Life in the Valley

Seen as Massive Underdogs, UE Likely to Stay Loose and Undeterred Against Tennessee

Until 2 p.m. Central time on Friday, on some level, the Tennessee Volunteers are a myth. They will be the Final Boss that stands between the Evansville Purple Aces and the miracle of making it to Omaha for the College World Series. UE hasn’t gotten to this level before. The Super Regionals seemed trapped behind some unbeatable captain or vice-boss who wouldn’t relent.

Until it did. And with East Carolina dispatched, along with VCU and Wake Forest, Evansville enters the battle hall known as Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville on Friday afternoon having heard stories of how great the team is, how amazing the atmosphere will be, and how, to steal a line from the commercial, “It just means more,” for SEC schools like UT. Tennessee’s gotten past this level before. The Vols’ final boss awaits in Omaha, where Tennessee’s recent success has yet to lead to them raising a golden chalice (well, NCAA Tournament trophy, which isn’t chalice shaped at all, but you get the point).

Upon winning the Greenville Regional and celebrating on the field with the customary dogpile, gloves flying into the air and hands rising above heads, it made me think for a minute of many who came before them. Andy Benes, Sal Fasano, Jamey Carroll, Eric Roberts, Kyle Freeland, Rob Maurer, Kyle Lloyd, and so on. The 40-win teams from ’91 and ’93 that didn’t get a postseason shot; the 2006 team that almost got to this point before bowing out; and the years were things weren’t so good and UE failed to even win 20 games, such as 2008, 2017, and 2018. I thought of Jim Brownlee and others who have been at the helm of UE baseball, trying to get them to this moment.

To come this far, you might as well believe you can go farther. UE has to take the field either way, whether as massive underdogs or not. A supreme effort isn’t only necessary, it’s required, not only to beat Tennessee but to validate the work and efforts of those players and teams before this one.

In an era of the transfer portal and NIL and everything else that’s descending upon college baseball, there might not be a team quite like this veteran UE bunch again, whether at UE or anywhere else. And that togetherness, how unflappable the team is in key situations, not to mention just how many big situations these guys have seen in their careers by now, are all assets as UE begins play in the Knoxville Super Regional on Friday against Tennessee.

“They’re an older team. They certainly can swing the bat well and those 2 things kind of go hand-and-hand,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello told reporters this week in comments posted at Rocky Top Insider (follow link to hear from Vitello). “They’ve got a lot of players that have been there for a while and have accumulated some reps. And pitching, it kind starts with their lefty [Kenton Deverman]. … They’ve leaned on their closer [Shane Harris] and he’s got a really good breaking ball.”

Vitello later said UE reminds him a bit of Kentucky (who is hosting its own Super Regional this weekend), with a well-balanced offense and a fun approach to the game. That approach can’t change this weekend. Evansville has to play the way that got them to this point and the results will be what they are.

But if you were to build a team that could contend in this Super Regional against a powerhouse like Tennessee (more on the Vols here), how UE is constructed is pretty much what you’d want. To win a series like this, you must at least have 3 things:

1. A dominant front-line starter who could win you Game 1. UE has that in Deverman, 9-1 on the season and not afraid to go deep into games as required, key in situations such as this given how that helps bullpen management for the rest of the series. Deverman’s 8 innings of 1-run ball last Friday helped Evansville to its 4-1 win over East Carolina that flipped the Greenville Regional on its head. A long outing from Deverman would allow UE head coach Wes Carroll to cluster most of his bullpen arms and innings around the final 1 or 2 games of the series – especially critical if it goes to a Sunday Game 3 with a trip to Omaha on the line.
2. You better hit the ball: We know this Evansville bunch can do that. UE’s batting average now stands at .301 after regionals, with 92 homers and 154 doubles. The Purple Aces are slashing .410/509/.919 as a team, and while that might not directly compare to Tennessee’s stats, it doesn’t change how dangerous the lineup is. And the experience plays a factor here, as well. Mark Shallenberger (.390-17-63; 1.247 OPS); Kip Fougerousse (.350-21-66; 1.112); Simon Scherry (.297-6-44; 16-for-16 steals) and Brent Widder (.286-12-55; .907) have played and started every game this season. UE averages 7.95 runs per game and has scored in double figures in 4 of its 8 postseason games, including three different 17-run outbursts. UE has 4 different batters with at least 20 doubles.
3. You also better catch the ball: One thing perhaps under-appreciated about Evansville is its defense. The team has a .976 fielding percentage, which is good for 61st in the country, or better than about 80% of the teams in the nation. UE is averaging less than an error per game and the defense has to be on point this series. Tennessee’s insane lineup doesn’t need to receive any extra outs. UE made several SportsCenter Top 10-caliber plays defensively in Greenville and that will have to continue this weekend in Knoxville.

I don’t expect Evansville to just be “happy to be there,” even if everyone else who roots for them or who are UE alumni probably feels that way. UE is still in it, so they can still win it. A lot of things have to go right for the Purple Aces and it’s fair to say that some things are going to have to go wrong for Tennessee, too. If UT is at its best, they’re moving on.

But that was said in ’22, as well, and things got weird. UE has no such pitfalls to look back on against this Final Boss, because Evansville’s history at this level is a blank page. The Purple Aces have the chance to write whatever history they want. They aren’t constrained by expectations, except for perhaps knowing this is the last ride for a significant number of these players – but that was true last weekend, too, and it didn’t hinder them.

I haven’t seen anyone pick Evansville to win the series and that doesn’t surprise me. I don’t do picks here, but there’s certainly more than enough evidence out there to suggest Tennessee is Omaha-bound.

But doubting this Evansville group seems unwise. The tools are there to defeat the Final Boss, now it’s just down to execution.