Wichita State survives Evansville’s late rally to win series

There is one goal this weekend for Wichita State baseball and that is to outscore Evansville center fielder Kevin Kaczmarski.

The Shockers are winning, but not without a lot of anxious moments. WSU defeated Evansville 10-7 on Saturday in rain-delayed drama at Eck Stadium.

WSU (21-29, 8-9 Missouri Valley Conference) won an MVC series for the first time since early April and with a win Sunday can sweep the Aces for the first time since 2004 and for the first time at home since 1997. The Shockers hit two home runs and led 5-0 and 8-2 before surviving a five-run rally in the eighth inning by Evansville (27-21, 8-12).

Gunnar Troutwine and Chase Rader homered for WSU. Ryan Tinkham drove in four runs and missed a three-run homer by an inch or less. The bottom three hitters — Mikel Mucha, Tanner Kirk and Trey Vickers — combined for five hits, three runs and three RBI, sparking two crucial two-out rallies that produced five runs.

“It indicates we’re fighting until the final out of the inning,” WSU coach Todd Butler said. “Line drives by Kirk and Vickers in the eighth gave us a little bit of cushion. If we don’t score those two runs in the eighth, it’s a closer ball game.”

It took all that to subdue Kaczmarski, who is 7 for 8 in the two games with six of Evansville’s 10 RBIs and three of its four extra-base hits.

“Regardless of where you put it, he’s going to put a good swing on it,” said WSU reliever John Hayes, who struck out Kaczmarski in Friday’s 4-3 win and surrendered a three-run double on Saturday.

Butler didn’t hold back any of his praise. Kaczmarski, a senior, entered the game hitting a nation-leading .479 and raised that average to .488 after going 3 for 3 with two doubles on Saturday. Butler loves that he taps his helmet before each at-bat like Alex Gordon. He loves his consistent, compact swing and loves using him as an instructional example. He walked in the first, with a runner at second, because WSU starter Jeb Bargfeldt pitched him outside the strike zone. He singled with one out in the third, doubled to drive in a run in the fifth and doubled again in the eighth.

“One of the best hitters in the country,” Butler said. “When he comes up, they are going to score, every time he’s up. I wish our players would watch him not pull off the ball. He keeps his shoulder to the pitcher every pitch and stays to the baseball. That’s the key to hitting.”

The Shockers cruised into the eighth inning with an 8-2 lead. They hit with power and knocked out Evansville starter Matt Rodgers in the third inning. They made reliever Matt Brady pay for hitting Kirk with an 0-2 pitch in the left elbow with two outs in the fifth, a mistake that led to three runs. Bargfeldt worked with two or more runners on base in four of his five innings. The lefty survived with off-speed pitches that produced helpful ground balls and some good fortune.

All that good work almost went to waste in the eighth. Reliever Ray Ashford, with one out, walked two hitters and Steward Nelson’s single loaded the bases. Two singles scored two runs and brought Kaczmarski up. He doubled off Hayes to drive in three runs and cut WSU’s lead to 8-7.

Jonathan Ramon reached on an infield single and Kaczmarski held at second. Korbin Williams smashed a line drive that Rader jumped for and snagged at third base. He doubled off Kaczmarski to end the inning.

“Most of the time you try to pitch and let your defense work, but that was a missile,” Hayes said. “I pretty much threw it up there and let the defense work.”

WSU’s defense sparkled in the ninth, as well. Right fielder Sam Hilliard ran down a short pop fly by Billy Lipari near the foul line and caught it on the bounce. In one quick motion, he threw to second to force Shain Showers for the first out. Eric McKibban blasted a ball to Kirk at second. He caught it on a short hop to start a game-ending double play.

WSU muscled up to take a 4-0 lead after three innings.

Hilliard tripled in the first and scored on Ryan Tinkham’s sacrifice fly.

In the third, Troutwine homered to left, driving in Tinkham. With one out. Rader homered off the scoreboard to make it 4-0 and end the day for Rodgers. He walked three and gave four hits, three for extra bases, in 2 1/3 innings.

In the fourth, Tinkham doubled off the top of the wall in left-center to drive in Daniel Kihle for a 5-0 lead. Tinkham said he thought the ball cleared the fence for a three-run homer before it hit a rock out-cropping and bounced back. Kaczmarski, the closest fielder, described the ball hitting the corner of the top of the wall.

“It was so close to going out,” Kaczmarski said.

A double play saved him Bargfeldt in the first. He got leadoff hitter Josh Jyawook to ground out to first base in the second with the bases loaded. Bargfeldt created that drama when he bounced a throw off Tinkham’s chest at first base, allowing Lipari to reach with two outs.

After a 1-2-3 third, the top of the Aces order got to Bargfeldt for three straight hits. Kevin Kaczmarski drove in a run with a double, extending his hitting streak to 22 games, and another run scored on a groundball. Bargfeldt, however, kept WSU with a 5-2 lead with a flyball to end the inning.

Evansville reliever Ryan Brady self-destructed in the fifth after getting two outs. He hit Tanner Kirk in the left hand with an 0-2 pitch and Kirk stole second base with the Aces barely paying attention. Trey Vickers lofted a single into short right field to score Kirk and give WSU a 6-2 lead.

Worth noting — WSU honored senior catcher Bob Arens and senior pitcher Ray Ashford before the game, presenting both with framed jerseys … Lightning and rain delayed the game from 1:48 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. … Evansville right fielder Jarod Perry extended his on-base streak to 49 games with a single in the fifth. His streak started in the last game of the 2014 season … The Shockers won their seventh straight at home, longest streak this season.

This story was originally published May 9, 2015 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Wichita State survives Evansville’s late rally to win series."