Three reasons UE baseball beat Southern Illinois to open the MVC tournament
The University of Evansville baseball team got what it needed in the seventh inning. While the Purple Aces only had one ball leave the infield, they scored four runs to retake the lead with Ty Rumsey’s RBI single, a hit batter, four walks and a fielding error. Then starting pitcher Nick Smith got through the bottom half of the inning with no damage.
The seventh was No. 4-seeded UE’s turning point in a 7-3 win over No. 3 seed Southern Illinois in its Missouri Valley Conference Tournament opener Wednesday morning in Terre Haute. The Aces trailed by one run heading into the frame but took advantage of the Salukis’ bullpen mishaps after starter Jordan Bloemer was replaced.
“Getting this win is huge, especially for the bodies,” Rumsey said. “Getting our offense clicking helped us and just giving us confidence through the whole game today and hopefully carrying it over to tomorrow.”
The result was a crucial opening win for UE. The Aces will face either No. 2 Missouri State or No. 2 Belmont in the second round at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. It's a double-elimination tournament.
“From here, you gotta win three more games, whereas if you lose Game 1, you gotta go and win five in a row,” coach Wes Carroll said. “I believe in this club, I believe we’ve got a lot of fight to us.”
Here are three reasons the Aces started their campaign with a victory.
Nick Smith’s impressive performance on the mound
Smith had a rough opening in the first inning when Southern Illinois took a 1-0 lead off a solo shot from Pier-Olivier Boucher. The Salukis got two hits in the opening frame and left two on.
After that, Smith was dealing.
UE’s typical Friday starter adjusted. The Boonville High School graduate finished with three strikeouts, two earned runs and two walks in an eight-inning effort, which tied a career best. Smith found success with his high fastball against the heart of Southern Illinois' order.
Nick Smith: 'Dependable' Boonville grad Nick Smith has become UE's ace and the MVC's top pitcher
“That’s kind of the bread and butter of my whole repertoire,” Smith said. “Being able to exploit that, it’s easily my best pitch, and being able to land that and use that to my strengths, that’s whenever the best baseball comes out.”
Smith’s deep run also allowed the Aces to preserve their bullpen, a crucial aspect to the tournament strategy.
“Big-time players step up in big-time games,” Carroll said. “Nick delivered for us.”
Ty Rumsey’s performance and the outfield’s defense
Rumsey’s RBI in the seventh set the Aces up for victory at the plate, but he, Mark Shallenberger and Eric Roberts in the outfield made several defensive plays to keep Southern Illinois at bay. The North High School graduate went 2-for-4 in the nine hole with his RBI playing the key role in UE’s winning inning. He also did his job in the outfield to keep runners from advancing.
“It comes down to small ball and playing with your head,” Rumsey said. “You gotta know how strong your arm is and know where you can go. Know the situation if you’re up, need to keep the lead, keep them off scoring position.”
Rumsey, Shallenberger and Roberts combined for five throws to the infield to keep SIU runners from advancing or scoring. Carroll credited Smith for getting Saluki batters to chase pitches that put UE in a position to keep them from progressing.
“They’ve been great all year for us,” Carroll said.
Evan Waggoner’s two-way game
Happy birthday, Evan Waggoner.
The UE catcher celebrated the start of his 21st year with a two-run home run in the second inning to give the Aces their first lead. Waggoner went 2-for-3 with two RBIs while keeping the ball in front of him behind the plate. There were three occasions he stopped a wild pitch from getting past to prevent free bases.
“I thought as a team, we brought out the bats pretty well,” Waggoner said. “That’s just what it’s about: Grinding out at-bats, getting to the next pitcher, doing everything we can.”
“Him delivering the barrel and getting us the lead early in the game was key,” Carroll said. “For us to be able to get out in front for Nick was huge. … Just another standout performance from our young catcher.”
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville baseball beats Southern Illinois in MVC tournament opener
