Please join us for a Chipotle Giveback on Sunday, March 18 from 4:00-8:00 p.m. on North Green River Road. All proceeds will go toward the White Coat Ceremony for the Doctorate of Physical Therapy Class of 2021. Please mention the giveback upon checking out. 

Submitted by Kendall Turner kt131@evansville.edu

The next SIAM lecture is planned today - Wednesday, March 14 - from noon-1:00 p.m. in Room 100 in Koch Center for Engineering and Science. There will be FREE pizza!

The speaker will be Rose-Hulman professor of mathematics Kurt Bryan (MAA). His topic will be "The $25,000,000,000 Eigenvector: The Linear Algebra Behind Google." 

When Google went online in the late 1990's, one thing that set it apart from other search engines was that its search result listings always seemed to deliver the "good stuff" up front. With other search engines, you often had to wade through screen after screen of links to irrelevant web pages that just happened to match the search text. Part of the magic behind Google is its PageRank algorithm, which quantitatively rates the importance of each page on the web, allowing Google to rank the pages and thereby present to the user the more important (and typically most relevant and helpful) pages first. Bryan will show you how the classic PageRank algorithm works. It involves nothing more than elementary linear algebra, on a system of a few billion equations!

Join UE Connect's Lunch and Learn with Samantha Whitcomb '13, presenting “Adulting 101: What they don't tell you about the real world!” This event is planned for Wednesday, March 14 from noon-1:00 p.m. in Eykamp Hall, Room 253, Ridgway University Center. Free boxed lunch for all students! The deadline to register is March 12.

Samantha Whitcomb is a transplanted Texan who was drawn to UE by its incredible education system and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study abroad. She graduated in May 2013 with a degree in applied mathematics, focusing in business administration. While at UE, she attended Harlaxton College (spring 2011) and was very involved in her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, as well as chairing the homecoming committee two years in a row.

Whitcomb started her career in operations for a small financial firm and then switched to data analytics at the Evansville Teachers Federal Credit Union. She is in her third term on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ohio Valley, where she is also a Big Sister. She has an enormous passion for serving her community and donating her time and talents to organizations dedicated to worthy causes.

Have a suggestion for future Lunch & Learns? E-mail a lunch and learn topic suggestion to us at ueconnect@evansville.edu!

Questions? Contact the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations at 812-488-2586 or alumni@evansville.edu.

Submitted by Nichole Coffey ns50@evansville.edu

A benefit reading of The Vagina Monologues is set for Thursday, March 15, at the University of Evansville. The event begins at 7:00 p.m. in room 126 in Hyde Hall, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $10 for the general public and $7 for students.

Proceeds will be donated to the Albion Fellows Bacon Center in Evansville and the V-Day Rise 2018 campaign. The Albion Fellows Bacon Center works to prevent domestic and sexual violence in the community and offers services to empower victims. V-Day is a global activist movement working for an end to violence against women and girls.

The event is being sponsored by UE4SHE, the Office of Diversity, and the Black Student Union at the University of Evansville.

Tickets will be available for purchase at the door. To purchase tickets in advance, please contact Annette Parks at ap3@evansville.edu.

For more information on the event, go to https://vspot.vday.org/vday/events/57105-university-of-evansville-tvm-2018.

Each staff employee and their guest are invited to attend the Staff Appreciation Dinner at the Log Inn on Wednesday, April 11. The social hour (cash bar and appetizers) begins at 6:00 p.m. and the dinner will begin at 7:00 p.m. Please join Dr. Kazee in the presentation of staff service awards and for the presentation of the Staff Employee of The Year Award.

Invitations will be sent to staff employees via UE campus mail during the middle of March. Please contact Human Resources at ext. 2943 if you have any questions.

Submitted by Lori LeDuc ll138@evansville.edu 

The University of Evansville’s ninth annual William R. Connolly Ethics Lecture is Monday, March 19. The event, which is free and open to the public, will start at 7:00 p.m. in Smythe Lecture Hall (Room 170), Schroeder School of Business Building. William Rory Dickson, assistant professor of Islamic religion and culture at the University of Winnipeg, is the guest lecturer. His topic will be “Islam and the Challenge of E Pluribus Unum.”

The Latin phrase E Pluribus Unum, or “Out of many, One,” was the de facto American motto from 1782 until 1956. Rooted in ancient Greek philosophy, the motto is based upon the Pythagorean ideal of friendship, wherein the love of the other unifies the friends as one. The motto’s profound social meaning is the possibility of a genuine unity forged across the borders of identity. Many observers argue that drawing together peoples of diverse religious, cultural, racial, economic, and ideological identities into a common solidarity remains the great challenge of America. This talk is premised on the question: what might Islam have to contribute to this perpetual and timely challenge? How might Islam’s rich intellectual tradition provide us with conceptual tools to navigate the contemporary social issue of making one out of many?

