RIVERSIDE, Calif. –  The University of Evansville baseball team tallied 12 hits on Friday night, their second-highest total of the season, but fell to Cal Baptist in game one of the series by a score of 11-6.

Drew McConnell (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs) led the Aces at the plate with the first four-hit game of his career, going 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI. He became the first Ace since Mark Shallenberger on June 1, 2026 to have a four-hit game.

Reid Haire (Hudson, N.C./Charlotte) drove in three runs, going 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, while Ximi Baftiri (Morris, Ill./Morris) went 2-for-2 with an RBI and reached base in all three plate appearances. Freshman Simon Schulz (Evansville, Ind./Memorial) made his first career start and put together a strong performance, going 2-for-4 at the dish.

Cameron Teper got the win for Cal Baptist, while Max Hansmann (Elmhurst, Ill./York) took the loss for Evansville.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Evansville started the scoring right away, with Haire blasting a one-out double into the left center gap before McConnell drove him in with a two-out single up the middle, giving the Aces a 1-0 lead. The Lancers answered right back, however, using a two-run home run in the bottom of the first to take the lead.

Evansville stayed hot at the plate in the second inning, starting with a leadoff walk by Ryan Seddon (Joliet, Ill./St. Laurence) and a perfectly executed hit-and-run by Baftiri, who shot a double down the right field line that scored Seddon. Following a single by Schulz, his first career hit, and walk by Spike Magill (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista), Haire drew a bases loaded walk to give the Aces a 3-2 lead and chase CBU ace Michael Malki.

Just as they did in the first, however, the Lancers used another 2-run home run in the second to regain the lead. CBU added on in the third, plating a run on two singles and an error. After a 1-2-3 inning by Hansmann in the fourth, CBU extended their lead once again in the fifth with an RBI double, making it a 6-3 game.

Evansville fought back in the top of the sixth, with Baftiri and Magill delivering singles to put two on with two out. In stepped Haire, who sliced a double into the left field corner for his second double of the day, driving in both runners to cut the CBU lead to one.

In the bottom of the sixth, however, the Lancers struck for three runs, taking advantage of three Evansville errors.

McConnell stayed hot at the plate in the top of the seventh, leading off the inning with an opposite field double. Following a groundout that advanced McConnell to third, Seddon stung a line drive to right center for a single to plate McConnell and bring the game back within three.

Chris McCormack (Naperville, Ill./Iowa Central CC) worked a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh, but the Lancers scored two more runs in the eighth to extend the lead to 11-6.

In the top of the ninth, McConnell collected his fourth hit of the day with a single, but the Aces were kept off the board as Cal Baptist took an 11-6 win to begin the series.  

UP NEXT
Evansville and Cal Baptist return to action tomorrow in Riverside, Calif. for game two of the series. First pitch is set for 7 PM CT.