EVANSVILLE, Ind. – German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville is not necessarily known as a home run-friendly ballpark. That will be put to the test on Tuesday night, though, as two of the nation’s top home run teams will do battle, with the University of Evansville baseball team hosting Lipscomb at 6 p.m.
Evansville will enter Tuesday night’s game ranked 70th in the country in home runs with 53. The Purple Aces have launched at least one home run in nine-straight games, which ranks as the third-best streak in the last decade at Evansville, behind only an 11-game and 10-game streak set last season by UE. Lipscomb, meanwhile, ranks 20th in the country in home runs, as the Bisons have bashed 70 home runs this year, including seven over the weekend in a series victory over Bellarmine.
Individually, Evansville is led in home runs by graduate outfielder/pitcher Eric Roberts, who currently leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 14 home runs. Junior second baseman Kip Fougerousse launched two home runs over the weekend, and he currently sits second on the team with eight home runs. Fougerousse has been on fire at the plate, hitting safely in nine of his last 10 games after returning from a finger injury, and he hit an even .500 last week to raise his batting average to .283. The Purple Aces currently stand at 23-16 overall entering Tuesday night’s action.
Meanwhile, Lipscomb’s lineup features four players with double-digit home run totals, led by redshirt sophomore catcher Austin Kelly, who is hitting a team-best .326 with a team-best 15 home runs. Sophomore infielder Trace Willhoite (12 HRs), junior outfielder Alex Vergara (11 HRs) and sophomore infielder Caleb Ketchup (11 HRs) also have double-digit home run totals so far this year. The Bisons will bring a 21-19 overall record into Tuesday night’s contest, but Lipscomb is the reigning ASUN West Division champions, and are currently tied with FGCU for the top spot in the ASUN standings with a 13-5 conference record. Lipscomb also owns a series win over Notre Dame, and a mid-week win at nationally-ranked Louisville this year.
All-time, Evansville leads the series over Lipscomb, 12-6, dating back to a 10-0 UE win in 2005. Tuesday’s game will mark Lipscomb’s first trip to Evansville in 11 years, as the Bisons have not visited Evansville since a 5-0 UE victory at Braun Stadium on March 28, 2012. The first-ever game for UE head coach Wes Carroll as a member of the Purple Aces’ coaching staff came at Lipscomb on February 9, 2007, when Carroll served as an assistant coach for UE in a 10-0 victory in Nashville.
Tuesday’s game can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS and the Old National Bank/Purple Aces Sports Network from Learfield.