Dickson completed a joint-PhD in religious studies at Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo, with a specialization in Islamic Studies. As a SSHRC Doctoral Fellow, he attended the University of Toronto and the University of Copenhagen’s Graduate Research School in Damascus, Syria. His research focuses on contemporary Islam in general, and Islamic mysticism (Sufism) in particular. His first book, Living Sufism in North America: Between Tradition and Transformation, explores the ways in which Sufi leaders in North America negotiate Sufisms to Islam, authority, and gender. Dickson is currently preparing a manuscript with Meena Sharify-Funk for an innovative introductory text on Sufism, while continuing a number of research projects on contemporary Islam. He has traveled throughout the Middle East, including Syria, Egypt, and Morocco.

This lecture series is sponsored by UE’s ethics program, Department of Philosophy and Religion.

For more information, contact Lisa Kretz, director of the ethics program at UE, at lk102@evansville.edu.

On Saturday, March 17, the UE Ballroom Dance and Tri-State Athletic Club are once again co-hosting champion instructor Sean Michael Gehlhausen for a St. Patrick's Day West Coast Swing Lesson and Party. The lesson portion of the event will be from 5:30-7:00 p.m., and the party from 7:00-9:00 p.m. There will be student and professional demonstrations, no experience or partner will be necessary, and light hors d'oeuvres will be provided! Only $10 per session or $15 for both for UE students, staff, and faculty. Register by emailing Erin Lewis at EL131@evansville.edu.

Submitted by Erin Lewis el131@evansville.edu

UE Gives Back Spring, a campus wide day of volunteering, will take place on Saturday, March 24. If you want to give back to the Evansville community, you can sign up for a volunteer activity on Get Connected. You can sign up as a team or individual, and the deadline to sign up is March 20. And you get a free T-shirt!

Any questions can be directed to Jackie Luedtke at jl295@evansville.edu or 812-488-1115.

Submitted by Jackie Luedtke jl295@evansville.edu

A partnership between the University of Evansville’s Patricia H. Snyder Concert and Lecture Series and UE’s Department of Law, Politics, and Society will bring to the community a series of stimulating conversations about the contemporary political scene and the challenges it presents. Scheduled events highlighted below will culminate in an evening conversation with Former Indiana Senator Richard Lugar and President Thomas A. Kazee. The day-long series of events are in recognition of Kazee’s career as both president and political scientist.

The following events are free and open to the public on Tuesday, March 20:

State of our Union: Insights from Political Science – An American Politics Panel Discussion
2:00 p.m., Eykamp Hall, Room 252, Ridgway University Center, University of Evansville

• Dr. Robert Dion, Chair, Department of Law, Politics and Society, University of Evansville
• Dr. Marvin Overby, Professor, American Politics, University of Missouri
• Dr. Patrick Sellers, Professor, Political Science, Davidson College

Kazee will moderate the panel discussion and contribute his own personal insights as a political scientist. Professors Overby and Sellers are well-regarded scholars of American politics as well as former students of Kazee.

State of our Union: Making Sense of Current Affairs
7:00 p.m., Eykamp Hall, Ridgway University Center, University of Evansville

A keynote conversation between Senator Lugar and President Kazee for the Spring 2018 Patricia H. Snyder Concert and Lecture Series. Seats may be reserved online. 

While on campus, Senator Lugar will also engage UE students in an invitation-only session titled, “State of our Union: Leaders of Tomorrow – A Student Conversation with Senator Lugar.”

Other events include a conversation between President Kazee and University of Southern Indiana President Linda Bennett at the Rotary Club of Evansville’s noon luncheon.  The focus will be “The Changing Landscape in Higher Education.” Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke will moderate the conversation. Information on obtaining seats can be found online at www.evansvillerotary.com. 

The Patricia H. Snyder Concert and Lecture Series was made possible in 1997 through an endowment from the late Patricia H. Snyder, trustee and longtime friend of University, to bring speakers or performers of renown to Evansville at no cost to the public.

For event questions, please contact snyder@evansville.edu.

Counseling services, with the support of Albion Fellows Bacon Center, is displaying the “What Were You Wearing?” sexual assault survivor art installation. The display features 10 outfits along with brief stories of the sexual assault. The main goal of the exhibit is to promote awareness about sexual violence and to combat victim-blaming by debunking the myth that a survivor could have prevented their assault had they worn something different.

The display can be seen today -Tuesday, March 13 - outside of counseling services on the second floor of Ridgway University Center. Staff from counseling services as well as Albion will be on hand for support and resources from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. and the display will be available for viewing all day.

