BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Slow starts foiled the University of Evansville baseball team's hopes of evening the score with in-state rival Indiana, as the Aces dropped both ends of a doubleheader in Bloomington Saturday afternoon, 5-1 in the opener and 9-3 in the nightcap.

In game one, junior left hander Nathan Croner got the start on the hill for UE. IU's Matt Lloyd tagged him for an RBI double in the bottom of the first, getting th Hoosiers on the board early. Croner recovered to toss a scoreless second, but in the third frame Lloyd got to the southpaw again, this time with a 2-run home run to right-center field, extending the Indiana lead to 3-0. That would be the last blemish on Croner's stat line, as he shutout the Hoosiers the next three innings, For the game, the Independence, Missouri native would give up three runs on eight hits, while striking out three.

Evansville's offense finally get untracked in the sixth frame, as both junior catcher Ben Komonosky and junior center fielder Troy Beilsmith got into scoring position. Freshman second baseman Danny Borgstrom would bring in Komonosky on a groundout to first base, getting UE on the board.

Freshman lefty Michael Parks would relieve Croner in the seventh, giving up a two-run single in that frame, before closing the Hoosiers out in the eighth, but the UE offense could manage no more runs, falling 5-1.

In game two, senior left hander Alex Weigand got the start for UE, and got in immediate trouble, getting touched up by Indiana for three runs in the opening frame. However, he would settle down from there, tossing a shutout in the next three frames.

The Aces offense would respond in the top of the second, loading up the bases, then getting on the scoreboard on a passed ball, which scored senior third baseman Sam Troyer, cutting the deficit to two runs.

Still within striking distance in the fifth, at 3-1, Alex Weigand gets in more trouble, putting two aboard, then an error allowed Indiana to score another run, ending Weigand's day. Freshman Shane Gray would come in in relief, but his luck was no better, giving up three more tallies, making it 7-1 IU.

Down eight in the eighth frame, Evansville attempted a two-out rally, loading up the bases, then freshman designated hitter A.J. Fritz delivered an RBI single through the left side of the infield, scoring Troy Beilsmith. Next, Sam Troyer drew a walk, forcing in Craig Shepherd, cutting the IU lead to 9-3. However, no more runs were in the cards for the Aces.

The doubleheader sweep drops Evansville to 17-14, while Indiana improves to 23-12. The fourth and final game of the series is slated for Sunday with a 12 pm first pitch at Kaufman Field.
 

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