Evansville Otters pitcher Brandyn Sittinger had his contract purchased by the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend.

Brandyn Sittinger, from LaGrange, Ohio, signed and joined the Otters midway through the 2019 regular season after a stint with the Detroit Tigers organization.

The right-hander was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 17th round of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Ashland University, reaching as high as Double-A with the Erie SeaWolves.

“I was excited and relieved to get the news,” Sittinger said. “It’s exciting to get a call that someone wants to sign you but also a relief because I don’t have to wonder if anyone will give me that second opportunity in affiliated baseball.”

“Brandyn has a power arm and an ability to throw four-plus pitches,” Otters manager Andy McCauley said. “Moving him to the starting rotation was key to getting him innings in a short amount of time.”

In consecutive starts in early August against the Southern Illinois Miners and the Washington Wild Things, Sittinger combined to go 12 innings pitched, allowing no earned runs, and struck out 21 batters.

“The keys for me on the mound were going right at hitters and being confident while I was out there,” Sittinger said.

“Max (Peterson) and Andy (McCauley) made me feel very comfortable out there knowing they believed in me, which made it that much easier to go out there and have confidence in myself while I was on the mound.”

“Brandyn was a great character guy in our clubhouse,” McCauley said. “He had a comfortable transition to independent baseball, getting along with the other guys.”

Overall, Sittinger went 2-2 with a 1.42 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched and seven appearances with the Otters.

“I want to go out there right away and prove myself to the staff and coordinators of the Diamondbacks, but at the same time, I have to go out there and just do what I’ve always done – compete,” Sittinger said.

This time around Sittinger said he’ll have a mindset of knowing he belongs and can compete at the affiliated level.

“I’m just going to continue to do what I did in Evansville, competing on every pitch,” Sittinger said.

Sittinger joins five other Otters to be signed to an affiliated organization in 2019 and second signed by the Diamondbacks.

“Arizona was interested in Brandyn from the day we signed him,” McCauley said. “They just were waiting for a spot to open and it never did during the season. They didn’t want to take a chance of missing out on him as the offseason progressed.”

“I’m grateful for the opportunity the Diamondbacks are giving Brandyn and wish him the best of luck.”

Former Otters starting pitcher Patrick McGuff also signed with the Diamondbacks organization after a 5-0 start with a 1.04 ERA and 60 strikeouts in early June.

The Otters have sent 80 players to affiliated organizations out of Evansville.

UE returns home for first time since Nov. 18

With its second road win of the season secured, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team returns to the Ford Center on Wednesday evening for a 6 p.m. game against Western Illinois.  ESPN3 and the Purple Aces Radio Network will have the coverage.

 Setting the Scene

– Following a season-long stretch of four games away from home, the Purple Aces host a pair of games this week, facing the Leathernecks on Wednesday before welcoming Miami Ohio for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday

– The Aces completed the recent stretch with an even 2-2 mark and have come out on the winning side in its last two games

– In its finale in the Bahamas against Morgan State, Evansville played just the second triple overtime game in program history

– The other 3OT game came on the road at St. Joseph’s (Ind.) with the Aces earning a 78-70 victory

Last Time Out

– Evansville improved to a perfect 2-0 in true road games this season with a 70-64 win against IUPUI on Saturday in Indianapolis

– Facing a 10-point halftime deficit, the Aces rallied in the second half and used a late 11-0 run to take the lead for good in the final minutes

– DeAndre Williams led all players with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists

– Artur Labinowicz tallied nine points while Noah Frederking and K.J. Riley posted eight points apiece; Riley did all of his scoring in the second half

– In his first action since the Kentucky game, Evan Kuhlman added six pivotal points while registering an assist and a steal

 Leftovers from IUPUI

– With 20 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists, DeAndre Williams became the first UE player since Reed Jackson in 1994 to post those numbers in a game

– After missing five games, Evan Kuhlman made his return against the Jags; he scored six points and had a pivotal basket in the final minutes that saw the UE lead reach multiple possessions for the remainder of the game

– Evansville outscored IUPUI by a 43-27 margin in the second half; it was the fourth time in eight games that UE has outscored the opposition in the second half

Doing what he does best

– Aces senior K.J. Riley ranks 8th in the nation with 8.2 fouls drawn per 40 minutes

– He is tied for 4th in the NCAA with 48 free throw makes and is tied for 6th with 59 attempts

– Artur Labinowicz has drawn an average of 7.2 fouls per 40 minutes and is 28th in the country

1992 Indiana All-Stars

– The relationship between UE head coach Walter McCarty and Western Illinois coach Billy Wright goes way back to 1992

– McCarty and Wright were teammates on the Indiana Senior All-Star Team

– Wright attended Richmond HS while McCarty was from Harrison HS in Evansville

Doing it all

– In Evansville’s only game of the week, sophomore DeAndre Williams had one of the most complete games in recent years for the Purple Aces

– The Houston native recorded 20 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in a 70-64 road win over IUPUI; he hit 8 of his 13 attempts in the game while posting two blocks and a steal

– He drew five fouls in the contest and turned that into six trips to the line

– His effort was the first 20-15-5 performance for the Evansville program since Reed Jackson had 21 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists against South Alabama on December 14, 1994

Scouting the Opponent

– Western Illinois comes to the Ford Center with a 2-5 record with wins over Central Christian College of the Bible and Ball State

– Last time out, they came up just short against Kansas City, 68-67

– Kobe Webster and Zion Young are the top two scorers for WIU, averaging 16.3 and 15.4 points per game, respectively

– Ben Pyle (12.7 PPG) and C.J. Duff (10.8 PPG) also average double figures

– James Claar is their top rebounder with 6.7 per game

– Pyle was their top player against the Kangaroos, scoring a career-high of 21 points

The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors announced the 2020 Men’s Induction Class to be honored on Wednesday, March 25, 2020.  Among those set to be inducted is former University of Evansville men’s basketball player Mark Siegel.

Siegel played in the first four games of his freshman year for the Purple Aces when he was among the 29 people killed in the December 13, 1977 plane crash.  In his time on the floor at UE, he posted 1.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.  He added five steals and three assists.

He set numerous records at Pike High School in Indianapolis.  A 1976 and 1977 honorable mention all-state player and 1st team academic all-state selection, he earned 1st team all-Marion County honors twice and 1st team all-conference honors twice, averaging nearly 14 points per game as a junior and 19.5 points his senior season.  Along the way he set six school records including 13 assists in one game, 180 assists in one season and 271 career assists, along with 11 steals in one game, 103 steals in one season and 184 career steals.