Submitted by Jennifer Hargus jh693@evansville.edu

Kristina L. Hochwender, will be the speaker for the University of Evansville Andiron Lecture on Wednesday, March 14. The lecture will begin at 4:00 p.m. in Eykamp Hall, Room 252, Ridgway University Center. Hochwender’s topic will be “Child’s Play: Amusement and Reform in Annie Fellows Johnston’s Two Little Knights of Kentucky.”

Hochwender earned her Bachelor of Arts from Cornell College, and her Master of Arts and PhD from Washington University. Since 2007, she has taught literature at UE, where she also currently serves as the director of general education. She was recognized with the Dean’s Teaching Award in 2017. Along with her interest in children’s literature, her research centers on the Victorian clerical novel, and the ways in which the clergyman mediates national and religious identities and crises in novels that captured the Victorian imagination throughout the latter nineteenth century.

Evansville author Annie Fellows Johnston is best remembered for her Little Colonel novels, a series of girls’ books set in an idealized postbellum Kentucky. Published between 1895 and 1910, these novels spawned games, dolls, postcards, tourism, and a film starring Shirley Temple. They also inspired girls’ clubs, school dramas, and fundraising efforts. The second in the series, Two Little Knights of Kentucky, is notable for its presentation of the intersecting worlds of child and adult in response to a child’s first encounter with poverty.

The Andiron Lecture series is sponsored by the William L. Ridgway College of Arts and Sciences. For more information, call 812-488-1070 or 812-488-2589.

The topic of the Scholars for Syria's 2018 Spring Speaker Series lecture today - Thursday, April 5 - will be "Immigration and Syria: Foundations and Consequences of the American Ethnic Hierarchy." The lecture begins at 6:00 p.m. in Room 162 in the Schroeder School of Business Building. The event is free and open to the public. The speaker will be UE assistant professor of sociology Rob Shelby.

Shelby will present the idea that Syrian refugees, like many minority groups before, encounter prejudice and discrimination as widespread negative perceptions persist in American social consciousness. Shelby earned his PhD from the University of Louisville in applied sociology, his graduate degrees in sociology from Western Illinois University and communications from Trinity International University. He earned his undergraduate degree in youth ministry and biblical studies from Trinity International University.

The audience will be invited to engage in conversation with Shelby and UE Syrian students in attendance at the lecture.

For more information on the speaker series, contact 812-488-2218.

Join SAB on Mondays at 5:30 p.m. in Cafe Court for Trivia Night! Winner gets a free Papa Johns pizza delivered anytime anywhere. You do not have to have a meal plan to participate, simply tell the cashier you are there to play trivia.

Submitted by Megan King mk225@evansville.edu 

The Newman Club will be offering a 20-minute rosary prayer every Thursday at 10:00 a.m. in the Center for Academic Advising in the Clifford Memorial Library. Students and faculty are welcome. For more information, contact Olivia at ov4@evansville.edu.

Submitted by Carly Walker cw289@evansville.edu

An exhibition of abstract paintings by Evansville artist Suzanne Farney will be on display in Krannert Gallery through April 1.

Submitted by Corliss Chastain cc270@evansville.edu

Remodeling Kallipolis: Call for Applications

Kallipolis is a conceptual model of a city/state in Plato's Republic that tests intuitions on the relationship between the individual and the state and develops strategies for transforming a social order from systemic injustice to one that promotes justice for all.

The Remodeling Kallipolis Project seeks to re-model portions of Plato's conceptual model in an agent-based computer system in order to explore the consistency and viability of Plato's ideas. While there are good reasons to think that Plato's idealized city cannot be modeled perfectly in a computer simulation, there is little doubt that the attempt to do so will help students 1) gain a better understanding of Plato's Republic, 2) appreciate the complexity of interacting social forces insofar as they affect both individual and collective life, and 3) become sensitive to some of the regulatory factors that govern social change.

The Cognitive Science Modeling Lab (CSML) at the University of Evansville is currently seeking six students to work as a team on the first phases of this project during this coming Fall (2018). While any UE student is eligible to apply, students in the following areas are particularly suited to work on this project: cognitive science, computer science, computer engineering, criminal justice, economics, education, ethics and social change, international studies, mathematics, neuroscience, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology, and statistics and data science.

Work on this project will carry three hours of COGS 492 internship credit. While a computer programming background is not required, it is essential that at least three of the team members have some programming experience, preferably with NetLogo or another agent-based programming language. Familiarity with Plato's Republic is a plus.

Selection of team members will be made by way of an application process. If you are interested in working on this project, please send a cover letter outlining any particular qualifications and motivations you have, a resume or CV, and the name of two UE professors who can comment on the quality of your work to Dr. Anthony Beavers at tb2@evansville.edu. The deadline for applications is March 16th, 2018.
 

