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EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Seven University of Evansville pitchers combined to limit the high-powered University of Southern Indiana offense to just two fourth-inning runs while striking out 10 men on Wednesday, as the Purple Aces won a pitcher’s duel over the visiting Screaming Eagles, 3-2, at UE’s Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville.

The two teams exchanged scoreless frames on the mound until the fourth inning, when USI would break a scoreless tie on a two-run opposite field single by catcher Dylan Mooney to grab a 2-0 lead. UE would answer right back though in the bottom half of the frame to trim the USI lead to 2-1, thanks to a two-base error by the Screaming Eagles and an RBI single by freshman second baseman Trentt Copeland, UE’s first hit of the evening.

Evansville would then take the lead in the fifth inning, thanks to back-to-back singles by senior catcher Andrew Gher and junior outfielder Alex Acheson, a sacrifice bunt, a run-scoring wild pitch and an RBI ground out by sophomore third baseman Cody Fick. With the score 3-2 in favor of UE, the Purple Aces turned to their bullpen, who shut the door on USI.

Sophomore right-hander Zach Taylor (1-3) tossed 2.0 scoreless innings of relief, giving up just a single while striking out two men to earn the victory on the mound. Seniors John Foley and J.R. Carbonell then tossed scoreless innings, yielding just a base hit each, before junior closer Tom Heithoff worked around a two-out walk in the ninth inning with a scoreless frame to record his sixth save of the year.

Gher led Evansville’s offense by going 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Copeland, Acheson, junior designated hitter Andy Pascoe and sophomore outfielder Greg Wallace also collected hits for UE. Second baseman Brad Vance, third baseman Alex Thieroff and outfielder Chad Werry all had two-hit games for USI, which ranked as high as 22nd nationally in Division II last week.

With the victory, Evansville improves to 16-18 overall and produces its first three-game winning streak of the year. USI, meanwhile, drops to 28-11 on the season. Evansville will now hit the road to begin a five-game road trip this weekend, as the Purple Aces will travel to Peoria, Illinois to battle the Braves of Bradley University in a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series. The series begins Friday night at 6:00 p.m. in a game that can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.