Aces Facing A Challenging Slate
With the spring season quickly approaching, University of Evansville head baseball coach Wes Carroll has announced the 2018 schedule for the Purple Aces.
“We are excited to play another competitive schedule. Our non-conference schedule will help prepare us to compete in the Missouri Valley Conference,†head coach Wes Carroll said. “I look forward to our first game as our guys are working hard to compete at the highest Division 1 level.â€
The season officially kicks off with a trip to the Wofford Tournament from February 16-18. The Aces open up against Fordham, who went 27-24 a season ago before taking on Dayton in a Saturday contest. The tournament finale pits UE against one of the top ten teams in the nation from a year ago – the University of Kentucky. Finishing the season ranked 9th in the country, the Wildcats went 43-23 and advanced to the first Super Regional in program history.
Next up will be a trip to Kennesaw State for a 4-game set. The teams will match up in single games on 2/23 and 2/25 with Saturday the 24thmarking a doubleheader. After that, the Aces return to Evansville to open up the home schedule. The first series will be against a familiar foe – Western Illinois. The Leathernecks are coached by Ryan Brownlee, son of former UE head coach Jim Brownlee. That series takes place March 2-4. A single game against Mid-American Conference foe Bowling Green will take place at Braun Stadium on March 7.
Another challenging series follows for Evansville as they had to Florida Gulf Coast (March 9-11) for three games. The defending Atlantic Sun Champions were 43-20 in 2017 and played in the Chapel Hill Regional. UE is home for a March 14 single game versus SIU Edwardsville, a 23-29 squad from a season ago.
From March 16-18, the Aces will be taking on the defending Big Ten Tournament Champion Iowa Hawkeyes in a three-game series in Iowa City. Iowa won 39 games last season on their way to the Houston Regional.
Home play continues on March 20 versus UT Martin before Oakland City heads to Braun Stadium for a March 24 doubleheader. Evansville then returns the trip to SIU Edwardsville on Tuesday, March 27. Another familiar opponent will mark the final non-conference series of the season as the Purple Aces travel to Omaha, Neb. to take on former MVC member Creighton. The Bluejays went 24-25 in the Big East in 2017. A midweek game on April 4 pits the Aces against Murray State in Murray, Ky.
Valley play opens up on the road in Springfield, Mo. as Evansville takes on Missouri State from April 6-8. The reigning regular season MVC champs finished last season ranked 17th in the NCAA. They went 43-20 overall and 18-1 in the MVC and enjoyed great postseason success. MSU won the Fayetteville Regional before advancing to play TCU in the Super Regional.
On April 10, UE welcomes Murray State before hosting its first MVC home series that weekend against Bradley. That series takes place from April 13-15.
The third ranked team from 2017 appears on the schedule on 4/17 when UE makes a day trip to Nashville to face Vanderbilt. The Commodores are coming off of a #18 ranking and played in the Corvallis, Ore. Super Regional after defeating Clemson in a Regional series in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
In-town rival USI heads to Braun Stadium for a single game on April 25 before another local squad – Southern Illinois – makes its way to town for a 3-game set from April 27-29. The team then takes to the road for series at Dallas Baptist and Indiana State. DBU won the MVC Tournament in 2017 while winning 42 games. They fell to #6 TCU in the Fort Worth Regional. That series goes from May 4-6.
UE treks north to Terre Haute from 5/11-13 to take on the Sycamores, who were 29-26 last season. The Aces also have midweek contests against Belmont and UT Martin over that span.
Regular-season play finishes with a home series against Illinois State. The Redbirds head to Evansville for a series taking place on May 17-19. The 2018 MVC Tournament, which is being hosted by Dallas Baptist, runs from May 23-26.
