EVANSVILLE – Former Purple Ace Kyle Freeland will begin his Major League Baseball dream on Friday afternoon, and the University of Evansville Athletics Department has put together a watch party at Buffalo Wild Wings (715 N. Green River Rd.) to see the 2014 Missouri Valley Pitcher of the Year make his debut for his hometown Colorado Rockies at 3:10 p.m.
All guests in attendance at the watch party will be given a wristband that is good for free admission to Friday's Aces baseball game against Indiana State at Charles H. Braun Stadium, which is set for a 6 p.m. start. Also, a number of door prizes will be awarded. While eating at the restaurant, fans are asked to mention "Home Town D" to their server. Doing so will result in a 10% donation to the Purple Aces Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which is involved in various community service projects such as Toys for Tots, Habitat for Humanity and Project Linus.
Freeland, one of the best pitchers in school history, was the eighth-overall pick by the Rockies in the 2014 draft, and with his debut, he will become just the fifth-ever UE player to make it to Major League Baseball and the first since Jamey Carroll retired in 2013. The Denver native will also be the first Ace to start a game on the mound since Andy Benes, the No. 1 overall pick of the 1988 draft, who went on to complete a very successful career while playing primarily with the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals.
Freeland, who was initially drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies as a high school senior, credits his time with UE for preparing him for this next step.
"UE was a huge stepping stone for me," Freeland said during a Wednesday press conference in Milwaukee. "Going back to when I was drafted out of high school, I think I made the right decision to go to college. [UE head coach] Wes Carroll is a person who helped me tons throughout my college career, and he continues to help me. He helped mature me and mold me into the person I am now. It was a really good learning experience for me, and a lot of the things I've learned, I attribute to him."
Freeland quickly ascended up the ranks in the Rockies farm system, spending time with the Grand Junction Rockies, Asheville Tourists and Modesto Nuts over the course of 2014 and 2015. After a successful stint with the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League, he'd parlay that success into impressive performances last season with the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats and Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes.
This spring, he earned a coveted non-roster invitee to camp, and regularly showcased himself against Major League talent, earning the call-up to the Opening Day Roster this past Sunday.
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