This is a reminder to all faculty and departments that textbook adoptions should not be submitted to the UE Bookstore as soon as possible for the Summer session and Fall 2018 term. If you have any questions, please contact the Bookstore. 

Interested in living in a Moore Residence Hall four-person suite for 2018-19? Then get a group together and fill out a Moore Hall suite request card in the residence life office this week. There are three suites in the basement of Moore Hall. Suites will be awarded based on the group’s combined earned credit hours as of the end of the fall 2017 semester. Requests for the Moore Hall suites are due by 5:00 p.m., Friday, March 16.

Submitted by Brian Conner bc32@evansville.edu

Will you be living in a residence hall next year? If so, plan to attend an information session about the residence hall selection process. Sessions will be today at 4:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. in Eykamp Hall, Room 251, Ridgway University Center.

You can find more information on resident life’s housing selection process webpage.

Submitted by Brian Conner bc32@evansville.edu

The process for students to select a room in their current residence hall for next year takes place Tuesday, March 13, 9:00-10:30 p.m. in Eykamp Hall, Ridgway University Center. If you are interested in reserving a room in your same residence hall for next year, please go to Eykamp Hall at this date and time. The building staff will be ready to assist you.

If you would like to switch buildings for next year, submit a housing contract on WebAdvisor and do not sign up for a room in your same hall. You will receive more information about the process to select a room in a different hall later in the week.

Submitted by Brian Conner bc32@evansville.edu

The newest issue of the UE Magazine is now available to view online. Articles include in-depth features with President Tom Kazee and First Lady Sharon Kazee, an update on former UE president Stephen Jennings, campus news, Aces in Action, alumni spotlights, class notes, and more.

Hard copies will arrive in campus offices and alumni mailboxes this week. For additional copies, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations.

Read the Spring 2018 UE Magazine online. 

UE is excited to announce that a British Studies Minor and a British Studies Certificate will be offered beginning the fall of 2018.

The British studies minor requires 18 credit hours. The course (ID H282/H382/H382H – The British Experience from the Celts to the Present Day) is a required six credit hour course. The course will be listed as BRIT H282/H382/H382H in the fall. This course is taken at Harlaxton. The remaining 12 credit hours are from elective courses taken at Harlaxton or UE.

The British Studies Certificate requires 12 credit hours. The course (ID H282/H382/H382H – The British Experience from the Celts to the Present Day) is a required six credit hour course. The course will be listed as BRIT H282/H382/H382H in the fall. This course is taken at Harlaxton. The remaining six credit hours are from elective courses taken at Harlaxton or UE.

For questions concerning the minor or certificate, contact Edward Bujak at ebujak@harlaxton.ac.uk.

British studies minor and certificate currently approved courses:

• Required BRIT H282/H382/H382H  The British Experience from the Celts to the Present Day
• Elective ARTH H378    British Romantic Art
• Elective ARTH H379    Art & Architecture in Victorian Britain
• Elective ARTH H383    Medieval Art
• Elective ARTH H387    English Art & Architecture
• Elective ARTH H388    English Art & Architecture
• Elective EDUC H498    Field Experience in English Schools
• Elective ENGL 231       Masterpieces of British Literature I
• Elective ENGL 232       Masterpieces of British Literature II
• Elective ENGL 233       Masterpieces of British Literature III
• Elective ENGL 300       Early English Writers
• Elective ENGL 350       Shakespeare
• Elective ENGL 351       The British Novel
• Elective ENGL 370       The Age of Enlightenment
• Elective ENGL 375       The Romantic Movement
• Elective ENGL 380       The Victorian Period
• Elective ENGL 385       The Twentieth Century
• Elective HIST 318         The First World War
• Elective HIST 319         The Second World War
• Elective HIST 381         Modern Britain
• Elective HIST 383         Modern Scotland
• Elective HIST 385         Ireland and the Irish Diaspora
• Elective HIST H491      Independent Study - Medieval History
• Elective ID 235             Sacred Architecture and its Liturgy
• Elective ID H280          Cultural Capitals
• Elective ID H290          Britain and Europe
• Elective PSCI H385     Modern British Politics
• Elective REL 250        John Wesley and … Methodists

Submitted by Paula Heldt ph28@evansville.edu

If you have room in your calendar, and are interested in learning more about your passions and how that relates to being a Changemaker, sign up for ChangeLab (GAP) Transformative Action (GAP 310-8Y2, TTH 2:45-4:00 p.m., SB 172). Co-taught by Jen Briggs and Erin Lewis, this class will help you learn more about your own strengths and how to apply them to make a positive change in the world.

Submitted by Cindy Kelley ck116@evansville.edu

The Honors Program is pleased to announce the recipients of the Spring 2018 Honors Program Undergraduate Research Grants: Josh Baty and Alice Daum. Both Josh and Alice will receive funding support from the Honors Program to complete their honors projects.

