The Evansville Otters have signed right-handed pitchers Taylor Wright and Matt Rowland and catcher Rob Calabrese, and draft pitcher Tanner Pruett and infielder Anthony Maselli out of the Frontier League tryout camp and draft for the 2019 season.

Wright is from Berwyn, Pa. and joins the Otters for his first stint in professional baseball.

“Wright was recommended from a trusted Atlantic League pitching coach,” said Otters manager Andy McCauley. “He threw very well at their open tryout. I’ll be interested to see him throw.”

“I’m thrilled to be in camp and incredibly grateful for the Otters giving me a chance in professional baseball,” said Wright.

“I’ve missed being a part of a baseball team and excited to get back into the clubhouse.”

Wright played collegiately at Brown University, where he posted a 5.80 ERA with 67 strikeouts, 4-9 record, and 56 appearances in 113.1 innings pitched.

“I’m going to go out there and compete, but I’m going to enjoy every moment being back on the field,” said Wright.

Rowland, a Marietta, Ga. native, joins the Otters after a stint in the Atlanta Braves organization. Rowland was drafted by the Braves in the 11th round of the 2016 MLB June Draft out of Pope High School.

“I heard about Evansville from my roommate with the Braves organization, Jackson Pokorney,” said Rowland. “He said I’m going to love it in Evansville. The town really backs up the Otters.”

Pokorney was drafted by the Braves in the 29^th round of the 2016 MLB Amateur Draft out of Evansville’s Mater Dei High School.

“Rowland was recommended by a trusted organizational scout who wanted to make sure he got with a good pitching coach like Max (Peterson),” said McCauley.

“I’m excited to come to Evansville and play for the Otters organization,” said Rowland. “It’s a nice change of culture and I’m excited to see what the season has in store.”

In 2018 with the Danville Braves of the Appalachian League, Rowland was 1-4 with a 3.83 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 13 starts and a total of 54.0 innings pitched.

“He had quality numbers with the Braves organization and should figure in highly on the staff,” said McCauley.

“My approach on the mound is to mix it up with heat, off-speed and movement to set up batters,” said Rowland. “I pitch to contact to put the ball in play toward the defense behind me.”

Calabrese, a Staten Island, N.Y. native, joins the Otters for the 2019 season after spending two years in the San Francisco Giants organization. In 2017, he played with the Salem Keizer Volcanoes in the Northwest League and with the Augusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic League in 2018.

“Calabrese played with David (Cronin) at the University of Illinois-Chicago and is represented by an agent I’ve worked with for some time,” said McCauley.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to play,” said Calabrese. “I love playing this game and I look forward go out there with my teammates.”

Last year with the GreenJackets, Calabrese had a .193 batting average with five home runs, 21 RBI’s, 24 runs, and 38 hits in 67 games.

“He should be a quality bat in our lineup and work well with our pitchers with his organizational experience.”

“Offensively, I try to keep it simple, be a gap-to-gap hitter with some power,” said Calabrese.

“I’ve always believed pitching and defense wins championships, so I really pride myself on my defense. I feel it’s my job as a catcher to be a leader out there and help make my pitchers and teammates better.”

The catcher was drafted in the 10th round by the Giants in the 2017 MLB Draft out of the University of Illinois-Chicago.

The Evansville Otters made two selections out of the 2019 Frontier League Draft, selecting infielder Anthony Maselli and left-handed pitcher Tanner Pruett.

Maselli was selected by the Otters with the eighth overall pick in the league draft.

Senior Weekend is on tap for the University of Evansville softball team as the Purple Aces welcome Valparaiso to Cooper Stadium for a 3-game series.  Action begins on Saturday with a noon doubleheader before Sunday’s game starts at 11 a.m.  Festivities for UE’s seven seniors will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday with Bailee Bostic, Danielle Cassidy, Olivia Cheatham, Ashleigh Downing, McKenzie Johnson, Kristin Koepke and Emily Lockhart being recognized.

