EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Evansville junior catcher Brendan Hord hit a go-head home run in the bottom of the seventh inning on Sunday, and UE's pitchers combined to allow just two base hits to power the Purple Aces to a 5-3 victory over the visiting Eastern Michigan Eagles at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.
"This was a great series win against a good Eastern Michigan team," said UE head coach Wes Carroll. "Our pitching was outstanding today, only giving up two hits, as Donovan Schultz gave us a quality start. I thought that Shane Harris did a great job of bridging the gap to John MacCauley, and MacCauley was able to shut it down for the win. Our offense had a couple of big at-bats as well to get those runs late. Overall, it was a good win all the way around."
Evansville jumped to an early 3-0 lead with single runs in each of the first three innings. Senior third baseman Brent Widder delivered a two-out RBI triple to the gap in right-center field to start the scoring in the first inning. Junior second baseman Kip Fougerousse had a two-out RBI single in the second inning, and Hord had a two-out RBI single in the third inning to produce the three-run cushion.
Schultz was untouchable through the first four innings on the mound, allowing just a single base runner on a hit-by-pitch in the first inning. The only inning he ran into trouble was the fifth inning, when Eastern Michigan was able to tie the game at 3-3 on a two-run home run by left fielder Blake McRae and a solo home run by second baseman Corey Taylor four pitches apart. Schultz would finish by allowing just the three runs on two hits over six innings of work while striking out six.
The score would remain tied at 3-3 until the seventh, when Hord would blast a two-out home run deep to left field off the protective netting for the Lloyd Expressway to give UE a 4-3 lead. Evansville would then add an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning on a one-out RBI single by fifth-year outfielder Eric Roberts to produce the final margin of victory, 5-3.
Relievers Shane Harris (1-1) and John MacCauley (save) combined to toss three scoreless, hitless innings of relief out of the UE bullpen. Harris struck out the side in the seventh inning, and worked around a two-out walk in the eighth inning, while MacCauley worked a perfect ninth inning to record UE's first save of the season.
Hord went 2-for-3 with a run scored an two RBI for UE, while fifth-year teammates Danny Borgstrom and Chase Hug also had two-hit afternoons. McRae and Taylor were the only Eagles to record hits.
With the victory, Evansville wins the weekend series and improves to 2-5 on the season. The Purple Aces have now won 13 of a possible 17 weekend series at German American Bank Field since the Braun Stadium renovation in 2020. Eastern Michigan, meanwhile, falls to 2-4 on the year with the loss. Evansville will hit the road on Wednesday for a mid-week game at preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite Southeast Missouri State (2-6) in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. First-pitch is set for 3 p.m.
