Laundry, hitting, pitching, fielding: UE baseball's Eric Roberts does it all in final year
EVANSVILLE — The Carson Center laundry room was in full operation late April 28. The University of Evansville baseball team had beaten No. 14 Indiana State 2-1 in the series opener a few hours before, but now the uniforms for both teams needed to be cleaned.
Washers and dryers were in use until about 10:30 p.m. that Friday when Purple Aces Eric Roberts, Kieren Hall and Kip Fougerousse walked out pushing a laundry cart. The work, for that night, was done.
Roberts and Hall were the first on board for laundry duty this season with Fougerousse joining later on. The trio is doing it as a job through the university to earn extra money and it started when a manager position became vacant. Someone needed to step in.
“Stay late; get here early,” Roberts said. “I’ve learned to love the role.”
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Roberts is the de facto leader in the laundry room — Hall said Roberts “took the reins as the boss man” last year and that he’s “his little sidekick; little Batman and Robin” — pulling the weight and being organized.
“Some call me a two-way player,” Roberts said. “I say I’m a three-way player. I do the laundry as well.”
“He knows what he’s doing when it comes to laundry,” Fougerousse said.
Roberts has flourished in several roles this season, both in the washroom and the diamond. His 21 home runs thus far are a UE single-season record and he’s deputized in the outfield, on the mound and at third base due to the Aces’ injury issues.
That triple threat has benefitted UE throughout the season and could yet still help down the stretch. The Aces open the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as the fourth seed against Southern Illinois at 8 a.m. Wednesday in Terre Haute.
“He’s a great dude, does a lot for our team,” Fougerousse said. “Hopefully he can add on to that record and make it untouchable.”
The league championship gives Roberts a chance to continue cleaning the record books and building on his status as, in the words of coach Wes Carroll, “one of the all-time greats.”
“He does it all,” Carroll said. “He might drive the bus for us up to Terre Haute as well.”
The ‘unbelievable moment’ when Eric Roberts broke the program record
Roberts’ season could perhaps be summed by his performance in the final series at Illinois-Chiacgo. The Aces needed to take two of the three games to earn a first-round bye, and his showing in the first matchup carried UE to its needed start.
Carroll said he’d never witnessed a performance like the one on display in Thursday’s 9-8 win. Roberts became the second-ever Ace to hit for the cycle and the first Carroll had seen add a walk to it. Roberts’ home run was a grand slam — the shot to tie the single-season record. He also tagged two outfield assists before the third inning.
He re-wrote the book the next day with a shot to left field.
“We talk a lot about moments, creating memories,” Carroll said. “Boy, was that an unbelievable moment that will create a memory for a lifetime for our program.”
“It doesn’t feel like I’ve hit that many,” Roberts said. “When I got 20 it felt like a weight off my back. I definitely didn’t want to fall short and be at 19. … The whole weekend, as great as it was, wouldn’t have been the same if we didn’t take care of business.”
Washing clothes, hitting dingers, playing all over the field: Roberts’ versatility
Outside the laundry room, Roberts’ expertise has come in the outfield, third base and even the pitcher’s mound. He moved to the infield after Brent Widder’s ankle injury and has since moved back to the grass.
“It’s something I work hard on, being able to play all over the field. It’s something I take pride in,” Roberts said. “Whatever way I can help the team, whether it’s from right, third base, first base, wherever. Maybe I can play all nine.”
Carroll noted Roberts’ versatility as an asset to his team. He provides a steady presence in the outfield and flashed highlight-reel plays while deputizing at third base. The ability to fill in whenever a player gets injured and not miss a beat has made Roberts a mainstay in the lineup.
“It gets emotional at times whenever you watch people perform the way they’re capable of performing and also above it as well,” Carroll said. “Just kind of your do-it-all guy.”
“He does everything for the team,” pitcher Nick Smith said. “Doing the laundry, moving to third when he has to, coming in (and) getting saves. … What he’s done is nothing short of incredible and it’s amazing to watch.”
Roberts’ presence is felt across UE’s team: The diamond, dugout, bullpen, washroom and record book. As his fifth and final season with the Aces comes to a close, his 21 home runs and counting have cemented a legacy that was already intact.
“I just couldn’t think of a better person to get that done,” Hall said. “He deserves everything he’s done. … Eric, Kip and myself are the laundry crew as well, so the hard yards that kid puts in on the field, in the laundry room: He does it all.”
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville baseball's Eric Roberts does it all in final season