Last Week

– Evansville earned its first road conference sweep since 2017, taking three wins against Missouri State in Springfield on Friday and Saturday

– Senior Emily Lockhart pitched a gem in game one, allowing one run on four hits in a complete game effort as the Aces took a 3-1 win; Lindsay Renneisen added a home run

– The offense erupted for seasons-highs in runs (11) and hits (16) on its way to an 11-7 win; trailing 7-6 heading into the top of the seventh, Bailee Bostic led the frame off with a home run to tie the score before Haley Woolf hit the game-winning grand slam with two outs

– A grand slam was the difference in Saturday’s game as Eryn Gould recorded one in the second inning that made the difference in a 5-4 win

– Lockhart picked up the wins in all three contests while Izzy Vetter earned the first save of her career in the finale

– In Wednesday’s game at Indiana State, the Aces dropped a 3-2 game; Haley Woolf paced the team, registering three of UE’s seven hits in the contest

Reaching a Milestone

– Aces head coach Mat Mundell picked up the 200th win of his career in the opener at Missouri State

– In six seasons at Illinois-Springfield, Mundell accumulated 117 wins with the remainder coming in his time at Evansville

Player of the Week

– For the second time in her career, sophomore Eryn Gould earned MVC Player of the Week accolades on April 22

– Gould is on an absolute roll for the Purple Aces, entering the Valpo series with a 10-game hit streak

– Over the previous ten games, Gould is batting .464 (13-of-28) while raising her average from .244 to .296

– She capped off the weekend series victory at MSU, batting .444 with two home runs and seven RBI; her grand slam in Saturday’s series finale was the difference in a 5-4 UE win

– Gould checks in with a .296 average while starting all 42 games at catcher, second base and in the outfield

– She leads the team with nine home runs, eight doubles, 25 runs and 27 RBI

Showing Her Power

– Freshman Haley Woolf accounted for three of the Aces’ seven hits at Indiana State; her hit tally was the most in her time at UE

– She continues to hit home runs in the times her team needs them the most and did so once again at Missouri State

– With the score tied at 7-7 in game two at MSU, Woolf hit a 2-out grand slam that clinched the Aces win; it was her first homer on the road this season as her other three came at Cooper Stadium

Scouting the Opponent

– Valparaiso comes to Evansville with a 15-24 mark and stand at 4-16 through their first 20 conference games

– Carly Trepanier has the top average for the Crusaders, hitting .284 on the season while Jaymee Lawton has a team-high five home runs and 22 RBI

– In the circle, Kelsie Packard has a 3.24 ERA with 88 strikeouts while winning eight games

The Screaming Eagles (32-16, 18-6 GLVC), however, suffered a 3-1 setback in game two as Lewis forged the doubleheader split.

Game 1
USI got a one-out double from junior pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky) and a two-out, RBI-single from senior outfielder/pitcher Caitlyn Bradley (Forest, Indiana) in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.

Lewis (20-28, 10-14 GLVC), however, put together a pair of hits in the fourth inning to score a run and even the score at 1-1.

The two teams traded runs in the sixth inning, with junior outfielder Allison Schubert (Nicholasville, Kentucky) giving the Eagles a brief 2-1 lead with a solo shot in the top of the frame.

Each team had scoring opportunities in the seventh inning and the Eagles had a runner in scoring position in the top of the eighth, but neither squad was able to push a run across the plate as the contest moved into the ninth inning.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Schoolcraft, who was down to her last strike, hit a shot over the leftfield fence to give the Eagles a 6-2 lead. The grand slam was the first of Schoolcraft’s young career and USI’s first grand slam of the year.

USI, which took advantage of an error earlier in the inning, surrendered a run in the bottom of the ninth, but held on for the game-one win.

Leonhardt (19-6) earned the win after giving up three runs, two earned, off eight hits in nine innings of work. She struck out eight batters as she tied Brooke Harmening for first all-time at USI with her 74th career win.