Evansville Purple Aces baseball

The Evansville Purple Aces baseball team represents the University of Evansville in NCAA Division I college baseball. The Purple Aces have competed in the Missouri Valley Conference since 1995. The Purple Aces play all home games on German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium. The team competed in two NCAA Division II baseball tournaments before they started competing in Division I in 1995. Since then they have competed in four NCAA Division I baseball tournaments and have won one regional championship.

Evansville Purple Aces
2024 Evansville Purple Aces baseball team
Founded	1924
Overall record	1,565–1,509–12
University	University of Evansville
Head coach	Wes Carroll (17th season)
Conference	Missouri Valley
Location	Evansville, Indiana
Home stadium	Charles H. Braun Stadium (Capacity: 1,200)
Nickname	Purple Aces
Colors	Purple, white, and orange
NCAA regional champions
2024
NCAA Tournament appearances
1975, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2006, 2024
Conference tournament champions
1988, 1990, 2006, 2024
Regular season conference champions
1951, 1975, 1976, 1988, 1990, 1991, 2006, 2014
Conference division champions
1988, 1989, 1990

History

Conference history

• Independent (1924–1926; 1946–1950)
• Indiana Collegiate Conference (1951–1978)
• Independent (1979–1980)
• Midwestern City / Midwestern Collegiate Conference (1981–1994)
  • South Division (1981–1990)
• Missouri Valley Conference (1995–present)

1924–26: Harmon era

The first officially sanctioned Evansville College baseball team was formed in 1924. John Harmon was hired as the first head coach of the then-Evansville College Pioneers. Their first game was against Bethel College, which led to a 5–4 Pioneers victory, marking their first in school history. The Pioneers would finish their inaugural season with a 3–6 record. Harmon would lead the Pioneers to a 5–2 record the following season, their first winning season in school history. In 1926, the "Pioneers" nickname was switched to the "Aces" with popular support. During the same year, the team regressed to 4–10. This was also the last season before the college discontinued the program.

1946: Henke era

In 1946, Emerson Henke was hired as the head coach to reconstruct the Purple Aces baseball program. In their return season, Henke led the team to a 0–5 record before being fired at the end of the year. Henke is the only Evansville coach to be fired after not winning a game and owns the title for shortest-tenured coach in school history.

1947–66: Ping era

Before the 1947 season, Evansville football coach Don Ping was hired as the Purple Aces baseball coach. In his first season with the team, the Aces went 3–4 before improving to 7–4–1 in 1948. After finishing 5–6–1 in 1949 and 6–5 in 1950, Evansville joined the Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) before the start of the 1951 season. Evansville finished their first ICC season with a 7–4–1 winning their first regular season conference championship. Ping would coach the Aces baseball team for another 15 seasons without any postseason success. He compiled a 93–119–5 record and became the first Aces head coach to reach the 90-win mark.

1967–69: Daviess era

In 1967, Dave Daviess was hired as the new baseball coach to replace Ping. In his first season, the Aces compiled a 3–8 record while playing some low-level non-conference opponents. The following season, Daviess' group regressed to 4–9 but played slightly better than the previous years. In 1969, the Aces finished with a 9–7–1 which was their best finish since they went 12–3–1 in 1956. Daviess stepped down from being the baseball coach before the 1970 season. He compiled a 16–24–1 record in three seasons with the team.

1970–74: Boultinghouse era

Wayne Boultinghouse was hired as the head baseball coach before the 1970 season. He would help the Aces to a 7–7 record in his first year but the team would regress to 3–12 the next year. In 1972, the Aces would finally play their first full schedule of games as they finished with a 14–15–2 record while playing 12 series against high-ranking opponents. In 1974, the Aces would finish with a program-best 35–21 record. After the season, Boultinghouse would step down from his position after compiling an 80–66–2 record in five years.

1975–76: Hodges era

In 1975, Bob Hodges was hired as the head baseball coach. His first season would prove to be more than successful. He led the team to a 17–12 regular season record, helping the Aces win their first ICC regular season championship in 24 years. For this, the Aces got an automatic berth to the 1975 NCAA Division II Mideast Regional. After losing to SIU Edwardsville and Wright State, the Aces were eliminated with a 17–14 record. The Aces would continue to be successful the next year, earning another ICC regular season championship while earning a spot in the 1976 NCAA Division II Mideast Regional. The Aces would go 0–2 in the tournament losing to Wright State again and Eastern Illinois. The Aces ended the year with a 21–16 record. After two years with the team and a 38–30 record, Hodges stepped down from his coaching position.

1977–78: Platt era

In 1977, Mike Platt was hired to be the newest baseball coach for the Purple Aces. In his first season, he helped the Aces to a 22–18 record before going 13–29 the following season. Platt was fired following the 1978 season. In two years he went 35–47 as the head coach.

