Aces to play five games this weekend

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 2018 season is here for the University of Evansville softball team as it heads to the Mardi Gras Classic in Lafayette, Louisiana to begin the year.  Evansville will take on Samford, Louisiana, UIC, Iowa and Eastern Illinois in the first weekend of action.

“Our team is excited for the season to be here,” Aces head coach Mat Mundell said.  “I am anxious to see what this team is made of when we go out and play another opponent.  This is also a great test to begin the year; Louisiana is one of the toughest places in the country to play.”

Evansville returns 11 players from last season and brings nine newcomer into the fray.

Reigning MVC Newcomer of the Year Brittany Hay will have a slightly different role with the Aces this season; after spending her junior year at short, Hay will be in the outfield for UE this season.  Hay led the Aces with an overall .309 batting average, but upped that to .372 in Valley play.  The native of Georgetown, Ill. scored 36 runs in 2017, more than double the tally of anyone else on the squad; she was also 16-of-19 in steals.

In the circle, Morgan Florey led the MVC in strikeouts last season and continued to be an offensive force and was recognized by the MVC as she was named a Preseason All-Conference player.  Florey was UE’s top power hitter, pacing the team with 9 homers and 32 runs batted in; she hit .292 on the season and drew 21 walks, second on the team.  In the circle, Florey tossed 172 1/3 innings on her way to a league-leading 194 strikeouts.  She went 14-11 on the season and finished third in the conference with a 1.99 ERA.

Friday’s opener pits UE against Samford, who went 25-36 last season.  On Friday evening, UE takes on defending Sun Belt Champion Louisiana, who is ranked 22^nd entering the season.  The Ragin Cajuns were 47-8 last season and played in the Baton Rouge Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

Another NCAA Tournament squad is on tap Saturday when the Aces match up against UIC.  The Flames went 39-22 in 2017 and won the Horizon League Tournament on their way to the Eugene, Ore. Regional.  In their tournament appearance, they defeated Missouri.  Saturday’s finale pits UE against Big Ten member Iowa who went 19-32 last season while Sunday’s contest has Evansville taking on Eastern Illinois (28-21 in 2017).

The 2018 team preview wraps up today with a look at the infielders.

“We are very excited about this group; they are very young and we will see a whole new starting infield from last season,” Mundell said.

Alex Latoria, a redshirt sophomore, will see time at first base while Bailee Porter and Allison Daggett are battling for the second base spot.

“Alex has worked very hard and we are excited about what she brings offensively,” Mundell explained.  “Both of our girls at second have looked good so far, both will see a lot of playing time.”

At short, freshman Lindsay Renneisen will be taking over for Brittany Hay, who makes the move to the outfield.  McKenzie Johnson brings experience at third and is battling freshman Elyse Hickey for that position.

“Lindsay brings a calming presence and will have a big impact in our lineup,” Mundell added.  “The battle at third is also going to be a good one.  McKenzie has done well for us in the past and is continuing to get healthy.  She and Elyse will each see time at that spot.  Overall, this has a chance to be a strong group for us going forward.”

The Evansville Otters signed catchers John Fidanza and Michael Rizzitello after acquiring both in separate trades.

Fidanza comes to Evansville after playing for the Washington Wild Things from 2015-17. In return, the Wild Things will receive a player to be named later.

In 77 games with Washington, Fidanza hit .211 with six doubles and 19 RBIs. His best season with the Wild Things came last year when he hit .245, collected 27 hits and scored 11 runs.

A Prospect, Ky. native, Fidanza was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 23rd round of the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft.

Rizzitello was acquired by Evansville in the trade that sent Josh Allen to the St. Paul Saints of the American Association.

Last season, Rizzitello played for the San Rafael Pacifics of the Pacific Association, where he won the Rookie of the Year award after hitting .280 and collecting 40 RBIs in 65 games. He also finished with 15 doubles and 12 stolen bases.

