Seven members of the University of Evansville baseball team were named on Monday to the Missouri Valley Conference all-conference teams in a vote of the league’s head coaches, led by first team all-Valley selections Eric Stamets, Cody Fick and Greg Wallace. Stamets was also selected as the MVC’s Freshman of the Year, the first Purple Ace to earn the award.

 

Stamets, Fick and Wallace were joined on the all-MVC teams by second team utility selection Tom Heithoff and honorable mention all-Valley outfielders Alex Acheson and Nate Smith and honorable mention relief pitcher Corey Davisson. UE’s three first-team selections trailed only league-co-champion Wichita State, which placed five players on the Valley’s first team. Overall, UE’s seven all-conference selections ranked third league-wide.

 

“This is a great honor for these seven young men,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “The earn all-conference honors in this league is a tremendous honor, especially when you consider the individual talent level in this league.

 

“All seven of these young men are very deserving of all-conference honors this year, and I am very proud to see them earn that respect from the league’s coaches through their hard work and dedication this spring.”

 

Stamets earned first team all-MVC honors at shortstop for UE and was named the Purple Aces’ first MVC Freshman of the Year in Evansville’s now 16 years in the league after hitting .315 this spring with 14 doubles, four home runs and 27 RBI. He also led the league and currently ranks as the nation’s top freshman stolen base thief with 41 steals this spring. Defensively, Stamets has also ranked among the MVC’s leaders in defensive assists all season, leading the league by over 50 assists with 214 defensive helpers so far this spring. He has anchored a UE defense which has turned a school-record 65 double plays and which ranked third nationally in double plays in last week’s NCAA statistical rankings.

 

Fick garnered first team all-MVC honors at third base after leading the Missouri Valley Conference with 17 home runs this spring. Fick will bring a .344 batting average, 15 doubles, 17 home runs and 57 RBI into this week’s State Farm MVC Tournament in Wichita. He hit a team-best .361 in Valley play this year for UE, while launching home runs against every Valley team except two this spring. Fick currently ranks second in the Valley with a .660 slugging percentage, and also ranks among the MVC’s top 10 in hits, RBI and on-base percentage.

 

Wallace also earned first team all-Valley honors in the outfield after leading the league in both hits (84) and RBI (70) during the regular-season. Wallace hit a team-best .364 overall this spring for UE, while setting single-season school records for both RBI with 70 and triples with 10. He currently leads the Valley with 28 multi-hit games this spring, while also leading the league with 21 multi-RBI contests. He recently became just the 22^nd Purple Ace to surpass the 200-hit mark in his UE career, and will enter this week’s tournament with 205 career hits.

 

Heithoff was UE’s lone second-team selection, earning the nod at the utility player position after shining both on the mound and at first base. On the mound, Heithoff was one of the MVC’s top relief pitchers this spring, leading the league with 10 saves while going 3-4 with a 3.35 ERA in 22 appearances. At first base, Heithoff hit .277 in 49 games, including 48 starts, while launching 11 doubles, a triple and three home runs to go along with 31 RBI. He stepped up in MVC play to hit .324 as well, while starting all 21 Valley games at first base for UE.

 

Smith and Acheson earned honorable mention status in the outfield for UE after excelling in Valley play. Smith tied for second on the team in hitting in MVC play with a .333 average, while also knocking seven doubles and four home runs in league play. Overall, Smith hit .295 for UE this spring with 15 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 39 RBI. Acheson, meanwhile, hit .318 overall and .301 in Valley play, while ranking among the MVC’s leaders in both doubles (15) and runs scored (51). Acheson helped key UE’s mid-season success, hitting .373 from April 1-on.

 

Davisson rounded out UE’s all-conference selections as an honorable mention choice at relief pitcher, after leading UE with an 8-1 overall record and a 4.24 ERA. Davisson ranked second in the MVC this spring with 31 mound appearances, including pitching in 11 of UE’s 21 Valley games. Davisson excelled in MVC play, as he went 4-0 with a 2.96 ERA out of the UE bullpen, while holding teams to a .261 opponent’s batting average in 24.1 innings of work.