Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In the bottom of the fifth, the University of Evansville baseball team broke a 4-4 tie and used a five-run sixth inning to take a commanding lead over IPFW, as the Aces won, 14-6, to sweep the three-game series Sunday afternoon at Braun Stadium. Evansville now owns a 15-9 record, while the Mastodons fell to 4-16 on the year.

Senior Cody Fick (5-0) earned his fifth straight win on the mound, throwing seven full innings, allowing four runs, two earned, on seven hits, and three walks, while striking out four. Fick also had a good day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three runs batted in and two runs scored.

Senior Greg Wallace led the Aces’ bats with four hits (a single, two doubles, and a triple), four runs, and an RBI, while seniors Jared Baehl and Nate Smith, as well as, junior Trentt Copeland all recorded two hits on the day. Senior Ryan Oesterle belted his third home run of the season in UE’s fifth inning rally, tallying three RBI and two runs scored in the victory. Senior Shawn Kuester also finished with three RBI.

The Aces struck first in the bottom of the opening inning when sophomore Eric Stamets and Wallace hit back-to-back singles to get things started. Fick and Oesterle knocked in the two runs on consecutive groundouts to shortstop. Oesterle was robbed of a single when his hard hit ball up the middle ricocheted off the bag at second base and bounced right into the hands of shortstop Will Faulkner who made the play at first, as Wallace crossed the plate to give UE a 2-0 lead.

However, the Mastodons tied it up in their next at-bats when Kristian Gayday brought home two unearned runs on a single after Kurt Dudley reached on a single and Cody Galbraith on an error. IPFW took the lead in the fourth inning briefly when Gayday tallied another RBI single, plating Galbraith who reached on a fielder’s choice for a 3-2 advantage.

IPFW starter Samuel Walker walked Baehl and hit Smith to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Copeland singled to advance the runners and freshman Jake Mahon followed with a fielder’s choice that plated Baehl. Kuester knocked home Smith on a sacrifice fly to centerfield to give UE a 4-3 lead.

The Mastodons tied it up one last time in the fifth after a leadoff walk and RBI single by Faulkner, but the Aces retorted with the go-ahead run that gave them the lead for the rest of the way in the bottom of the frame. Wallace led off with a double to right-center and scored on Fick’s single to left field for the 5-4 advantage.

The Aces had a huge sixth inning, scoring five runs on five hits. Copeland led off the side with a double down the left field line and crossed the plate on Kuester’s single. With two outs, Wallace and Fick belted back-to-back doubles and Oesterle capped the offensive burst with a two-run bomb that would have landed on the Lloyd Expressway had the protective netting not been there.

UE tallied another run in the bottom of the seventh to put the Aces up 11-4 when Smith led off with a double and scored on Kuester’s fielder’s choice.

IPFW scored two runs in the eighth off reliever Peter Spear on Kurt Dudley’s RBI triple, but Evansville made up for it in the bottom half with three more insurance runs after Wallace led off with a triple of his own and Baehl brought him and Fick home on a single through the right side. Oesterle reached on a walk and scored on a pass ball to give UE its 14^th run of the game.

Spear allowed two runs on one hit and struck out one in his one inning of work. Freshman righty Tyler Miller wrapped up the ninth inning for the Aces, allowing no runs and two hits.

Walker (1-2) took the loss for IPFW, throwing four full innings and to two batters in the fifth, including UE’s go-ahead run.

The Aces are back in action Tuesday when they travel to Austin Peay for a 6:00 p.m. CDT start. They are back at Braun Wednesday against SIU-Edwardsville, also at 6:00 p.m.