“He’ll be looking to compete for a starting job behind the plate,” Otters manager Andy McCauley said. “He is coming off a stellar year in the Pacific Association.”

The Evansville Otters are the 2006 and 2016 Frontier League champions. Group packages and season tickets are now on sale. For more information, visit evansvilleotters.com or call 812-435-8686.

Taylor notches 30 points for second game in a row 

University of Evansville junior Ryan Taylor finished with 30+ for the second game in a row to lead the Purple Aces to a 63-59 win over Valparaiso on Wednesday night inside the Ford Center.

“I think we just hung in there more than anything tonight.  We gave up too many three’s in the first half, but we were a little better at pressuring shots in the second half,” Aces head coach Marty Simmons said.  “Our guys are giving it everything they’ve got.  I am so proud of them.”

Taylor connected on 10 out of 23 shots and 9-of-10 free throws to post 31 points for UE (16-10, 6-7 MVC).  The effort comes on the strength of a 32-point game at Illinois State for the reigning Co-MVC Player of the Week.  He also hauled in a game-high seven rebounds while playing 40 minutes for the second game in a row.  It marked the first time a UE player has had consecutive 30-point games since D.J. Balentine did so in the 2014 MVC Tournament against Drake and Wichita State.  K.J. Riley had a nice game, totaling 9 points and 6 rebounds.

“We just stuck together tonight.  We played pretty well over some stretches, but came together and got closer while making sure we came out with the win,” Taylor explained after the game.  “A big emphasis tonight was getting to the free throw line and I feel like that was a big key in the win.”

Leading the Crusaders (12-14, 3-10 MVC) were Bakari Evelyn and Markus Golder, who notched 15 points apiece.

The first five points of the night belonged to the Crusaders as a Max Joseph trey capped off the game-opening stretch.  John Hall got the Aces on the board with a free throw at the 17:43 mark.  Valparaiso’s lead extended to 7-1 before K.J. Riley hit UE’s first bucket of the game.

With the shot clock running down, he threw up a trey at the buzzer and banked it home.  It was the first 3-pointer of his career.  VU pushed its lead back up to six at 14-8 before the Aces rallied.  A 10-3 stretch was finished off with a Blake Simmons jumper that gave Evansville its first lead at 18-17.

UE’s lead grew to as many as five points with 6:32 remaining in the half.  Noah Frederking connected on his first shot to give the Purple Aces a 24-19 advantage.  The close contest continued as Valparaiso roared back to retake the lead when a Micah Bradford trey made it a 28-27 game.  The Crusader lead remained at one as they took a 32-31 edge into the half.

Taylor led all players with 11 in the first 20 and added to it with a jumper to give UE the lead right back early in the second half.  Valparaiso came right back with a Bakari Evelyn and-one that matched their largest lead at 41-35 at the 13:56 mark.  Two huge buckets paid large dividends for UE.  Riley hit one from six feet before Taylor knocked down a triple to get the Aces back within one.  Both shots came with intense pressure from Valpo.

Evansville’s stretch continued as a 16-2 run that was finished off by a Dainius Chatkevicius dunk to make it a 51-43 game inside of six minutes remaining.  John Kiser connected on his second from outside with just over three minutes on the clock to make it a one-possession game – 55-52.

Following a UE free throw, another VU bucket cut the UE lead to just a pair with 2:35 on the clock, but the Aces halted their rally from there.  Two more Taylor free throws in the final minute saw the lead grow back to six points before a Valpo shot made it a final of 63-59.

In the final box score, UE finished with the edge in most statistics, finishing with a 32-26 edge on the boards and a 46.8%-44.2% advantage in shooting.  UE also went 3-6 from outside.

“One thing is that we did not settle for 3’s, we got to the paint more and Ryan did a great job of getting to the free throw line,” K.J. Riley said.

Two road games are up next for UE, who heads to Missouri State for a 2 p.m. game on Saturday before the squad makes the trek to Cedar Falls, Iowa to play UNI on Tuesday at 7 p.m.