1988 Evansville Purple Aces baseball team

Last updated

1988 Evansville Purple Aces baseball
Evansville Purple Aces logo.svg
MCC South Division champions
MCC regular season champions
MCC tournament champions
Conference Midwestern Collegiate Conference
DivisionSouth Division
Record44–20 (11–1 MCC)
Head coach
Home stadium Bosse Field
Seasons
  1987
1989  
1988 Midwestern Collegiate Conference baseball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
North Division
Notre Dame  x93 .7503922 .639
Detroit  88 .5003124 .564
Xavier  57 .4171937 .339
Dayton  210 .1672029 .408
South Division
Evansville  xy111 .9174420 .688
Butler  35 .3751526 .366
Saint Louis  26 .2501129 .275
x Division champion
Conference champion
Tournament champion
y Invited to the NCAA Tournament
As of June 30, 1988 [1]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The 1988 Evansville Purple Aces baseball team represented the University of Evansville as a member of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference during the 1988 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Purple Aces played their home games at Bosse Field. The team was coached by Jim Brownlee in his ninth season at Evansville.

Contents

After going 39–17 (11–1 MCC) in the regular season, Evansville would win the MCC South Division title and the MCC Tournament. After receiving an automatic bid, Evansville reached the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time since transitioning to Division I in 1977. In the Tempe Regional, Evansville would upset No. 1 Arizona State before losing back-to-back games to UNLV and Central Michigan. [2] Evansville would finish the season with a 44–20 record. As of 2024, 44 wins is still the most in the program's history. They also set team records for shutouts (18), complete games (37), and lowest ERA (2.99). [3] [4]

Following the season, pitcher Andy Benes was selected first overall by the San Diego Padres during the 1988 Major League Baseball draft, marking the first time that an Evansville player was selected in the first round of the MLB draft.

Roster

1988 Evansville Purple Aces roster
 

Pitchers

  • 30 Andy Benes
  • – Jim Burger
  • – Craig Fischer
  • – John Schultheis
 

Catchers

Infielders

  • – Jeff Breivogel
  • – Kenneth Fields
  • Rob Maurer
  • – Brad Tyler
  • – John Olson
 

Outfielders

  • – John Bauser
  • – Brad Tyler

Schedule and results

Legend
 Evansville win
 Evansville loss
BoldEvansville team member
*Non-conference game
1988 Evansville Purple Aces game log: 44–20
Regular season: 39–17
Postseason: 5–3

Awards and honors

John Bauser
Andy Benes
Jeff Breivogel
Jim Brownlee
Jim Burger
Kenny Fields
Craig Fischer
John Olson
Rob Maurer
John Schultheis
Brad Tyler

1988 MLB Draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionTeam
11 Andy Benes RHP San Diego Padres
6141 Rob Maurer 1B Texas Rangers

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References

  1. "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1988". Boydsworld.com. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  2. "Andy Benes: Making his name in Evansville". goaces.com. June 28, 2024. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  3. "2021 Baseball Record Book" (PDF). gopurpleaces.com. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  4. "1988 Evansville Purple Aces". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved October 14, 2024.