Aces Baseball set up for MVC Tournament run, thanks to first round bye

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - The University of Evansville baseball team is officially in postseason mode The Aces ended their regular season Saturday, with a lot on the line, and they answered the bell.

With a first-round bye in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament up for grabs, the purple pack rallied for a 2-1 victory in the 9th inning, thanks to Kip Fougerousse’s clutch 2-run dinger.

Jarrett Blunt pitched a gem, and now, he and the entire pitching staff, get to rest their arms, one extra day: the important benefit of getting that bye.

“It just kinda puts everybody in positions of success,” said Aces baseball head coach Wes Carroll. “Being able to have a bye to save your arms, especially with the added day of rest obviously helps everybody, especially with the quick turnaround from last Thursday to Wednesday instead of Tuesday. Our pitching has really helped us down the stretch. They’ve been kind of our staple of giving us a chance to win ballgames.”

“That means everything. That was our main goal going into the weekend was to win two, just to get that first round bye, just to give ourselves more of a chance you know, not having to use our staff that extra game, having those arms for deeper into the tournament,” said Aces junior and Boonville HS grad, Nick Smith. “This is what it’s all about truthfully, trying to make a run here for the tournament.”

Set your alarms Aces fans, because UE faces Southern Illinois at 8 a.m., Wednesday, in their first game.

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