By STEVE KRAH
Kip Fougerousse did not shy away during crunch time in his first season in a University of Evansville baseball uniform in 2023.
“I came up with a lot of clutch moments,” says Fougerousse, who played his first two collegiate seasons at Indiana University.
The righty swinger socked a two-run home run in the eighth inning and a go-ahead grand slam in the ninth to a spark Evansville’s 7-6 comeback win April 22 at Murray State.
On May 20 at the University of Illinois-Chicago, Fougerousse belted a two-run blast in the ninth inning to propel the Purple Aces to a 2-1 victory.
Playing for a Wes Carroll-coached team that went 37-24 and lost to Indiana State University in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament final, Fougerousse played in 58 games (57 starts) and hit .288 (65-of-226) with 13 homers, eight doubles, 47 runs batted in, 37 runs scored and .872 OPS (.376 on-base percentage plus .496 slugging average).
Power is part of the equation for the 2023 all-MVC first-teamer.
“I can put the ball over the field almost anywhere on the field,” says the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Fougerousse.
His focus in the batter’s box is straightforward.
“Hit the fastball,” says Fougerousse. “If you’re on-time for the fastball you can be on-time for the off-speed.
“I like to work counts, but if that first pitch is in there I’m not afraid to take a hack at it.”
While he was at the top of the lineup at the beginning of the season, a few of Fougerousse’s homers came on the first pitch of the game. By the end of the campaign he hitting No. 3 or No. 4.
Wherever he plays on defense, Kip has keys and that starts with not getting too keyed up.
“Just breathe,” says Fougerousse. “A lot of people get nervous.
“Expect the ball to be hit to you. Be an athlete. Make the play. Don’t get in your head too much. You’ve done the work in practice.”
As Aces field boss, Carroll has seen to it that Fougerousse and his teammates have enjoyed their UE baseball experience.
“It’s fun all the time,” says Fougerousse of Carroll. “He cracks jokes. He makes it light. He makes it fun.
“There’s still work to be done. He can be intense at time and he can be silly at times. It’s the best of both worlds.”
The versatlie Fougerousse has played a lot of first base and second base but as he gets ready for his final season of eligibility in 2024 he says he could be at first base, second base, third base or even in the outfield on a given day.
“I don’t really consider myself a position,” says Fougerousse. “It’s wherever I’m needed.
“I’d say I’m utility more than a specific place (on the field).”
Fougerousse, who turned 22 in April, began the summer by taking a summer class while competing with the Northwoods League’s Mankato (Minn.) MoonDogs, managed by Danny Kneeland.
In 50 games, he hit .314 (66-of-210) with eight homers, one triple, 15 doubles, 37 RBIs, 49 runs and a .913 OPS (.403/.510).
“It was fun up there,” says Fougerousse. “They have nice facilities. Danny was always there early to get in whatever kind of work we had to do. If the game started at 6:30, we’d be there at 2 o’clock doing extra hitting or taking ground balls. It was cool to be around him.
“The Northwoods was a grind. It was everyday playing games. It was important to have a manager like Danny who will put in the extra time and keep light and fun.”
Fougerousse took a class at the start of the summer then could focus on getting better as a player.
“I got a chance to work on some things and just invest myself into baseball,” says Fougerousse.
The first day of fall classes at Evansville was Aug. 23 with individuals practices starting Aug. 28. Team practice begins this week.
Fougerousse was born in Greene County General Hospital in Linton, Ind., and grew up in that town.
Kip played four or five years with the Sandlot Spartans, a travel team made up of area players and coached by Matt Fougerousse and other fathers.
From junior high through high school, Kip was with the traveling Indiana Prospects.
At Linton-Stockton High School, he shined on the diamond and hardwood.
Playing for his father, Kip was a two-time all-stater in baseball and left the Miners program as the record record-holder for both batting average and walks. He missed his senior season — 2020 — because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He knows some baseball,” says Kip of Matt Fougerousse. “He got to teach me a lot from an early age on into high school.
“People think it’s tough playing for your dad because they might get on your a little more. But that’s part of it. Being a coach’s son you know what you need to do to get yourself prepared.”
The elder Fougerousse stepped away from the Linton-Stockton program after the 2021 season and continues to teach elementary and junior high Physical Education and high school Health at Shakamak.
In basketball, Kip Fougerousse scored 1,142 points and sank a school-record 168 3-pointers with a record nine in one game and helped Linton-Stockton to 91 victories in four seasons. The 2018-19 Miners went 27-4 and were Class 2A state runners-up.
Fougerousse’s favorite athlete is LeBron James.
The power forward has been in the NBA since 2003-04.
“He’s had the longevity and he’s never been in trouble with the spotlight being on him,” says Fougerousse. “He’s dominated the league for so long.
“I’ve enjoyed watching him since I was a kid.”
Did Fougerousse, whose uncle is Jeff Oliphant (member of the Indiana University’s 1987 NCAA basketball champions) and grandfather is Tom Oliphant (who coached Jeff at tiny L&M) consider pursuing college basketball?
“I committed to Indiana (for baseball) the summer after my freshman year,” says Fougerousse. “I didn’t know how good I was going to be at basketball.
“I love basketball. It was always fun. But I never really saw myself playing in college. I just did it to compete.”
Before heading to IU, Fougerousse was part of the first season of the College Summer League at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. He performed well enough for the Snapping Turtles to earn an invitation to the CSL All-Star Game at Victory Field in Indianapolis.
It was in that league that Fougerousse met future Evansville teammate Brendan Hord, a former Kentucky prepster who also played for Mankato in 2022 and 2023.
Fougerousse spent the summers of 2021 and 2022 with the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League’s Saugerties (N.Y.) Stallions, playing in 51 games and hitting .299 (53-of-177) with five homers, 12 doubles, 42 RBIs and 33 runs. The team won the league title in 2021.
In two baseball seasons at Indiana (2021 and 2022), Fougerousse got into 45 games (33 starts) and hit .190 (27-of-142) with three homers, one triple, three doubles, 22 RBIs, 27 runs and a .524 OPS (.235/.289).
He transferred to Evansville, where he was a Sociology major before changing his degree path to Marketing.
Kip’s mother — Jill Fougerousse — in a dental hygienist in Bloomington, Ind. Sister Libbi Fougerousse (Linton-Stockton Class of 2016) was a standout volleyball player coached my her mother in high school, graduated from Indiana State University and is now a teacher in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
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