EVANSVILLE – The University of Evansville baseball season has hit full swing, and that's readily apparent this week as the Purple Aces will be looking to bounce back from Wednesday's loss at seventh-ranked Vanderbilt with a road trip to Hattiesburg, Miss., for a three-game set against Southern Miss, which will begin Friday evening at Pete Taylor Park.
UE at Southern Miss • Game Notes • USM Website
Friday, 6 p.m.: Live Stats |
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Saturday, 2 p.m.: Live Stats |
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Friday, 6 p.m.: Live Stats |
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The Aces (1-3) will be looking to repeat the offense brilliance that the line-up showcased a week ago at Central Arkansas, piling up 27 runs over three games. However, the team fell victim to some inopportune errors, leading to only 19 of UE's 36 runs allowed this season going down as earned.
A former UE standout in the infield himself, Aces head coach Wes Carroll has stressed the importance of playing strong defense throughout the week.
Offensively, Travis Tokarek leads the Aces with a .429 batting average. The junior designated hitter out of Zionsville has collected five hits over the past two games and he's reached base an astounding 10 times already this season. Trey Hair, a preseason All-American, owns a .368 average with three RBI and five runs scored, and Andrew Tanous checks in with similar totals to go along with a .375 average.
As a team, the Aces are hitting .276 and chalking up nearly eight runs per game.
On the mound, UE will look for a return to form on Friday night with starter Connor Strain. The redshirt-senior saw his 23-inning scoreless streak snapped in the first inning a week ago, and he's looking to build on an injury-shortened 2016 campaign that saw him post a 0.68 earned run average.
On Saturday, reigning MVC Pitcher of the Week Patrick Schnieders will toe the rubber after throwing five no-hit frames with 11 strikeouts. The senior right-hander fanned the side on three occasions against the Bears, and he was UE's workhorse last season, tossing a team-best 83 innings.
Newcomer Justin Hayden, who gave up two earned runs in 5.2 innings last Sunday, will be looking to continue that success. Last season with Rend Lake Community College, the Mayfield, Ky., product was among the junior college leaders with six complete games to his name.
Brandon Gomer, who's impressed in each of his last two appearances will lead the Aces bullpen, while Ryan Brady, who posted a 1.99 ERA a season ago, will be looking to get back on track.
USM, was nearly unbeatable at home last season, posting a 28-4 overall record at Pete Taylor Park, continued the trend on opening weekend with a three-game sweep of Northeastern, scoring 31 runs in the process before falling 12-5 at Alabama on Wednesday.
USM boasted of the best offense in Conference USA in 2016, leading the league in average, hits, runs, runs batted in and homers.
First pitch on Friday is slated for 6 p.m.
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