EVANSVILLE, Ind. –  The University of Evansville baseball team won their third game in a row on Wednesday night, defeating Lindenwood by a score of 9-2 at Charles H. Braun Stadium.

Evansville scored in five innings, including each of the first four, to build an early lead. Drew McConnell (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs) had a three-hit day, while Charlie Longmeier (Seymour, Ind./Seymour) and Reagan Reeder (Ramsey, Minn./Illinois) each drove in two runs. Spike Magill (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) reached base four times to raise his MVC-leading on base percentage to .531.

Four Evansville pitchers combined to limit Lindenwood to two runs while allowing just five hits and three walks. Jack Willhite (Georgetown, Ky./Scott County) got his first career win with five strong innings, limiting the Lions to one run, while Braden Branigin took the loss for Lindenwood.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Evansville got on the board in the first inning, using three straight walks to load the bases before a double play brought in a run.

After a second straight zero from Willhite, the Aces added another run in the bottom of the second on a two-out double to right field from Simon Schulz (Evansville, Ind./Memorial).

Willhite continued to cruise in the third, retiring the Lions in order. In the home half, the Evansville offense mounted a two-out rally, culminating in an RBI single by McConnell to extend the lead to three.

Lindenwood put the leadoff man on the fourth inning, but Willhite induced a 6-3 double play to get through four scoreless frames. In the bottom half of the inning, the Aces broke things open, plating four. Reid Haire (Hudson, N.C./Charlotte) and Ximi Baftiri (Morris, Ill./Morris) each contributed doubles, with Baftiri's scoring a run, while Longmeier drove in two with a single.

Lindenwood got on the board with a leadoff home run in the fifth, but Willhite put the finishing touches on his day, departing with his team in front 7-1. Willhite struck out two and did not allow a walk while limiting the Lions to three hits.

Parker MacCauley (Paducah, Ky./Tennessee Tech) entered the game in relief in the sixth, stranding a pair of baserunners with a strikeout to put up a zero.

Conner Vander Luitgaren (Bargersville, Ind./Center Grove) was next on the mound for Evansville, striking out two in a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, Reeder put the exclamation point on the night, crushing a 410 foot two-run home run to left, coming off the bat at 111 mph.

Although the Lions pushed across a run in the eighth, Drew Fieger (Fort Mitchell, Ky./Beechwood) retired the Lions in order in the ninth to close out the win.  

UP NEXT
Evansville welcomes Southern Illinois this weekend for a key MVC series. First pitch for Friday's series opener is set for 6 PM.