With Bosse Field turning 100 years old on June 17, we at UE Athletics wanted to take a look back at our role in the history of the iconic ballpark.

This is the third of a three part series:

PART 1: 1978 SOCCER MATCH VS. IU

PART 2: UE BASEBALL

Of all the Purple Aces baseball players to compete at Bosse Field (1985-1998), right-handed pitcher Andy Benes may have the closest ties to the now 100 year old Evansville ballpark.

Benes, a former 1^st overall pick of the San Diego Padres in 1988, went on to pitch for Team USA and have a 14-year career in Major League Baseball. But many years before Benes pitched at the highest level, the right-hander threw at the historic confines of Bosse Field.

An Evansville native, Benes played his high school baseball for Central High School (1982-85), before joining the Purple Aces program (1986-1988). Coincidentally, Central also played their games at Bosse Field, giving Benes a home field advantage even before he took the mound for UE.

"For a pitcher, it is all about being comfortable on the mound," added Benes. "I think it definitely helped being on that field for a few years before I was in college."

A three sport star at UE (baseball, basketball, football), Benes began his career going 13-11 over his first two years. He then turned his focus to just baseball as a junior, posting a 16-3 record with a 1.42 earned run average.

"His junior year was his first year that he did that and was now throwing the ball for 12 months," said UE head coach Jim Brownlee. "He just blossomed and as the year went on, he just spring boarded (up the draft charts)."

Benes struck out a UE record 21 batters in his second start of the season vs. UNC-Wilmington in a Georgia Southern tournament. He began the year with a 7-0 mark including back to back wins at Bosse Field. Benes finished the season 7-1 at home (Bosse Field, 148) before heading into the NCAA Tournament against #1 Arizona State. Pitching at a big ballpark like Bosse helped Benes greatly as he and the Purple Aces beat the top seeded Sun Devils 1-0 on the road.

"We were the 48^th team to get into the NCAA tournament and they were #1 seed," added Brownlee. "So (the NCAA) sent us to Arizona State and we beat them on a Friday night in front of 7000 people. It was an amazing performance."

A stellar junior season propelled Benes to become the highest Purple Ace ever selected in the MLB Draft. He reached the major league level in 1989, going 6-3 with the Padres. Benes pitched for the Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, and Arizona Diamondbacks during his 14 year stint in the big leagues. The pitcher's career highlights include being named a 1993 National League All Star, winning 18 games in 1996, and throwing the first pitch in the history of the Diamondbacks franchise in 1998. Benes finished his remarkable career fanning the last batter he ever faced for his 2,000^th strikeout. It culminated a long journey that began at Bosse Field.

"As a kid, you see this guy pitching at Bosse Field, then he is pitching (in the big leagues) and I think maybe that can be me someday," said Benes. "When I think of this place, I think of those dreams of what maybe could happen. I was a late bloomer so at some point I thought this couldn't happen. But after my junior year, I was able to play beyond college."

Benes is one of two Purple Aces to have his jersey retired by the program with Brownlee being the other. The two were incredibly generous with their time in helping us write this series and for that, we thank them.