March 25, 2000

Box Score

Evansville, Ind. - Evansville scored two runs in the bottom of the 11th inning and Joe Noel drilled a shot up the middle to score the game-winning run for a 5-4 victory over visiting UIC Saturday afternoon.

The Flames took a one-run lead in the top of the 11th as Weber Bowen and J.P. Moran each drew a walk and advanced a base on a pass ball. A wild pitch then scored J.P. Moran to put UIC ahead 4-3.

Evansville, however, led off the bottom of the 11th with a pair of hits and then an error at third loaded the bases up. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Phil Broshears scored one run to tie the game at 4-4 before the game-winning single by Noel gave the Purple Aces the victory.

UIC held a 3-0 lead through seven and a half innings, scoring two in the fourth and one more in the seventh. Back-to-back singles by John Rosner and Curtis Granderson sparked the fourth-inning rally as Sean McNichols drove in one run while Jason Hughes' single past second baseman Anthony Molina scored Granderson.

Starter Kevin Ryan turned in a tremendous effort on the mound, throwing six complete innings without giving up a hit while striking out a pair. UIC's defense also helped him out as first baseman Hughes, playing for the injured Bob Rosinski, and shortstop McNichols each made some outstanding snags.

Gene Rausch, then took the mound for UIC in the seventh and got the Flames to just four outs away from a no-hitter. Relievers Steve Carlson and Brad Mears, however, couldn't keep the Evansville bats quiet any longer.

The Purple Aces tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth as they loaded the bases up on a pair of walks and a hit batter. After a foul out to first base, Evansville roped back-to-back hits, a single and a double, to plate three runs.

UIC had a chance to take the lead in the top of the 10th as Rosner led off with a walk and a single by Granderson put runners on first and third. Granderson, however, was caught stealing and then the Flames were unable to execute a suicide squeeze as Rosner was caught off of third base after McNichols failed to make contact with the chin-high pitch out.

Mears was handed the loss to put his record at 1-3 and the Flames fell to 6-15. Evansville improves to 16-5. UIC and the Purple Aces will wrap up their three-game series tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at Carson Center Field.