With the snow and ice beginning to melt thanks to 50 degree temperatures in the Tri-State area this afternoon, the University of Evansville baseball team took to the practice field for the first time in preparation for the upcoming 2009 season, which stands just three weeks away.
Head coach Wes Carroll conducted his first official spring practice as head coach of the Purple Aces this morning in UE’s Armory Indoor Facility. Evansville will return 26 letterwinners, including eight position starters and eight pitchers this spring for the first-year dugout boss. The Purple Aces are hoping to improve upon last season’s 14-42 record and they take to the field with an added purpose this year, as the 2009 season is dedicated to injured senior first baseman Derek Melton.
Melton, who earned honorable mention all-MVC honors last spring for UE with a .287 average, five home runs and 25 RBI, suffered a neck injury this past summer while playing summer league baseball for the La Crosse Loggers of the Northwoods League. Melton is still at his home in Trenton, Ohio recovering from the injury and will miss the 2009 season, but his teammates will take the field each day with Melton on their mind.
“The team voted unanimously to dedicate this season to Derek, and I only hope that we can make him proud with the type of effort and hard work we display this spring,” said Carroll. “You will not meet a person with a greater drive and determination than Derek Melton, and hopefully, we can try to play with that same level of drive and determination this season.”
Leading Evansville’s returning cast offensively is 2008 Freshman All-America outfielder Greg Wallace. Wallace hit a team-best .317 last season while pacing all Missouri Valley Conference freshmen in both batting average and extra-base hits (21 - 17 doubles, two triples, and two home runs). The Purple Aces will also return the services of 2007 all-MVC outfielder Jim Viscomi this spring, after he missed all but one game last year due to injury. Viscomi ranked third in the MVC in batting average in 2007 as a junior with a .374 mark at the plate.
On the mound, senior right-hander John Foley returns to anchor the UE pitching staff. Foley won a team-best five games, while posting a 4.66 ERA in 87.0 innings of work last spring, including a complete-game 6-3 victory over nationally-ranked Wichita State last May. Sophomore right-hander Zach Taylor, who posted a team-best 4.15 ERA in 65.0 innings of work, also returns for UE, as does senior relief specialist J.R. Carbonell (1-3, four saves, 4.43 ERA in 2008), 2008 Minnesota Twins draftee Wade Kapteyn (1-4, 9.38 ERA), and veteran right-handers Mark Obenchain (2-6, 8.36 ERA) and Corey Davisson (2-2, 8.58 ERA).
“This group has worked extremely hard in the off-season, both in fall practice and in the weight room, to get better as a team,” said Carroll. “The players are eager to begin practice this spring and prove that they are a better team than last year’s record indicated. We still have a lot of work to get done before the start of the season, obviously, but the players are working hard and they are bringing a good attitude with them to the spring season.”
The Purple Aces will open the 2009 season on Friday, February 20 at 3:00 p.m. as UE will travel south to Johnson City, Tennessee for a three-game series against East Tennessee State. UE will open its 27-game home schedule on Friday, February 27, as the Purple Aces will host the Dunn Hospitality Diamond Classic at Braun Stadium. Season tickets for the 2009 season are currently available in the UE ticket office and by phone at (812) 488-ACES.
