Evansville, In.:  The Evansville Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes are pleased to announce the hiring of Tim Abbott as the new Head Equipment Manager of the Thunderbolts for the 2024-25 season.  The Thunderbolts begin the 2024-25 season at Ford Center on Friday, October 18^th as they host the Knoxville Ice Bears.

Abbott brings over 25 years of professional hockey experience and over 35 years of overall professional sports experience to the Thunderbolts organization, most recently with the Knoxville Ice Bears, with whom Abbott served as Head Equipment Manager from 2022-2024.  The native of Chesterfield, Michigan worked 15 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings organization, starting with their then-AHL farm team, the Adirondack Red Wings, between 1987-1992 as Head Equipment Manager.  In Adirondack, Abbott was part of two Calder Cup Championship teams in 1989 and 1992.  From 1995 to 2005, Abbott served as Assistant Equipment Manager in Detroit, winning three Stanley Cup Championships in 1997, 1998, and 2002.  Abbott later worked in the ECHL between 2014-2022, mostly with the Allen Americans in Texas, where he still maintains a strong family presence, between 2016-2022, preceded by a season each with the Bakersfield Condors in 2014-15 and Norfolk Admirals in 2015-16.  Outside of hockey, Abbott also spent a decade in professional arena football, winning another three championships with the Port Huron Pirates in 2006 and 2007 along with the Saginaw Sting in 2008.

“From top to bottom, the Thunderbolts look like a great organization to be with.  They were one of the hardest teams we (Knoxville) played against last year, they showed up and played hard every night,” replied Abbott when asked about his outside impressions of the Thunderbolts while serving with Knoxville.  “Being around for 37 years and bringing that experience into the locker room, I’m going to help Coach Bes, the players, and the other staff in any way I can, and be dedicated to working hard every day.  I’m really excited to get to work alongside Coach Bes and the staff, I’ve been very fortunate to be around winning teams throughout my career, and I would love to see that continue here.”  Coach Bes expressed similar excitement on adding Abbott’s experience into the locker room, commenting: “We are very excited to add Tim to our organization.  Our players and I will benefit from his experience and the knowledge he has accrued over the past 37 years of his career.”

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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Winning their sixth straight contest, the Evansville Otters opened the final home series of the year against the Gateway Grizzlies with a 6-4 win on Friday night at Bosse Field.

For the second time in this home stand, Pavin Parks (Sv. 7) delivered the go-ahead runs on a homer to right field and picked up a save in the same game.

The Otters (41-48) fell behind early 2-0 with the Grizzlies (54-33) scoring the first runs of the night.

Jumping on the board in the fourth inning, Evansville cut the deficit in half with a Randy Bednar fielder’s choice RBI.

Trailing 3-1 in the sixth, the Otters strung together their big inning and batted around the order, sending 10 men to the plate. It was highlighted by a payoff pitch, three-run home run from Parks which put Evansville ahead 4-3 at the time. They added another run off a bases-loaded Justin Felix hit-by-pitch.

Gateway scored another in the eighth inning, but the Otters answered back with a sacrifice fly from Mason White in their last offensive stint. The deep fly ball to left finalized the run totals.

Evansville was outhit 10-5, but more timely knocks delivered them to victory. Parks and Logan Brown both had 2-for-4 nights to lead the bats.

On the mound, Braden Scott (5-9) took the win after pitching in six and one-third innings, allowing a trio of runs with nine strikeouts in a quality start. Deylen Miley (8-4) was given the loss for Gateway, getting yanked after allowing the go-ahead home run to Parks.

Tomorrow, the Otters attempt to win their third series in a row. First pitch against the Grizzlies is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT. Coverage is available on the Otters Digital Network and FloBaseball.

Ali Adams promoted to Associate Athletic Trainer

Adams has been on UE staff since 2020

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A member of the University of Evansville Athletic Training staff since 2020, Ali Adams has been promoted to Associate Athletic Trainer for the Purple Aces.

“I am grateful to have spent the last four years working with one of the best to ever do it in Terry Collins,” Adams said.  “With Eric (Harcourt) moving into that role, we are well-prepared for this time of transition. I am excited continue contributing to the growth of our sports medicine department and Aces athletics as a whole.”

After starting as an athletic training intern 2020, Ali has been an Assistant Athletic Trainer providing coverage to women’s soccer and swim & dive for the past three school years. Prior to working at Evansville, she was a graduate assistant athletic trainer at Georgia Southern University, where she worked with GSU cheerleading and track and field.

She received a Master of Science in Kinesiology from Georgia Southern University in 2020 and a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from Ohio State in 2018.