MURRAY, Ky. – The University of Evansville baseball saw their 2026 season come to end on Thursday night, falling to SIU in a heartbreaker, 3-2.
Reagan Reeder (Ramsey, Minn./Illinois) launched a two-run home run in the fourth inning, his second homer of the day, while Reid Haire (Hudson, N.C./Charlotte) had his second multi-hit game of the MVC Tournament, going 2-for-4.
On the mound, Tanner Graham (Rocheport, Mo./Hickman) was excellent in his MVC Tournament debut, firing five scoreless innings with five strikeouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game was a pitcher's duel early, as Graham and SIU starter Charlie Miller traded zeroes through the first three innings. In the second and third innings, Graham stranded runners in scoring position to keep things scoreless.
Evansville broke through for the game's first runs in the third, starting with a single by Haire. With two outs in the inning, Reeder clobbered a 1-2 pitch down the left field line at 110 miles per hour, notching his team-leading 12
th home run of the season to give the Aces a 2-0 lead.
Graham continued to work around traffic in the fourth and fifth, stranding a Saluki at second in the fourth and at third in the fifth to keep the Aces in front.
SIU got on the board in the bottom of the sixth, using three doubles to tie things at two. The game remained knotted at two until the eighth, when the Salukis plated the go-ahead run on an error.
Evansville put the tying run on second in the ninth with one out, but were unable to cash in as SIU sealed the win.
Evansville finishes the season with a 21-33 record overall and held a 13-11 record in Valley play.
