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University of Evansville senior closer Tom Heithoff (Carroll, Iowa/Kuemper Catholic/NIACC) has been named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s Stopper of the Year midseason watch list, an award which honors the nation’s top relief pitcher. Heithoff and the Purple Aces will return to the diamond beginning on Friday night at 6:00 p.m., as UE will return to Missouri Valley Conference play for the first time since April 4 by hosting the Bradley University Braves in a three-game series at UE’s Charles H. Braun Stadium this weekend.
Heithoff was one of 45 relief pitchers across the country to be named to the midseason Stopper of the Year watch list, after racking up a Missouri Valley Conference-best eight saves for the Purple Aces. Heithoff’s eight saves entered the week ranked ninth nationally at the Division I level, and he found himself just four saves behind national saves leader Kevin Arico of nationally-ranked Virginia, who has 12 saves this spring. Heithoff has gone 3-3 with a 3.54 ERA and eight saves in 15 appearances this spring for UE, including 14 relief outings. In 28.0 innings of work, he has struck out 25 men against just eight walks. Heithoff has done so while routinely going directly from first base to the mound, as he has also hit .265 with two home runs and 20 RBI as UE’s starting first baseman.
“Tom has been a big part of our success not only this year, but also last year as well,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “He has been a rock at the back-end of our bullpen the last two years, racking up eight saves in each of the last two years, while also being a key part of our field lineup as our starting first baseman. We would not have the success we have had the last two years without Tom’s efforts, and he is very deserving of being named to the Stopper of the Year midseason watch list.”
Heithoff has helped Evansville build a 21-16 overall record this spring, as UE will enter this weekend’s series with Bradley having won six games in a row, eight out of the last nine, and 18 of its last 25 games overall. UE posted its sixth-straight victory on Tuesday night with an 8-2 victory over nationally-ranked Division II power Southern Indiana in the annual “Battle At The Braun” crosstown series in Evansville. During its current six-game winning streak, UE has averaged 10.5 runs per game while out-hitting the opposition .370 to .278 as a team. The six-game winning streak is the longest at UE since the 2007 Purple Aces won seven-straight games in the month of March.
UE’s recent hot play has continued a torrid start to the month of April for the Purple Aces, as Evansville has gone 9-3 in the month of April against a schedule which has featured eight games against teams ranked in the nation’s top 100 RPI-wise. UE has hit .335 during the month of April while also fielding .977 in 12 games defensively. Eight different members of the UE starting lineup have hit .325 or better in the month of April, with juniors Shawn Kuester (.429/0/3) and Greg Wallace (.420/0/19) and senior Alex Acheson (.405/0/9) all hitting .400 or above over the last 12 contests.
Wallace continues to pace the UE attack with a .386 average, 16 doubles, six triples, five home runs, and 51 RBI. Wallace returns to MVC play ranking among the league’s leaders in 10 different offensive categories this spring, while also leading the league in both multi-hit (19) and multi-RBI (16) contests.
Bradley will enter this weekend’s series at 11-21 overall and 4-8 in the MVC after getting outscored 32-8 in a doubleheader sweep suffered at the hands of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Wednesday. The doubleheader concluded a 10-game homestand for the Braves, who went 5-5 in the 10-game stretch, including 4-2 in MVC play. Junior infielder Brian Martin paces the Bradley attack and ranks seventh in the MVC with a .368 average this year. He also ranks fourth in the MVC with 18 stolen bases.
“It will be good to get back into Valley play this weekend, as we have been out of conference for what seems like forever,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “These past two weekend series against good competition in Dallas Baptist and Arkansas State have really served as a spring board for our team, as we have played well the last two weekends. Hopefully, we can carry that momentum that we have built into conference play this weekend.”
All-time, UE leads the series over Bradley, 36-30, after winning two out of three games from the Braves in Peoria last April. This weekend’s series will begin on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. and continue both Saturday (2:00 p.m.) and Sunday (1:00 p.m.) afternoon. Saturday will also feature a special pre-game ceremony dedicating the walkway around the UE stadium complex in honor of the Kent Family at 1:00 p.m. at the Armory entrance gate. All three games of the weekend series can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.
