Box Score

The DBU Patriot Baseball Team dropped the opener of a three-game series to University of Evansville, Friday, with the visiting club taking an 8-4 win. The two clubs return to Horner Ballpark for a Saturday doubleheader, scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
 
DBU drops to 25-12 with the loss, with Evansville improving to 23-13. The two clubs are now tied atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings, each with a record of 5-2 in league play.
 
The Purple Aces relied on solid starting pitching and timely hitting in Friday's win, getting seven strong innings from starter Kyle Freeland, and scoring all eight runs with two outs. Taking advantage of a two-out error in the first, Evansville scored a pair of unearned runs on a double by Boomer Synek.
 
DBU immediately countered with a pair of runs in the bottom half, as Mike Wesolowski singled up the middle, scoring Camden Duzenack and David Martinelli, who had reached on a bunt single and double, respectively.
 
The visitors regained the lead in the third, running the score to 5-2 on a trio of RBI singles off the bats of Eric McKibban, Jonathan Ramon, and Shain Showers.
 
Things went quiet for both clubs, with neither team scoring following the top of the third, until the Purple Aces broke things open in the eighth, scoring another three runs off DBU reliever Sean Stutzman, running their lead to 8-2.
 
The Patriots responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the eighth, as Daniel Salters hit a towering home run over the right field wall, scoring Justin Wall who previously reached on a single, cutting the Evansville lead down to the eventual final of 8-4.
 
Paul Voelker drops to 6-3 after working five innings, allowing five runs, three of them earned, on eight hits. The junior struck out three and walked two. Stutzman worked four innings of relief, allowing the three eighth inning runs on four hits.
 
On the offensive end, Duzenack and Trevin Sonnier each earned a pair of hits, part of an eight-hit DBU attack. Wesolowski and Salters each tallied a pair of runs batted in, with four different players each crossing the plate one time.
 
After scoring a pair of runs in the first, DBU had no answer for Freeland. The junior top prospect allowed the two runs on seven hits, striking out 12 without allowing a walk. Freeland entered the evening third in the nation in strikeout to walk ratio at 18.75.
 
"I liked how we got on Freeland early," said DBU Head Coach Dan Heefner, "but we really missed an opportunity to get more runs early on. He did a good job, his slider was outstanding; he has great command."
 
Ramon led a 12-hit attack for Evansville, tallying a game-high three, knocking in one and scoring one. Synek and Showers each added two, with Synek joined by Kevin Kaczmarski to lead the team with two RBI each. Kaczmarski also led the team with two runs scored.