Evansville, IN – Designated hitter Reid Brown provided three hits but the Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team could not overcome another Evansville big inning in a 10-5 loss, Tuesday night, at German American Bank Field.
Austin Peay (8-18) scored the game’s first run after posting three hits in the first inning. Left fielder Gino Avros and center fielder TJ Foreman each singled to start the game. After Evansville turned a fly out into a double play, first baseman Ty DeLancey drove in Foreman with a single for the early 1-0 lead.
Austin Peay State University starter Collin Loose made the early run stand up through two innings. He worked around walks in both the first and second innings to keep Evansville off the scoreboard. However, he ran into trouble in the third, as four of the five batters he faced in the inning reached safely.
Shortstop Simon Sherry drove in a run with a fielder’s choice and second baseman Brent Widder put Evansville ahead with his RBI single, ending Loose’s outing. The Purple Aces kept the scoring coming against the APSU bullpen with third baseman Evan Berkey providing a RBI single before the Govs could record the second out.
But the out did not stem the Evansville run, with left fielder Danny Borgstrom driving in two with a single. After a walk loaded the bases, designated hitter Mark Shallenberger hit a grand slam to left-center field capping the Purple Aces’ nine-run third inning.
Austin Peay State University would chip away at the 9-1 deficit with two runs in the fourth and two more in the seventh. The Governors would then load the bases in the ninth, bringing the tying run on deck, but Evansville escaped with a pair of strikeouts to end the game.
Reid Brown went 3-for-5 with an RBI to lead APSU, which out-hit Evansville 11-7. DeLancey and third baseman Michael Robinson had two hits each.
Loose (0-1) allowed four runs on two hits and four walks in 2.1 innings to suffer a loss in his first decision since the end of the 2020 season.
Shallenberger paced the Purple Aces with a 3-for-3, four RBI outing that also saw him score twice. Widder went 2-for-4 with two RBI, including a fourth-inning solo home run.
Evansville reliever Tyler Denu (1-2) notched his first win after limiting APSU to one run on two hits in 2.1 innings of relief in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Purple Aces starter Donovan Shultz (1-2) did not qualify for the win after allowing three runs on six hits over 3.1 innings.
Next Up For APSU Baseball
The Austin Peay State University baseball team returns to Clarksville for a quick three-game homestand when it hosts Southeast Missouri in an Ohio Valley Conference series, beginning Friday.
