VALPARAISO, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team secured their fifth MVC series win of the season on Sunday afternoon, shutting out the Valparaiso Beacons 11-0 at Emory G. Bauer Field.
Making his first start of the season, Chris McCormack (Naperville, Ill./Iowa Central CC) was dominant on the mound, firing seven scoreless innings while limiting the Beacons to just three hits.
Evansville banged out 13 hits on the day and scored nine runs in the final two innings to break the game open. Five Aces had multi-hit games, including 3-hit performances from Spike Magill (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) and Cooper Rhodes (Jackson, Mo./Jackson). Of Evansville's 11 RBIs, eight came from the six through nine spots in the lineup.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Evansville struck first in the top of the second, with Mason McCue (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bishop McNamara) taking a 3-0 pitch to the left center field gap for a double, driving in two. Valpo threatened in their half of the second, loading the bases, but McCormack came up with a big strikeout to keep the Aces in front 2-0.
For the next several innings, McCormack and Valpo starter Nick Baffa traded zeroes as the game remained 2-0. Valpo threatened again in the seventh inning, but Reid Haire (Hudson, N.C./Charlotte) delivered his second game-changing defensive play in as many games, catching a fly ball in center and throwing out a runner at home to complete an inning-ending double play.
Evansville took advantage of the momentum in their next at-bats, scoring six runs on five hits to break the game open. The six runs tied for the highest total by the Aces in an inning this season.
After Kellen Roberts (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) provided a zero in relief in the bottom of the eighth, the Evansville continued to pour it on in the top of the ninth, scoring three more times to extend the lead to 11.
In the bottom of the ninth, Roberts closed the door on the win, inducing a double play to clinch the series victory.
UP NEXT
Evansville will host Murray State next weekend for the final series of the regular season. First pitch for Thursday's series opener is set for 6 p.m.