Josh, a senior biology major, will use his grant funding to conduct research for his honors project entitled “Restriction on Bacterial Diversity Demonstrated by Community Level Physiologic Profiling (CLPP) Using Biolog EcoPlatesTM After Carbon Tetrachloride Exposure and with the Introduction of Bioremedial Nutrients.”

Alice, a senior psychology major, will use her grant funding to conduct a study exploring her honors project topic, “Factors Inhibiting Political Expression.”

Josh and Alice will present the results of their research, along with other Honors Program graduates, in April during the Honors Program Project Presentations. Congratulations, Josh and Alice!
 

Mohammad K. Azarian, professor of mathematics, published reviews of two research papers in the American Mathematical Society's Mathematical Reviews (MathSciNet), the authoritative gateway to the scholarly literature of mathematics.

The first paper, by Tamás Lengyel and Diego Marques, entitled " The 2-Order of Some Generalized Fibonacci Numbers," was published in Integers 17 (2017). In this paper the authors fully characterize the 2-adic valuations of the generalized Fibonacci sequence of order 4. They also partially characterize the 2-adic valuations of the generalized Fibonacci sequence of order 5.

The second paper, by Yildiz Aydin and Ali Pancar, entitled "Frattini Supplements and Frat Series", appeared in the Bulletin of the Iranian Mathematical Society 43 (2017). The authors have shown that finite abelian groups are Frattini supplemented, and every conjugate of a Frattini supplement of a subgroup is also a Frattini supplement. Also, they have obtained new characterization of primitivity of groups in terms of Frattini supplemented groups.

Moreover, Azarian accepted the invitation to serve on the editorial board of The Iranian Journal of Mathematical Sciences and Informatics.

The University of Evansville baseball team got off to another slow start at the plate, staged a late inning rally, only to come up short again, as Florida Gulf Coast University swept the Purple Aces for the weekend, 7-3, Sunday afternoon in Fort Myers.

UE had sophomore right hander David Ellis on the mound, who got in and out of trouble across the first two innings. However, the Eagles would tally the icebreaker in the third frame. With runners on the corners, Ellis picked off Gage Morey in a rundown between first and second base, allowing Marc Coffers to race home, making it 1-0 Florida Gulf Coast.

Ellis would come back out for the fourth inning, and the Eagles proceeded to load up the bases on him with no outs, chasing him from the game. Jace Burke came in to put out the fire, but FGCU would cash in. Jake Smith ripped a two run single through the right side of the infield, giving the Eagles a 3-0 lead. Then, Gage Morey lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center, bringing in Alex Brait, putting Evansville in a 4-0 hole. That would close the book on Ellis, who went three innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on four hits, while striking out one, and walking one.

As for the Ace bats, they struggled through the first five frames against Eagles hurler Evan Lumbert, who struck out four, while scattering three hits and one walk, shutting out Evansville.

"We really struggled against the fastball today", said University of Evansville head coach Wes Carroll. " I feel like the starter for them was very similar to Friday night's starter, didn't have off-speed command, just had fastball. Our plan at the plate wasn't executed very well. Our young club's learning how to compete. This is a Valley-type off opponent, so we'll know what to expect come Valley time."

Lumbert would give way to the bullpen in the sixth inning, and UE would come to life. With sophomore center fielder aboard, freshman Tanner Craig drilled a two strike-two out pitch over the fence in right, cutting the FGCU lead to 4-2.

"His performance today was good", said Carroll. "For him, young guy in my four hole, it's a lot to expect out of the young man. I know he has some hitting savvy, and he's executing and seeing the ball very well."

Then in the eighth, senior right fielder Dalton Horstmeier, with a pair in scoring position, delivered a clutch two out single to left, driving in Kenton Crews to make it 4-3. However, Tanner Craig attempted to come home with the game-tying tally, but got thrown out at home, keeping it a one run game.

"He had a chance with the play at the plate", said Carroll. "Their outfielder made a great throw on him. It was a two outs, two strike read with a chance to tie the ball game."

The Aces bullpen had held Florida Gulf Coast scoreless through three innings. Carroll turned to Jimmy Ward to keep the game close in the bottom of the frame, but a walk and a pair of throwing errors allowed the Eagles to put up three runs, putting the Aces down 7-3.

Evansville attempted one last rally in their final at bat, loading up the bases for Troy Beilsmith. However, the Aces top hitter grounded out to third to end the game. The Aces drop to 5-8 on the season, FGCU is now 13-2.

"We were really close, but close doesn't count", said Carroll. "We didn't finish the comeback because we didn't take care of the baseball in winning time. Against a quality ball club, you can't let lead-off's on base. Over the course of the game, we flirted with lead-off walks, hit-by-pitches and they got us there in the eighth inning because we couldn't take care of the baseball. The big error shows up in the seventh, eighth and ninth inning, and that cost us a chance to win today."