1979: Crum era

Gary Crum was hired as the next head coach of the Purple Aces in 1979. After going 4–27, Crum was fired.

1980–02: Brownlee era

In 1980, Evansville made a risky decision by hiring former Illinois State baseball player Jim Brownlee as their next head coach. Brownlee had previously been the head baseball coach of Princeton Community High School in Princeton, Indiana and had little college coaching experience. This was evident after Evansville finished with a 7–37–1 in his first season.

Before the 1981 season, Evansville joined the Midwestern City Conference (MCC) – now known as the Horizon League – in hopes of better competition. Evansville struggled in the conference until 1985 when they went 38–26 overall and 7–5 in the conference. Brownlee was named MCC Coach of the Year and Pat Heck won MCC Player of the Year, marking the first time in school history that a coach or player won such awards.

Evansville won the MCC regular season divisional and conference championship during the 1988 season after compiling an 11–1 record in conference play. After losing in the first round of the MCC Tournament, Evansville fought to beat Detroit Mercy twice to win the tournament. Brad Tyler was named MCC Tournament Most Valuable Player. They were then given an automatic berth to the 1988 NCAA Division I Tempe Regional. Evansville would upset the eventual College World Series runner-ups in No. 1 Arizona State in the first round but would lose back-to-back games against No. 4 UNLV and No. 3 Central Michigan to be eliminated. Pitcher Andy Benes became the first Aces player to be named Consensus All-American while also being awarded MCC Player of the Year, Baseball America Pitcher of the Year, Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year, and was named the inaugural Rotary Smith Award recipient. Brownlee was also named MCC Coach of the Year. Evansville finished the season with a program-best 44–20 record, a school record that still stands as of 2024.

Championships

Conference tournament championships

Season	Conference	Coach	Opponent	Score(s)
1988	MCC	Jim Brownlee	Detriot Mercy	7–0, 9–4
1990			Notre Dame	8–7
2006	MVC	Dave Schrage	Missouri State	8–4, 2–1
2024		Wes Carroll	Indiana State	8–6
Conference Tournament Championships: 4

Conference regular season championships

Season	Conference	Coach	Overall	Conference
1951	ICC	Don Ping	7–9	6–2
1975		Bob Hodges	17–14	10–2
1976			21–16	10–2
1988	MCC	Jim Brownlee	44–20	11–1
1990			27–25	11–3
1991			40–18–1	19–5
2006	MVC	Dave Schrage	43–22	16–8
2014		Wes Carroll	34–21	15–6
Conference Regular Season Championships: 8

Division regular season championships

Season	Division	Coach	Overall	Conference
1988	MCC South	Jim Brownlee	44–20	11–1
1989			30–26	12–3
1990			27–25	11–3
Division Regular Season Championships: 3

All-time records

Head coaches

Tenure	Coach	Seasons	Record	Pct.
1924–1926	John Harmon	3	12–18	.400
1946	Emerson Henke	1	0–5	.000
1947–1966	Don Ping	21	93–119–5	.440
1967–1969	Dave Daviess	3	16–24–1	.402
1970–1974	Wayne Boultinghouse	5	80–66–3	.547
1975–1976	Bob Hodges	2	38–30	.559
1977–1978	Mike Platt	2	35–47	.427
1979	Gary Crum	1	4–27	.129
1980–2002	Jim Brownlee	23	680–565–4	.546
2003–2006	Dave Schrage	4	130–108	.546
2007–2008	David Seifert	2	49–65	.430
2009–present	Wes Carroll	16	428–434	.497

NCAA tournament

Year	Record	Pct.	Notes
1975	0–2	.000	Mideast Regional
1976	0–2	.000	Mideast Regional
1988	1–2	.333	Tempe Regional
2000	1–2	.333	Tallahassee Regional
2006	4–2	.667	Charlottesville Regional
2024	4–3	.571	Knoxville Super Regional

