The UE baseball program will retire the jersey number of former Purple Aces' standout and Major League pitcher Andy Benes in pre-game ceremonies prior to Saturday's 4:00 p.m. game against Arkansas State at Charles H. Braun Stadium.  The jersey retirement will come as part of UE baseball's alumni weekend at Braun Stadium.

Benes' #30 will join former head coach Jim Brownlee's #6 as the only two jersey numbers to be retired in UE baseball history.  Benes was the 1988 NCAA Player of the Year at Evansville prior to being selected No. 1 overall in the 1988 Major League Baseball draft by the San Diego Padres. Benes went on to post a 155-139 career record in 14 Major League seasons with the Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks, earning All-Star status with the Padres in 1993. Benes still owns UE career records for ERA (3.32) and strikeouts (320), while also owning single-season records at UE for victories (16), strikeouts (188), and innings pitched (146.0).

Due to UE's annual Bike Race also scheduled for Saturday afternoon, UE's "H Lot" parking lot on campus will be closed, which could create parking issues for Saturday's baseball game, as the Armory lot adjacent to Braun Stadium will likely be filled. Fans and media who are attending Saturday's baseball game are encouraged to utilize parking lots "P" and "N" on the UE campus. Both parking lots "P" and "N" are located along Rotherwood Avenue, with "Lot P" being situated at the corner of Rotherwood and Olive Street and "Lot N" being located at the corner of Rotherwood and Walnut Street.

Saturday's game will be extra special to Benes, not only due to the fact that his jersey number will be retired, but also because his son, Drew, is a junior pitcher on the Arkansas State baseball team.  Drew Benes is currently 0-1 with a 3.97 ERA in 10 relief appearances for the Red Wolves, who are 21-11 overall and in second place in the Sun Belt Conference with an 11-4 conference record.  Arkansas State received votes in last week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 30 poll, and ASU has won nine of its last 11 games overall, including a series victory at nationally-ranked Western Kentucky two weeks ago.