scoring for the visitors from Terre Haute with a solo blast in the third, and Chris Ayers would follow up later in the frame with a run-scoring double to make it 2-0. An inning later, Dane Giesler tacked on another with a single.
After UE stranded five runners over the course of the opening four innings, the Sycamores made the Aces pay for it in the fifth as Tyler Friis' two-out single just missed the glove of a leaping Trey Hair. The hit plated two more for ISU to make it 5-0.
Rosselli ended the day 2-for-3, and Friis also enjoyed a multi-hit outing with a 2-for-4 showing.
UE was dangerous late, loading the bases with no outs in the eighth. The first run would cross on an error, and a Dalton Horstmeier groundout brought home another before ISU pitcher Ethan Larrison left runners stranded on second and third.
In the final stanza, UE once again surged as a Trey Hair double plated a score to kick things off, but unfortunately for the Aces, ISU closer Austin Conway worked out of a bases loaded jam to record his sixth save of the season.
Travis Tokarek, who ended 2-for-4, was the only Ace with multiple hits. On the mound, Adam Lukas, Alex Weigand, David Ellis and Brandon Gomer combined to limit the Sycamores to just one hit over the final four frames.
The Aces will get a rare midweek off this week and will return to action next weekend against Illinois State in Normal.
NOTES: The UE-ISU series is one of the oldest in school history, dating all the way back to 1946, when the Aces program was restarted … Since 1978, UE is 44-61 against the Sycamores … In Valley regular season contests, the Aces are 43-42 against ISU … UE has won 12 of 23 overall series against the Sycamores, including three of the last four … Since 1978, the Aces are 221-169 against Indiana institutions … Since 1987, the Aces are 11-10 on April 9 and 330-280 in the month of April.
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