EVANSVILLE – For the first time since last May, there will be games at Charles H. Braun Stadium this weekend as the University of Evansville baseball team will open its home slate with a four-game set against Milwaukee.
After a 1-6 start to the season, the Purple Aces will be hoping to regroup against the Panthers, and it may be just what the doctor ordered as UE has enjoyed exceptional success on opening weekends at The Braun. The Aces have won each of the past five home openers and eight of the past opening series in Evansville.
Milwaukee, meanwhile, is 4-3 on the season and coming off a three-game sweep of Eastern Michigan last weekend in Winter Haven, Fla.
If the Aces are to be successful, they will have to shore up some of the mistakes that were made over the course of the opening two weeks. UE has committed multiple errors in all but one contest this season, losing each outing. In addition, the team has surrendered 77 runs (23 unearned).
Last weekend, the Aces suffered their first sweep of the season, dropping three contests at Conference USA power Southern Miss.
However, the Aces have experienced a lot of success at the plate, scoring at least nine runs on four occasions and racking up eight-or-more hits in all but one game. After putting together the best power-hitting season since the NCAA introduced new bat standards last year, UE has picked up from where it left off, homering six times over the first two weeks. Both Korbin Williams and Trey Hair opened their 2017 accounts in the category after hitting 10 apiece last season, and they've been joined by Travis Tokarek and newcomers Andrew Tanous, Jimmy Day and Kenton Crews.
Hair, a preseason All-American, leads the UE offense with seven scores, four doubles and a .323 average. In all, five regular starters boast of .300-or-better marks as the Aces own a .271 overall average with 21 extra-base hits.
On the mound, the Aces will begin with Austin Allinger, who will be making his first start of the season. The sophomore out of West Chester, Ohio, owns a 1.80 earned run average this season over two appearances and five innings of work. He has allowed seven runs, but only one has been earned.
On Saturday, UE will toss Patrick Schnieders and Justin Hayden. Schnieders started out the 2017 campaign with five hitless innings and 11 strikeouts at Central Arkansas before being pegged with the loss at USM. Meanwhile, Hayden, a junior college transfer out of Rend Lake Community College, is the only UE pitcher with a win this season. He's 1-1 overall with a 7.20 ERA over a team-best 10 innings.
Connor Strain, who missed the bulk of last season with an injury will be looking to get back on track in Sunday's contest after giving up 10 runs over his first two starts.
First pitch on Friday is slated for 3 p.m. Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's finale are scheduled to get started at 1 p.m.
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