EVANSVILLE, Ind. –  The University of Evansville baseball team was not able to overcome an early deficit on Sunday afternoon, dropping the series finale to Illinois State, 15-9, at Charles H. Braun Stadium.

Four Aces – Charlie Longmeier (Seymour, Ind./Seymour), Reid Haire (Hudson, N.C./Charlotte), Drew McConnell (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs), and Simon Schulz (Evansville, Ind./Memorial) had two-hit days, while Ryan Seddon (Joliet, Ill./St. Laurence) and Reagan Reeder (Ramsey, Minn./Illinois) each had two RBIs.

Kevin Reed (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) took the loss for Evansville, while Luke Teschke got the win for Illinois State.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Illinois State jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first two innings on the back of two three-run home runs by Graham Mastros.

Chris McCormack (Naperville, Ill./Iowa Central CC) steadied things for Evansville in relief, putting up zeroes in the third and fourth innings. However, the Redbirds added another run in the fifth to make it 8-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, Evansville got on the board on an RBI single by Longmeier. The Aces cut into the deficit further in the sixth, with McConnell and Harrison Taubert (Casper, Wyo./Northeast CC) leading off the inning with singles before being driven in by Seddon and Reeder.

The Redbirds responded in the top of the seventh with another crooked number, putting up four runs to push their lead to nine.

Evansville got two of those runs back in the bottom of the inning, starting with a double by Longmeier. Haire drove Longmeier in with a single and manufactured a run of his own, stealing second before stealing third and scoring on a throwing error by the catcher.

However, just as they had the inning prior, the Redbirds responded with another big inning, scoring three times to make it 15-5.

The Aces extended the game in the home half of the eighth, with Reeder driving an RBI double to right center, Benji Kautto (Toronto, Ontario/W. Technical Commercial) lifting a sac fly to right, and Schulz singling to right to score another run.

Down to their last three outs, the Aces scored a run on a single by Haire, double by McConnell, and RBI groundout by Seddon, but that would be it, as Illinois State took a 15-9 win.

UP NEXT
Evansville will host the Indiana Hoosiers on Tuesday at Charles H. Braun Stadium for a midweek contest. First pitch is set for 6 PM.