Former University of Evansville standout and Major League pitcher Andy Benes has been selected for the 2009 induction class of the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame.  The induction ceremony will take place on January 23, 2009 in Indianapolis.

Benes excelled at baseball, football, and basketball at nearby Evansville Central High School in the 1980s.  Benes participated in all three sports at UE from 1986 through 1988, but he shined the brightest on the baseball diamond for the Purple Aces.

Benes established new school records for career strikeouts (320) and earned run average (3.32) during his three-year UE career, which culminated in him being taken first overall by the San Diego Padres in the 1988 Major League Baseball draft after an outstanding junior campaign.  As a junior, Benes earned All-America honors and was named the NCAA Player of the Year after helping Evansville to the NCAA Tournament with a school-record 16 victories, 13 complete-games, 188 strikeouts, and a then-record 1.42 ERA.

Benes went on to post a 155-139 career record and 3.97 career ERA in 14 Major League seasons with the San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, and St. Louis Cardinals.  He retired from professional baseball in 2002 and works with the Cardinals’ broadcasting crew.  Benes was inducted into the UE Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995.

Others to be inducted in January are Max Schumacher, president of the minor league Indianapolis Indians; Mike Frame, coach at Huntington University; Brian Dudley, coach at Wapahani High School; and John Oliver, a longtime supporter of youth baseball programs in northern Indiana.