EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A pair of multi-run rallies by Evansville pushed back SIUE softball in a 9-5 loss Wednesday at Cooper Stadium.

Evansville, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, improved to 14-7. SIUE dropped to 2-13.

Next up for the Cougars is a three-game Ohio Valley Conference road trip at Jacksonville State. The Cougars take on the Gamecocks in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Friday and a 1 p.m. single game Sunday in Jacksonville, Alabama.

"We need to continue to work to control the controllables," said SIUE Head Coach Jessica Jones.

SIUE held the first lead of the game Wednesday with a four-run rally in the fourth inning. The Cougars picked up RBIs from Zoe Schafer, Micah Arps and Grace Lueke.

Evansville fought back with a four-run rally of its own in the bottom of the fourth.

Lexi King made it 5-4 in the fifth when she grounded out and drove in Alana Cobb-Adams.

"Our leaders did a good job," said Jones. "They pushed in runs in certain situations."

The lead steered back toward Evansville in the bottom of the fifth. This time the Aces rallied for five runs. Katie McLean and Hannah Hood led the Purple Aces with three RBIs each.

Erin Kleffman was the winning pitcher for Evansville. King took the loss in relief for the Cougars.