The Aces are back in action Wednesday at home against Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, first pitch is at 6 p.m.

In day two of the Racer Classic, the University of Evansville softball team split games against Kent State and Oakland.  The Purple Aces fell to Kent State by a 6-3 final in game one before earning a 9-6 triumph over Oakland on Saturday evening.

“I thought we pitched really well in both games today,” UE head coach Mat Mundell said.  “We were able to really execute offensively in the second game.  We have been waiting for our offense to turn the corner, hopefully that was it.”

Highlighting game one was a 3-run home run by Morgan Florey, which gave the Aces (7-15) the lead before KSU rallied back.  In game two, the offense erupted for nine runs with the difference being a 4-run sixth inning.

Evansville fell behind by a 2-0 score in game one to Kent State.  The Golden Flashes plated a pair of runs in the opening frame.  UE starter Emily Lockhart kept Kent State off balance and the offense was able to take advantage in the top half of the fifth.

Elyse Hickey hit a 1-out single before Brittany Hay was hit by a pitch.  With two outs, Morgan Florey came to the plate and delivered her second home run in as many weekends to put Evansville on top for the first time at 3-2.

The lead was short-lived, however, as KSU added two runs in both the 5th and 6th frames to finish the contest with a 6-3 victory.  Pacing their offense was Emily Dobbin, who went 3-4 with three RBI and two runs scored.  Evansville racked up eight hits with Florey picking up three and Hickey notching two.

Florey took the ball in game two versus Oakland and got the job done in the circle and at the plate.  She kept the Golden Grizzlies off the board over the first three innings while her offense took a 2-0 lead.  Allison Daggett led the bottom of the third off with a single before Eryn Gould was hit by a pitch.  With one out, Florey came to the plate and delivered an RBI double to center to score Daggett.  Gould would later score on an error.

After Oakland tied it up with a pair of runs in the fourth, the Aces struck back with two more in the bottom of the frame.  Lindsay Renneisen led off with a single and scored the go-ahead run on a double by Ashleigh Downing.  Downing came home on a 2-out single from Gould.

Another run scored in the fifth when Renneisen’s second hit of the day brought home Brittany Hay, who reached on a fielder’s choice earlier in the inning.  Evansville put the icing on the cake with four runs in the sixth.  Two came off the bat of Hay, who hit a 2-run single before McKenzie Johnson notched a 2-run double to give UE a 9-3 lead.  Oakland rallied in the seventh with three runs, but Florey was able to close out the 9-6 win. 

UE notched nine runs on ten hits in the game with Gould, Johnson and Renneisen posting two apiece.  Daggett, Hay and Gould each recorded two runs.  Florey threw all seven innings in the start on the way to her fourth win of the season.
 

The University of Evansville baseball team showed signs of life at the plate, rallying back against Florida Gulf Coast in the late innings, however the Purple Aces ran out of outs, falling 4-2 on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Swanson Stadium in Fort Myers.

UE sent out junior left hander pitcher Alex Weigand to the hill to start, who was coming off his best start of the season against Western Illinois. However, the momentum didn't carry over, as he fell into a deep hole early. The Eagles opened the bottom of the first with a single and a throwing error, putting two on with no outs. Two batters later, Richie Garcia lifted a double to left-center, driving in a pair. Later in the opening frame, Jay Hayes launched a sacrifice fly to right, putting FGCU up 3-0 at the end of one.

"We didn't come out ready to play", said University of Evansville baseball head coach Wes Carroll. "Our starter on the mound gave up a two strike hit, muffs a bunt, gets crossed up and gave away too many freebies at the start of the game. Defensively, we didn't play good enough behind him."  

After getting out of the second inning unscathed, Weigand would get in trouble again, as a double, a hit batter and a walk loaded up the bases with no one out, ending Weigand's day. Sophomore reliever Adam Lukas would come in and put out the fire with minimal damage, allowing a single tally on a double play. Weigand's line on the day was four runs, three earned on three hits, getting one strike out and one walk in two innings of work. Lukas and senior set-up man Ryan Brady and reliever Jimmy Ward would combine to keep Florida Gulf Coast off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

The Aces bats were held silent through the first six innings, as Eagles junior southpaw Josh Dye held them scoreless on just three hits. Dye would pile up a career-high nine strikeouts across the first six frames.

"Our bats, against a really good pitcher in Dye", said Carroll. "He did a really good job keeping us off balanced through six innings."

