Life in the Valley

UE, Host East Carolina Joined by Wake Forest, VCU

Evansville made a long trek up a big mountain to finally get back to the NCAA Regionals for the first time in 18 years. But they didn’t arrive quietly.

Evansville (35-23) has made noise all season, lacing 150 doubles which is second in the country behind only Austin Peay – whose season is complete. UE has added 82 homers and 7 triples to that output, making for 239 extra-base hits in 58 games. With some run-rule games, it works out to about 1 extra-base hit every 2 innings played. The Purple Aces are slugging .507 as a team and when they get all these extra-base hits, they typically are game-changers since Evansville is good at getting on base, as well, with a .410 team on-base percentage.

And while Mark Shallenberger (.388-15-57; 1.241 OPS) and Kip Fougerousse (.346-17-59; 1.070) receive much of the attention, the truth is there aren’t many outs to be found in this lineup. Every regular has an OPS of at least .822, while the team OPS is .917. There’s also more to life than just extra-base hits. UE has stolen 53 bases, led by 16 from Simon Scherry and 15 by Ty Rumsey, while UE has drawn 298 walks, led by Shallenberger’s 45. And Purple Aces hitters have been plunked 88 times this season, with Shallenberger’s 24 leading the way in that category, as well. UE has scored 460 runs this season, an average of 7.93 per game.

What UE will find in Greenville, N.C., however, at regionals is that there’s a bunch of offense on display. Let’s take a closer look at each opponent:

• #1 seed East Carolina (43-15, 19-8 AAC): The Pirates are hitting .310 this season and have 77 homers, 89 doubles, and 15 triples for 181 extra-base hits. They have outscored opponents 456-264, averaging 7.86 runs per game. Their on-base (.399) and slugging (.486) percentages are a bit lower than UE’s. ECU has stolen 61 bases, led by Ryley Johnson’s 21. They’ve had a painful plate experience this season, getting hit 60 times. Jacob Starling (15) leads 3 Pirates in double-figures in that category. Six Pirate regulars hit at least .304, led by Carter Cunningham’s .371 average to go with 14 homers and 60 RBIs. Jacob Jenkins-Cowart might be ECU’s best all-around threat. The junior from Greensboro, N.C., is hitting .343 with 12 homers, 73 RBIs and a team-high 18 doubles.
• #2 seed Wake Forest (38-20, 15-15 ACC): Don’t let Wake Forest’s conference record and 20 losses fool you. The Demon Deacons can mash and were the #1-ranked team in the country earlier this season. Wake has launched 113 homers, with 5 hitters in double figures, led by Nick Kurtz’s 22 and Jack Winnay’s 20. Wake also has 116 doubles and 11 triples for 240 extra-base hits. And like UE, when the Demon Deacons strike, it’s trouble because there’s almost always runners on. Wake Forest has drawn 371 walks this season, stole 59 bases, and been hit 63 times. Wake Forest is averaging 8.29 runs per game. All 6 qualifying hitters are batting at least .300, led by Marek Houston at .332.
• #3 seed VCU (37-21, 15-8 A-10): After a 4-2 win over Saint Joseph’s in the first round, the Rams rolled to the Atlantic-10 Tournament title, winning games over Dayton and then Richmond twice by scores of 11-3, 13-7, and 16-1. VCU has scored in double figures in 6 of its last 7 games. But the Rams’ offensive profile is a little different than that of the other 3 teams at this regional. VCU has hit just 58 homers, led by Brandon Eike’s 14. But he’s the lone Ram in double figures. VCU has also stolen only 45 bases and have been caught 23 times. But the Rams have 112 doubles and are still averaging 7.16 runs per game. They’ve drawn 294 walks and have been hit a rather astonishing 115 times (Aden Hill and Chris McHugh have both been plunked 17 times). Eike leads the team in hitting by a southern Virginia mile, batting .376. He’s the lone Ram hitting above .300. Eike also has 27 doubles, 2nd in the country behind only Northeastern’s Tyler McGregor.

Regardless how these 4 teams score their runs, the fact is they all score them. The numbers suggest UE will be able to compete, but much like the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, fans should assume that no lead is safe if these 4 teams still have swings left.