EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Evansville junior right-hander John Foley out-dueled former MVC Pitcher of the Year Aaron Shafer of Wichita State on Saturday, as Foley and the Purple Aces posted a 6-3 victory over the nationally-ranked Wichita State Shockers at UE’s Charles H. Braun Stadium.

 

Foley (5-4) went the distance in his second complete-game effort of the year, scattering three runs on just three base hits, while striking out six. Foley gave up all three hits and all three runs in the sixth inning, as he flirted with a no-hitter through five innings.

 

 “Anytime you face Wichita State, it is a big game, so you have to get up for it and be ready for a battle,” said Foley. “To be honest, before the game, my bullpen session was not good. But, when I got out on the mound to start the game, I felt comfortable and was able to get into a groove quickly.”

 

Foley set the tone early on the mound, working a perfect first inning, and allowing only one ball to leave the infield through the first two frames, before his teammates would give him an early cushion. 

 

The Purple Aces scored an unearned run in the second inning against Shafer (8-3) thanks to a Wichita State error and an RBI single by freshman outfielder Ryan Fleming to take a 1-0 lead. Fellow freshman outfielder Nate Smith would then give Foley a two-run cushion in the third inning with an RBI double to the wall in center field to score fellow rookie outfielder Greg Wallace.

 

Evansville then took advantage of a two-out error by Wichita State in the fifth inning to grab a 5-0 lead with a three-run rally, highlighted by a two-run double to the wall in left-center field by junior shortstop Andy Smith and an RBI single by third baseman Peter Tountas.

 

“The early run support was huge,” said Foley. “When you have a five-run lead like we did today, you can really attack the hitters and be aggressive in the strike zone. If it is a close game against an offense like Wichita State’s, you have to be careful because you do not want to give up the big home run. But, with the lead we had today, I was able to attack their hitters and be aggressive in the zone, and work ahead in the count, which is always key.”

 

Wichita State’s Andy Dirks would finally break up Foley’s no-hit bid in the sixth inning with a lead-off double. After a wild pitch and a walk, third baseman Conor Gillaspie would bring home the first run of the game for the Shockers with an RBI single. Another RBI single by designated hitter Clinton McKeever and a sacrifice fly by second baseman Josh Workman would trim the lead to 5-3, but Foley would settle down to retire outfielder Mitch Caster on a fly out to end the threat.

 

Evansville would give Foley an insurance run in the eighth inning, thanks to a pinch-hit RBI single from freshman Sean Loggins, to move the lead to 6-3.  Foley worked a perfect ninth inning, including striking out Caster to end the game, to earn the complete-game win. He retired the final 11 men he faced in the win.

 

“John Foley was tremendous today,” said UE head coach David Seifert. “He did a great job of controlling the game and being aggressive on the mound, and as always, he did a great job of competing. John has competed well for us all season long, and it was great to see him pick up the win today.

 

“Our offense also did a great job of being aggressive early against Aaron Shafer today and jumping to an early lead. I thought that we executed extremely well, and different guys up and down the lineup really stepped up to get the job done. This was a great team effort today.”

 

Andy Smith led the Evansville offense by going 2-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and two RBI. Tountas and Nate Smith also had two hits apiece for UE. Overall, Evansville pounded out 10 base hits against Shafer and WSU reliever Logan Hoch.

 

With the victory, Evansville improves to 14-37 overall and 4-16 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Wichita State, meanwhile, falls to 37-14 and 15-5 in the Valley. The two teams will square off in the rubber match of the three-game series on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. in a game that can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV. Sophomore RHP Wade Kapteyn (1-3, 7.34 ERA) will get the starting nod for UE against Wichita State LHP Anthony Capra (7-0, 2.53 ERA).