However, UE would finally catch up to Dye in the seventh. Matt Jones got the ball rolling for the Aces with an RBI single to center, driving in senior outfielder Dalton Horstmeier. Cooper Trinkle would follow that up with a single to left, putting two aboard for sophomore outfielder Kenton Crews. Crews would proceed to groove an RBI single, cutting the Florida Gulf Coast lead to 4-2.

"In winning time, what we got out of our bullpen in Lukas and Brady, giving us a chance, where we showed some life", said Carroll. "We got a couple of runs back."

That would be as close as the Aces would get, as they dropped to 5-7 on the season. The Eagles are now 12-2.

"Against a good opponent, we're just not ready to play", said Carroll. "We still haven't played a solid nine innings of baseball, from pitching to defense to timely hitting. I feel like we haven;t done that against a good opponent. Here we are, playing a Florida Gulf Coast team, a (Missouri) Valley type of team, a team we're going to have to face in the next couple of weeks. We did not absorb any pressure and reapply it. How poorly we played, we still had an opportunity to win this game, and that's something we're going to continue to work on."

Evansville would look to avoid the sweep Sunday morning, when they send sophomore starting pitcher David Ellis out to face FGCU.  First pitch from Fort Myers has been moved up to 9:30 a.m. Central Time.  

The University of Evansville baseball team rolled into Swanson Stadium winners of four straight, and Florida Gulf Coast University put an emphatic end to to the streak, as the Purple Aces fell 10-0.

UE sent out junior starting pitcher Austin Allinger to face the Eagles, and quickly fell behind as Mark Coffers stroked a double to lead off the bottom of the first and would eventually score the icebreaker on a fielder's choice, making 1-0 FGCU.

Allinger would get in more trouble in the second frame, as Eric Gonzalez tagged him for a 2-run shot, pushing the Florida Gulf Coast lead to 3-0.

Gonzalez would strike again in the bottom of the 4th, driving in another Eagles tally, making it 4-0 FCGU. Florida Gulf Coast would add to the pad later in the inning as an error by sophomore shortstop Craig Shepherd allowed Alex Brait to cross home plate with an unearned run. Richie Garcia would follow that up with a two-run double to the gap in right-center, chasing Allinger from the game. The junior hurler went 3 2/3 innings giving seven runs, four earned, while striking out four.

Hunter Porterfield would come out of the bullpen to try to put out the fire, but the Eagles weren't finished in the fourth frame. Eli Lovell singled in a pair, pushing the Florida Gulf Coast advantage to 9-0.

"We couldn't minimize the big inning", said University of Evansville head coach Wes Carroll. They hung a six-spot on us in the fourth inning, a couple of them unearned runs. Any time you give up a big inning like that versus a quality starter, our offense couldn't come out of the hole for us."

The Aces and Eagles will square off again tomorrow back FGCU's Swanson Stadium, with UE sending out junior southpaw Alex Weigand, while Florida Gulf Coast counters with junior lefty Josh Dye.

"We feel like we have a good idea how to work through their lineup now, going into tomorrow", said Carroll. "The good thing is they can't carry over any of those runs, and I know our guys are going to come to the yard expecting to win and compete at a very high level."

Morgan Florey was once again dominant in the circle, but the University of Illinois at Chicago broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 8th inning to earn a 1-0 win over the University of Evansville softball team on Friday in the Racer Classic.

Evansville (6-13) mustered up five hits in the game with four of those coming in the opening three frames.  UE looked to be in business in the top of the first as Brittany Hay reached via a bunt single, but she was caught stealing before Allison Daggett reached on a single.

Lindsay Renneisen helped Evansville threaten again in the sixth, lacing a 1-out double to left.  She advanced to third with two outs, but was stranded on base as UE left 11 on in the game.  In the 8th, Bailee Porter pinch ran for Florey, who was placed on second to begin the inning.  The Flames were able to get three quick outs before the offense scored in the bottom half of the inning.

Emily Wetzel was placed on second to start the frame before scoring the game-winner on a Tiana Mack-Miller single.

Florey had another outstanding pitching effort, going the distance while striking out 11.  Mea Adams, McKenzie Johnson, Renneisen, Daggett and Hay picked up the hits for UE.

Graduate guard Hannah Noe scored a game-high 23 points as the University of Evansville women's basketball team dropped its 2018 Missouri Valley Conference opener to Bradley, 77-49, in Moline, Ill. on Thursday night.

"Our team had a really good week of practice going into the tournament. You play a team like Bradley that's a really tough opponent for us considering what happened the first two times we played they won by an average of 51.5 points. We knew the start of the game was going to be critical for us and I actually thought our players did a really nice job with the gameplan and our execution and we had the lead early and I told them that if we could do that, hopefully we could just keep building the confidence on both ends and then hopefully at some point Bradley would start getting a little tight and a little nervous considering the situation and what has happened in the prior games but they went on a run there towards the end of the first and just kind of took control of the game and we just didn't have an answer for them," said Aces head coach Matt Ruffing. "We've got a lot of work to do in the offeseason. You don't want to have a season like we had before and hopefully all the bad luck we had this year will be done now since the season is over and we have a lot of good luck moving forward."

