NASHVILLE –  The University of Evansville baseball team slugged three home runs as part of an 11-run effort, en route to a dominant 11-2 series opening victory over Belmont at E.S. Rose Park on Friday evening.
 
Ryan Seddon (Joliet, Ill./St. Laurence) hit a solo home run, Spike Magill (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) provided a two-run homer, and Reagan Reeder (Ramsey, Minn./Illinois) delivered a grand slam to power the Aces offensively. Reid Haire (Hudson, N.C./Charlotte) doubled twice, while Charlie Longmeier (Seymour, Ind./Seymour) also had a two-hit day.
 
Evansville was just as dominant on the mound, with Max Hansmann (Elmhurst, Ill./York) and Kevin Reed (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) combining for a season-high 14 strikeouts. Hansmann got the win, firing five scoreless frames with seven strikeouts, limiting the Bruins to two hits. Reed worked the final four innings to get the save, punching out seven.

With the win, Evansville improves to 7-3 in MVC play to remain in first place in the conference standings. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the top of the first, the Aces threatened, with Drew McConnell (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs) extending his hitting streak to 13 games with a single before Longmeier drew a walk. However, the Aces were kept off the board. In the bottom of the inning, Hansmann started his outing with a bang by striking out the side.
 
Seddon got Evansville on the board in the second, launching a leadoff home run, his third bomb of the season.
 
Evansville added two more runs in the third, with Haire leading off the frame with a double. Following an HBP to Reeder, Haire scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-0. Finally, Ximi Baftiri (Morris, Ill./Morris) delivered an RBI double to give Evansville a three-run lead.
 
The Aces broke the game open in the fourth, starting with another leadoff double, this time from freshman Cooper Rhodes (Jackson, Mo./Jackson) making his first collegiate start.
After a walk and HBP loaded the bases, Longmeier singled to center field to drive in Rhodes. Reeder delivered the big blow in the next at-bat, launching a grand slam to left field to make it 8-0 in favor of the Aces.
 
Hansmann continued to dominate in the bottom of the fourth, picking up two more strikeouts in another scoreless frame.


Evansville picked up their third consecutive leadoff double in the fifth, this time from Harrison Taubert (Casper, Wyo./Northeast CC), before Magill blasted a home run for the second game in a row to make it 10-0.
 
Hansmann finished out his day in the bottom of the fifth, retiring the side in order once again. The right-hander retired the final eight Bruins he faced while running his scoreless inning streak to five. On the season, Hansmann owns a 3.90 ERA with a sterling 1.88 mark in MVC play.
 
Reed took over on the mound in the sixth inning, striking out three to put up a zero.
 
Evansville added another run in the top of the seventh, with Haire doubling for the second time in the game to drive in Taubert.
 
Belmont got on the board in the home half of the seventh with a two-run homer, but Reed retired the final eight Bruins he faced to pick up the save and seal an 11-2 win.
 
UP NEXT
Evansville looks to clinch their fourth consecutive MVC series victory tomorrow morning as they battle Belmont in game two of the series. First pitch in Nashville is set for 9:30 a.m.