Aces primed for big season
 With the 2018 season just a week away for the University of Evansville softball team, we continue our preview with a look at the pitchers and catchers for the Purple Aces.
Evansville’s pitching staff will be anchored by junior Morgan Florey, who was named a Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference player. She paced the MVC with 194 strikeouts in 2017 while finishing third with an ERA of 1.99. Joining Florey on the pitching staff are fellow juniors Emily Lockhart, Danielle Cassidy and Ashleigh Downing. Freshman Jamie Nurrenbern will also be in the circle this season for UE.
“When it comes to our pitchers, that is where we will have the most experience coming back,†head coach Mat Mundell said. “Morgan has been very successful for us but I am very excited about how everyone else is coming along. They put in a ton of work in the fall and are ready to make a big step forward in the spring.â€
Florey won 14 games in 2017 while tossing 172 1/3 innings. Downing and Lockhart started 12 games apiece and finished the year with 68 2/3 and 68 innings of work, respectively. In her first season at UE, Cassidy appeared in 12 games while throwing 19 innings.
“The exciting thing is that all of our pitchers do things different, which gives us the ability to mix things up on a game-by-game basis,†Mundell continued.
Behind the plate for the Aces will be junior Bailee Bostic and freshman Eryn Gould. Bostic split time last season with Hayli Scott, playing a total of 33 games while starting 22. She had 7 RBI in 47 plate appearances.
“Both of our catchers bring good offense to our lineup,†Mundell explained. “They can also do some great things defensively and, on days where they are not behind the plate, have the ability to play other positions for us if needed.
