Saturday’s MVC Championship game between the Indiana State Sycamores and the Evansville Purple Aces ended in dramatic fashion with Evansville having its back against the wall late in the ninth inning.
Evansville went into the ninth inning facing a 5-2 deficit. A loss would have eliminated the Aces and given Indiana State the conference championship since the Sycamores already defeated them earlier in the winner’s bracket of the tournament.
The Purple Aces were down to the final out after the first two batters were retired in the inning. Evansville needed a miracle to keep their season alive. Fortunately for Aces, that’s exactly what they got.
The next three batters got on base, which brought the winning run to the plate in first baseman Chase Hug. Hug silenced the road crowd at Bob Warn Field with a walk-off grand slam to force a winner-take-all game.
Evansville beat Indiana State on a walk-off grand slam with 2 outs in the 9th! ⚾️💣pic.twitter.com/7pVeLqyIW5
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) May 28, 2023
Many took to social media to appreciate the miraculous walk-off from Hug to keep their season alive.
EVANSVILLE WITH THE ULTIMATE GRAND SLAM AFTER BEING DOWN TO THEIR FINAL STRIKE
— Farm To Fame (@FarmToFame_) May 27, 2023
NO FREAKING WAY!!! ISU was leading in the 9th inning 5-2 & down to their last out /no one on base. The pitcher loaded the bases and then this happened for Evansville……….. @IndStBaseball & @UEBaseball Play a winner take all game at 6:00 ISU is already in the NCAA tourney pic.twitter.com/u3mXGcAMI9
— Tyrone Shelton (@Tyroneshelton) May 27, 2023
EVANSVILLE!!!! Indiana State was 1 out away from a Conference Title, but Chase Hug belted a walk-off Grand Slam to force a winner-take-all game! pic.twitter.com/7dlhvH9TXM
— Peter Flaherty III (@PeterGFlaherty) May 27, 2023
Evansville was down to their final out and forced a win-or-go home game vs Indiana St tonight with this walk-off grand slam 🤯🔥 pic.twitter.com/YKNrZ0sT0t
— Calico Joe (@CalicoJoeMLB) May 27, 2023
It was a fairytale ending to this game for Evansville. However, the celebration of this unlikely win would be short-lived.
The two teams faced off in their second game shortly after this game ended, and it went far differently. Indiana State completely shut down Evansville, avoiding another collapse in the ninth inning in a 6-0 victory to advance to the 2023 NCAA college baseball tournament.
Regular Season Champs ✔️
Tournament Champs ✔️
Sycamores claim the 2023 #MVCBaseball Championship with the 6-0 win over Evansville on Saturday evening#MarchOn pic.twitter.com/KGA3cpwal9
— Indiana State Baseball (@IndStBaseball) May 28, 2023
While Evansville obviously would have loved to win the second game of the matchup as well, their comeback in Game 1 is something that the players on that team will certainly never forget.
[The Comeback on Twitter] Photo Credit: ESPN+