Noe led all-scorers on the night with 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Joining Noe in double-figures was sophomore center Kaylan Coffman who finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, and a career-high five blocks. The Braves were led by Gabi Haack with 20 points, hitting five three-pointers, adding seven rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

Evansville opened the game strong both offensively and defensively as the Aces jumped out to a 9-4 lead with 6:54 left in the first quarter. The Braves cut the Aces' advantage to just one at 9-8 just over a minute later, but following the media timeout, junior guard Kerri Gasper hit a pair of free throws to push Evansville's lead to three at 11-8 with 4:44 remaining in the opening period. Over the final 4:07 of the quarter, Bradley manufactured a 16-0 run to close the period as the Braves grabbed a 24-11 lead following the opening 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, Coffman opened the frame with a jumper to stop the Braves' run. Following Coffman's basket, Bradley put together a 16-3 run pushing its lead to 40-16 with 1:16 left on the clock in the period. With 1:01 left in the quarter, sophomore guard Macie Lively drained a three-pointer to trim Bradley's lead to 40-19, but the Braves closed the period with a pair of free throws as Bradley took a 42-19 advantage into the half.

On the heels of a championship at the Hilltopper Spring Fling, the University of Evansville softball team looks to keep the momentum rolling this weekend at the Racer Classic.  Evansville will be pitted against UIC, Kent State, Murray State and two meetings against Oakland.

Pitching and defense were the name of the game as the Purple Aces went 4-1 last weekend at the Hilltopper Spring Fling.  UE’s pitching staff tossed a total of 34.0 innings, finishing with an impressive 0.62 ERA while giving up just six total runs, three of which were earned.  The defense fielded .970 to assist in that effort.

Offensively, McKenzie Johnson batted .429 at the tournament with two solo home runs.  Eryn Gould finished the event at .357 with five hits while Allison Daggett and Morgan Florey also registered five hits apiece.  Florey hit a 3-run home run on Sunday to help UE clinch the championship.

Florey, this week’s MVC Pitcher of the Week, made four pitching appearances last weekend, tossing 21 1/3 innings and finishing with an ERA of 0.98. Even more impressive were her strikeout numbers as she racked up 45 K’s – over two per inning.  Florey’s 18 K’s were the second-most in an NCAA game this season while her total of 103 strikeouts ranks fifth in the country.  Even more impressive - Florey begins this week with 40 more strikeouts than any other pitcher in the Valley.

Jaime Nurrenbern had the best weekend of her college career, making two starts while not giving up a single run at the Hilltopper Spring Fling.  She started Friday’s game against Dayton, tossing four innings of 1-hit ball. She struck out two and walked one. Nurrenbern took the ball on Saturday versus the Flyers once again and went five frames of scoreless work while allowing four hits on the way to her first victory at UE. Her ERA for the weekend was a perfect 0.00.

Freshman Eryn Gould continues to lead the team with a .373 batting average and checked in with a solid .357 at Western Kentucky.  On February 12, Gould was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week after batting .600 at the Mardi Gras Classic.  Gould has recorded a hit in 12 out of her first 18 college games thus far.  Her stats stack up well in the MVC as her 34 total bases ranks fourth in the league while her .373 average is ninth.  The freshman leads the team in at-bats, hits, doubles, triples, total bases, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.

Three freshmen have started all 18 games for the Aces as Gould, Allison Daggett and Lindsay Renneisen have accomplished the feat; fellow frosh Elyse Hickey has started 14 games while seeing action in 16.  The four have scored 25 of the teams 62 runs and have notched 10 out of 16 doubles on the year.

Friday’s opener pits the Aces against UIC.  The Flames are 5-4 on the season.  The squads were set to meet in the season-opening Mardi Gras Classic, but weather cancelled the contest.  Friday evening will see UE take on Oakland, who starts play 3-9.  On Saturday, UE opens up versus Kent State, who has the best record of the five teams in the event at 9-6.  Evansville wraps up the day with a game against Oakland before facing host Murray State, who is 6-12, on Sunday morning.

University of Evansville junior Madison Chaney was named the Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Golfer of the Week by the league on Thursday.

Chaney picked up a solid 9th place finish as the Purple Aces competed at the Lonnie Barton Invitational in St. Augustin, Fla.  She opened the tournament with a 79 before carding a 78 in the second round on her way to a 13-over 157 for the tournament.

Her efforts helped the Aces earn a 5th place finish as a team.

Next up for Chaney and the Aces is the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate in Sevierville, Tenn. from March 18-20.