Players and coaches

National awards

• Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year

Andy Benes – 1988

• Baseball America Pitcher of the Year

Andy Benes – 1988

• Rotary Smith Award

Andy Benes – 1988

• Academic All-American of the Year

Aaron Gries – 1993

• NCAA Regional Tournament MOP

Kip Fougerousse – 2024

• ABCA/ATEC Regional Coach of the Year

Wes Carroll – 2024

Conference awards

• MCC Player of the Year

Pat Heck – 1985

Andy Benes – 1988

John MacCauley – 1991

Pat Schulz – 1992

• MCC Coach of the Year

Jim Brownlee – 1985, 1988, 1991

• MCC Coleman Award

Pat Heck – 1985

Aaron Gries – 1993

Willie Glen – 2001

• MCC Tournament MVP

Brad Tyler – 1988

Jeff Breivogel – 1990

• MVC Coach of the Year

Jim Brownlee – 2000

Dave Schrage – 2006

Wes Carroll – 2014, 2022

• MVC Pitcher of the Year

Ryan Smith – 2000

Kyle Freeland – 2014

Nick Smith – 2022

• MVC Newcomer of the Year

Cody Strait – 2004

Ben Norton – 2006

• MVC Tournament MOP

Kasey Wahl – 2006

Cal McGinnis – 2024

• MVC Freshman of the Year

Eric Stamets – 2010

Kenton Deverman – 2024

• MVC Defensive Player of the Year

Eric Stamets – 2012

• MVC Player of the Year

Kevin Kaczmarski – 2015

Team awards

• ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award

Evansville Purple Aces – 2016, 2022, 2023, 2024

Retired numbers

No.	Member	Position	Career
6	Jim Brownlee	Head coach	1980–2002
23	Jamey Carroll	Infielder	1994–1996
30	Andy Benes	Pitcher	1986-1988

No-hitters thrown

No.	Date	Pitcher	Opponent	RS	RA	Notes
1	April 7, 1990	Gerry Croarkin (7 IP)	Butler	4	1
2	May 13, 2000	Vince Serafini (7 IP)	Missouri State	3	0
3	April 10, 2005	Fred Jones (7 IP)	Northern Iowa	10	0
4	May 2, 2009	Keegan Dennis (7 IP)	SIU Edwardsville	9	0

Facilities

Bosse Field

Main article: Bosse Field

Bosse Field is a baseball stadium in Evansville, Indiana. It was the home of the University of Evansville Purple Aces baseball team from 1985 to 1998.

Charles H. Braun Stadium

Main article: German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium

German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium is a baseball stadium in Evansville, Indiana. It has been the home stadium of the University of Evansville Purple Aces baseball team since 1999. In 2020, the field was named after the German American Bank due to its contributions to the 2019 renovations.

Rivalries

Aces in the MLB

Year	Player	Rnd.	No.	Team
1984	Mike Goedde	4	82	Cincinnati Reds
1987	Darren Niethammer	16	415	Texas Rangers
1988	Andy Benes	1	1	San Diego Padres
	Rob Maurer	6	141	Texas Rangers
1990	Brad Tyler	6	175	Baltimore Orioles
1991	John MacCauley	35	930	Chicago White Sox
1992	Jeff Tenbarge	6	153	Houston Astros
1993	Curtis Broome	22	621	Chicago White Sox
	Sal Fasano	37	1,029	Kansas City Royals
	Greg Willming	42	1,179	Texas Rangers
1994	Chris Helfrich	36	989	Oakland Athletics
1995	Adam Benes	20	547	St. Louis Cardinals
	Jason Imrisek	43	1,206	New York Yankees
1996	Jamey Carroll	14	400	Montreal Expos
	Mike Zywica	24	713	Texas Rangers
1997	Chris Luttig	17	512	Pittsburgh Pirates
1998	Brian McMillin	31	919	Minnesota Twins
1999	John Kremer	19	591	New York Yankees
2000	Ryan Miller	9	261	Milwaukee Brewers
2001	Preston Larrison	2	55	Detroit Tigers
	Vince Serafini	6	167	Minnesota Twins
	Wes Carroll	37	1,100	Philadelphia Phillies
	Matt Serafini	43	1,284	Milwaukee Brewers
2002	Steve Obenchain	1S	37	Oakland Athletics
	Blake Whealy	13	387	New York Mets
	Andy Rohleder	24	713	Florida Marlins
	Joey Vandever	43	1,301	St. Louis Cardinals
2004	Cody Strait	12	348	Cincinnati Reds
2005	Erik Lis	9	285	Minnesota Twins
	Michael Greenhouse	28	850	Chicago Cubs
2006	Adam Rogers	31	930	Toronto Blue Jays
2007	Ben Norton	24	726	Kansas City Royals
	Kirk Bacsu	32	982	Philadelphia Philies
	Fred Jones	33	1,021	New York Yankees
	Kai Tuomi	40	1,197	Washington Nationals
2009	Wade Kapteyn	24	720	Detroit Tigers
2011	Cody Fick	23	721	Philadelphia Phillies
2012	Eric Stamets	6	207	Los Angeles Angels
2013	Kyle Lloyd	29	868	San Diego Padres
2014	Kyle Freeland	1	8	Colorado Rockies
	Kyle Pollock	20	603	Kansas City Royals
	Sam Johns	31	934	Washington Nationals

See also

• List of NCAA Division I baseball programs