'Dependable' Boonville grad Nick Smith has become UE's ace and the MVC's top pitcher

EVANSVILLE — Nick Smith and Simon Scherry have a friendly rivalry that dates back to middle school. Sixth grade, to be exact.

It’s still something the pair talk about to this day. Smith was on the mound; Scherry at the plate.

“That was my 13th inning that day,” Smith said. “I always put that out there first.”

“He’ll tell you the whole story,” Scherry said. “He’s complaining about how much he threw and all that.”

Scherry went yard. Home run. Game over.

Smith exacted his revenge later on the basketball court. He scored 24 points for his team in a winning effort, thus balancing the score between the two, who are now roommates and teammates on the University of Evansville baseball team.

“He was 6-foot-3 as a seventh grader,” Scherry said. “There’s not a lot anybody can really do with that.”

Scherry’s home run still comes up in conversation and he said Smith threatens to hit him every time they’ve faced each other since. The shortstop now tries to limit the number of times he mentions the walk-off when he knows he has to square off against his roommate.

“One day, it’s gonna come,” Smith said. “One day, I’m gonna put one on the legs.”

Scherry’s winning homer those years ago was one stop along Smith’s way. He is now UE’s Friday starter, the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year, and is appearing on professional radars.

Purple Aces coach Wes Carroll has produced future MLB players over the course of his tenure. He believes Smith has the potential to be among the next UE standouts to sign a professional deal.

“He’s bought in and he trusts,” coach Wes Carroll said. “There’s a significant amount of trust that we’re making decisions that are best for him and surrounding him with the right program that’s best for him to go out there are keep developing and being the best version of himself he can be.”

Smith credits much of his growth to being last season’s Saturday starter behind Shane Gray, who was drafted by the New York Yankees organization.

“That was a big accomplishment for me. I thought that was really cool,” Smith said. “The guys in the field made it fun.”

Close to home: Nick Smith’s Boonville connection

UE was one of the first schools to reach out to Smith during his recruitment process. He always knew the Aces were close to home and competed at a competitive level. Those were things he sought. Conversations with his parents cemented that.

“From the beginning,” he said, “we kind of knew UE was at the top of the list.”

Smith now carries the local tag with him. Friends and family come to games “all the time,” he said. Little Leaguers from Boonville watch Aces games and ask to get photos with him.

“Being looked at as the local guy and an example for a lot of the younger kids is big shoes to fill,” Smith said. “It’s just doing what’s right, being able to do what’s right and being able to show them what’s right is huge.”

In addition to being one of UE’s local standouts, Smith carries a piece of his family history with him in the tattoo on his left arm. There he has "Done Vida," Spanish for "Donate Life," written in cursive with a heartbeat line. He got that after his father, Eric Smith, underwent surgery for a heart transplant at the hospital his sister works.

“He’s my biggest fan,” Smith said. “Having him paved the way and (is) showing me what it takes.”

Carroll’s faith in his local product has led him to believe in his professional potential. Should Smith reach MLB, he would become the second Boonville High School product to make the majors behind Howard Buickel in 1950.

UE baseball: Experience has the Purple Aces flying atop the Valley: 'We just know we’re a good club'

“He’s a very talented young man that we were fortunate enough that he wanted to stay and wear an Aces uniform,” Carroll said. “I feel like this is a stepping stone in his career, a path that can lead to Major League Baseball. I really do. I think he’s got the talent, the work ethic and a lot of things match up for him to play at the next level.”

Carroll isn’t alone in seeing that potential. D1 Baseball has Smith as the 14th-best MVC draft prospect this season. He was a preseason all-league selection in addition to his All-MVC preseason pick after his First Team and Pitcher of the Year campaign last season.

“It makes me want to work a lot harder knowing that it’s an attainable task,” Smith said. “Having all these guys here working toward the same goals and the same ambitions and whatnot makes it a lot more funner.”

Nick Smith’s ‘fastball-heavy’ style and why it’s hard to hit

Carroll’s best advice on facing Smith?

“Take until you get him out of the game and get to the bullpen,” he said.

That’s despite Smith’s style being heavily reliant on one pitch. Pitching coach Tyler Shipley estimated that about “75-80%” of Smith’s tosses are fastballs. Opponents, for the most part, know what they’re going to face with him on the mound.

“He has what’s considered almost an invisible fastball,” said Shipley, who also talked about Smith’s improved slider and change-up. “It has almost a vertical rise to it. It looks like it’s rising. For most pitchers, it looks like it’s coming down out of their hand; his almost rides as it’s coming through the plate.

“You can watch the frustration on the opponents when they know what’s coming and they go back to the dugout saying they knew exactly what he was going to throw but they still can’t make solid contact.”

Smith’s focus has largely been on locating his fastball: “That’s my pitch,” he said. It looks different on metrics than most other pitches due to its rise. Smith’s ability to find weak spots has been one of the main focuses of his development.

“I would say it’s an abnormal style to have, but it’s fun,” Smith said. “I’ve developed more of a breaking ball and a change-up than I’ve ever had, so it’s fun having that in the back pocket.”

Scherry, who has faced Smith throughout the years both as an opponent and teammate, also noted his fastball and the difficulty that comes with trying to hit it. He spoke about facing Indiana State, which the Aces host in a weekend series Friday through Sunday, and Smith threw seven scoreless innings.

“Every pitch was a fastball,” Scherry said. “It’s like, ‘This pitch is better than anything you can do against it, so I’m going to keep throwing it until you beat it.’”

UE coach Wes Carroll: ‘He’s dependable’

Smith has developed into a leading figure on the team through his actions more than his words. His on-field success has made a big impact on that, but his off-field actions have also led to his role as a leader on the team.

“He’s the first guy any of these guys will call if they got a flat tire, if they need his truck to pick up things,” Carroll said. “He’s dependable. I think that’s the biggest adjective to describe Nick Smith.”

Carroll said Smith’s teammates see what Smith has pitched through after battling injuries and getting the accolades he has as descriptors of the “dependable” mantra. Smith said that involves doing whatever he is asked as a teammate.

“That’s the mentality. It’s been my whole life,” Smith said. “Rather than complain about it, go and get it done. … The little things like that really go a long way.”

That kind of dependability leads to confidence whenever Smith pitches from his teammates and coaches alike. Even for those who hit a walk-off home run against him and subsequently gave up 24 points to him in basketball a short while after.

“He’s gonna fill it up. Even if he doesn’t have his best stuff, he’s gonna compete, he’s gonna grind, he’s gonna throw it across the plate,” Scherry said. “(It’s) fun to play behind. … It’s fun to have the action, have the life with him on the mound.”

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville baseball: Boonville's Nick Smith developed into MVC's best