MURRAY, Ky. -- Evansville kept its Missouri Valley Conference Championship run alive Thursday morning with a 6-3 comeback win over Illinois State at Johnny Reagan Field in Murray, Kentucky. The Purple Aces erased an early deficit and broke open a tight game late, scoring four runs over the final two innings to send the Redbirds home and advance to another elimination game tonight at 9:15 p.m. CT. Illinois State’s season ends at 33-24, while Evansville improved to 21-32 with the victory.
Illinois State struck first in the opening inning when Michael Carrano Jr. doubled home Graham Mastros for a 1-0 lead, and the Redbirds later regained the advantage with runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Josh Outlaw tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI single in the fourth before Mastros delivered a sacrifice fly in the fifth to put Illinois State ahead, 3-2. Carrano Jr. paced the Redbirds offensively with two doubles and an RBI, while Mastros added a hit, RBI and run scored.
Evansville answered with timely hitting throughout the afternoon, led by a huge performance from Charlie Longmeier. The leadoff hitter went 5-for-5 with a triple, double, two runs scored and an RBI, igniting the Purple Aces offense from start to finish. Evansville first took the lead in the third inning on RBI doubles from Drew McConnell and Longmeier’s game-tying run on a wild pitch. After falling behind again, the Aces surged ahead for good in the seventh when Longmeier ripped an RBI double down the right-field line before Spike Magill followed with an RBI single to make it 4-3.
The Purple Aces added insurance in the eighth on Reagan Reeder’s solo home run and Simon Schulz’s RBI single, while starter Chris McCormack finished off a complete-game effort on the mound. McCormack scattered six hits and struck out 11 over nine innings, retiring Illinois State in order in the ninth to seal the win. Evansville now turns its attention to tonight’s 9:15 p.m. CT elimination game, while Illinois State exits the tournament after dropping its second game of the week.