NORMAL, Ill. – The University of Evansville baseball team ended its series with the Illinois State Redbirds with a 14-4 loss.

The Purple Aces had a very competitive game against Illinois State through seven and a half innings as they took an early lead in the second and tied the game back up in the sixth. But the Redbirds took advantage of some late game miscues and free bases from UE in the eighth inning to sweep the series. At the plate, Evansville had eight total hits with freshman infielders Jake McGhee (Fenton, Mo. / Christian Brothers Academy) and Mason McCue (Bourbonnais, Ill. / Bishop McNamara HS) having two hits each.

"A very challenging eighth inning on the mound for us, which is a let down," said Head Coach Wes Carroll after the game. "We had multiple opportunities that we couldn't cash in on. You have to give credit to Illinois State for playing great baseball all weekend." 

It was a fast first inning as both pitchers faced the minimum number of batters at Duffy Bass Field. Starter Owen Byberg (Barrie, Ontario) got the first strikeout of the afternoon to close out the inning, getting the Redbirds and the MVC's best batter Daniel Pacella down swinging. The Aces offense got going in the second inning with back-to-back hits from designated hitter Brodie Peart (Markham, Ontario) and first baseman McGhee.

UE then loaded the bases as right fielder Harrison Taubert (Casper, Wyo. / Northeast CC) was hit by a pitch. Evansville walked in a run to take the early lead as shortstop Drew McConnell (Blue Springs, Mo. / Blue Springs HS) went to first and Peart scored the first run of the game. Illinois State was able to answer with a run of their own in the bottom of the second to tie the game.

The Redbirds took the lead in the third inning with three runs as the Aces again had to fight back from behind on Sunday. UE got out of the third thanks to a long throw from left fielder Charlie Longmeier (Seymour, Ind. / Seymour HS) to get both the fly out and the second out at home. Both teams went down in order in the fourth to quickly move to the fifth inning.

Evansville had heads up batting in the top of the fifth as singles from second baseman McCue and Rumsey had two on with one out. The Aces then loaded the bases as Illinois State's starting pitcher Tyler Chadwick walked third baseman Cal McGinnis (Kimberly, Wis. / Bradley). With the bases loaded, Peart wore a hit by pitch to bring in a second run for UE.

But Evansville's big offensive inning was the top of the sixth. The Aces began the inning with Taubert taking first on his second hit-by-pitch of the day. UE followed up with back-to-back singles from McConnell and McCue, scoring Taubert to make it a one-run game. Only three at-bats later Evansville tied the game up on an RBI groundout from Longmeier to score McConnell.

The Aces took down the Redbirds in order in the bottom of the sixth to move into the final third of the game. UE almost took the lead in the top of the seventh as McGhee hit a lead-off single and made his way to third base with only one out on the board. But Evansville's next two batters struck out, stranding McGhee as the go-ahead run at third.

Illinois State was able to take advantage of a fielding error on a double to go back in front by a run in the bottom of the seventh.  The Redbirds took over the game in the bottom of the eighth as the Aces defense and pitching fell apart. Illinois State scored nine runs in the inning to end the game early with the 14-4 final score.

UE returns home to German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium next weekend. Evansville will have a rematch of the 2024 MVC Tournament Championship game as Indiana State comes to town for a three-game series. The Aces won't play a midweek game in anticipation of the series over Eastern weekend. UE hits the field on Thursday, April 17 for a 6 p.m. first pitch against the Sycamores.