Aces to play in Black & Gold Tournament
The long wait is finally over as the University of Evansville softball team will open its 2021 season this weekend at the Black & Gold Tournament in Montgomery, Alabama.
Hosted by Alabama State, the Purple Aces will play four games in three days. UE opens on Friday with a 10 a.m. game against Middle Tennessee State before a pair of games on Saturday. A 10 a.m. contest against UT Martin opens the day before UE faces Alabama A&M at 3 p.m. The final game on Sunday morning pits UE against MTSU once again at 10 a.m.
UE finished its shortened 2020 campaign with a 12-11 mark but was playing some of its best softball as the season came to a close in the second week of March. Evansville won four of its last six games heading into Missouri Valley Conference play. In its final non-conference tournament in Louisville, the Aces defeated Big Ten squad Illinoi by a 9-1 final. On March 10, the Aces welcomed Purdue Fort Wayne to Cooper Stadium for the home opener, earning a dominant 11-0 victory.
This season, the Aces return the majority of their output from 2020. Jessica Fehr anchored the offense, batting a team-high .446. She led the team with 19 runs scored, 21 RBI and 14 walks while notching three home runs. Fehr’s 21 RBI was tied for the conference lead while her average was second.
In her first season at UE, Alyssa Barela batted .314 while picking up three homers and 7 RBI. Just behind her was Halie Fain, who was one of the MVC’s top performers on the basepaths. She converted 14 out of 16 stolen base attempts, tying her for second in the Valley.
Izzy Vetter, Erin Kleffman and Jaime Nurrenbern are back in the circle for Evansville. Vetter had the Aces lowest ERA in 2020, completing the season at 4.07. She also had a team-high 63 strikeouts. One of the losses for UE is Emily Lockhart, who led last year’s squad with seven victories and 61 2/3 innings of work.
