EVANSVILLE – Travis Tokarek's first inning home run ignited what head coach Wes Carroll referred to as his team's most complete performance in years as the University of Evansville baseball team knocked off Dallas Baptist in 9-0 fashion at Charles H. Braun Stadium on Thursday night.
"I thought we were dialed in each and every inning," Carroll said. "I think our approach to the plate was spectacular and the best I've seen all year. Good at-bats are contagious, and we were able to click for a complete game. I'm just really proud of our guys tonight. Coaches can wait all season to see a team play as well as we did tonight."
The win, which saw the Aces improve to 17-35 and 8-10 in Missouri Valley Conference play, also marked the 250
th win of UE head coach Wes Carroll's career. DBU, meanwhile, dropped to 34-19 and 13-6 in the MVC.
Tokarek, who grabbed the team lead in homers with his eighth of the season in the opening stanza, knocked in another run an inning later as the Aces went on to score four in the second and two more in the third to take an 8-0 lead after three. The junior out of Zionsville ended the day 2-for-5 at the plate, and as a team, the Aces out-hit the visitors from Dallas 15-4.
"It's just great to see so many guys contribute and play well, but it all starts on the mound," Carroll said. "DBU is such a good offensive club. Patrick Schnieders gave us exactly what we needed, and then Ryan Brady and Nathan Croner did really well locating their fastball on both sides of the plate."
Schnieders impressed over five innings, surrendering just two hits and striking out six to pick up the win and improve to 4-6 on the season.
Following the two-run first inning, Brendan Krob doubled the advantage in the second with a triple, and Tokarek's RBI single and Kenton Crews' sacrifice fly made it 6-0. Krob was involved in another in the third, doubling and then scoring on a single by Nate Reeder, who'd also score in the frame on a wild pitch.
Krob was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, and Troy Beilsmith led the team in hits, finishing 3-for-4 with three scores. Trey Hair, who doubled in the final run in the seventh, also enjoyed a two-hit performance.
Croner and Brady combined to keep the Patriots off the board in the final four frames. It marked the first time in 13 months that DBU had been shut out over nine innings.
The Aces will return to Charles H. Braun Stadium on Friday, and first pitch is slated for 4 p.m.
NOTES: Trey Hair has hit successfully in all 18 MVC games this season … Thursday marked UE's third shutout win of the season and first since April 16's 1-0 win at Illinois State … UE is 6-12 all-time against Dallas Baptist ... The Aces haven't won a series against the Patriots since 2014 … Since 1978, UE is 8-17 against schools from the state of Texas … Dating back to 1987, the Aces are 225-197 in May.
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