One tough inning hurt the Valparaiso University baseball team in Friday’s series opener at Emory G. Bauer Field. Visiting Evansville put a six spot in the sixth in an eventual 8-1 win. Freshman Jeremy Drudge (Plymouth, Ind. / Plymouth) collected three of Valpo’s four hits.

How It Happened

• Neither team got on the board in the first three innings as Valpo starting pitcher Jon Tieman (Crystal Lake, Ill. / Prairie Ridge) and Evansville’s Adam Lukas traded zeros. After permitting a bloop single to lead off the game, Tieman sent down nine straight.
• Evansville (20-18, 7-3) jumped on the board in the fourth inning on a triple by Tanner Craig and then Craig scored on an error moments later to make it 2-0. Valpo had a quick response in the fourth when Drudge placed a double down the right-field line to slice the lead in half.
• When Lukas walked back-to-back men to begin the fifth, his fifth and sixth walks of the day, the Evansville starter was given the hook. Left-handed reliever Michael Parks came on with his team clinging to a 2-1 lead. He worked out of the jam with three consecutive outs.
• That set the stage for a prosperous sixth for Evansville where the Purple Aces batted around to the tune of six runs on four hits. Parks (2-1) was strong in relief, going three scoreless innings to pick up the victory. Tieman (2-7) took the defeat.
• Josh Currier (Mokena, Ill. / Lincoln Way Central) worked two scoreless innings while Tanner Skidmore (Timberville, Va. / Broadway [Potomac State]) put up a goose egg in his frame of work for Valpo.

Inside the Game

• Drudge enjoyed a career-high three hits. He has heated up of late and has as many hits in Valpo’s last three games (five) as he did in his first 19 appearances.
• Valpo’s top of the lineup was unusually quiet, although Riley Dent (Long Beach, Calif. / Wilson) and Sam Shaikin (West Hills, Calif. / Chatsworth) did draw two walks apiece.
• Valpo batters have worked 14 walks over the last two games.
• Skidmore has not allowed a run in any of his last three outings, while Currier has turned the same trick with a scoreless streak that spans four innings.

Up Next

In the unlikely event that the weather cooperates, Valpo (8-28, 1-9) will host Evansville on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Emory G. Bauer Field. If the current forecast holds, we will be letting you know about a schedule change on Saturday morning. When the second and third games of the series are played, live audio and stats will be available.