EVANSVILLE – On the heels of a midweek loss at Belmont on Wednesday, the University of Evansville baseball team will be hoping to get back on track this weekend as the team sets out for Peoria for a three-game set against Bradley.
The series, which will mark the fourth in Missouri Valley Conference play for the Aces, comes at a crucial time as UE will be hoping to better its postseason positioning at the MVC tournament later this month. The Aces (13-30) enjoyed one of their conference weekends in years last month with a sweep at Illinois State. However, the team fell in a pair of conference contests last week to league-leading Missouri State to drop to 4-7, which ranks sixth in the eight-team league.
UE currently trails Southern Illinois and Wichita State by 2.5 games for fourth place, and the Aces will be looking to hold off seventh-place Bradley (18-23, 4-8 MVC) this weekend. MSU holds a commanding lead for the regular season crown with an 11-0 mark, and Dallas Baptist is second at 8-4.
If UE is to be successful, the team will be looking for the same kind of pitching performances that Connor Strain and Justin Hayden provided in that Illinois State series. After an 11-inning battle with the Redbirds in the first contest, both Strain and Hayden tossed seven scoreless to lead the Aces to the sweep. The outing was part of an incredibly strong April for Strain, who allowed just two runs over five starts in the month. The Shelburn, Ind., native is 2-3 on the year with a 2.47 earned run average. Meanwhile, Hayden (3-5, 5.43 ERA) is riding a 14-inning scoreless streak.
Patrick Schnieders (2-5, 4.58 ERA) will start Friday for the Aces before Strain earns the nod Saturday. Hayden, who has seen weather prevent him from making his scheduled Sunday start in consecutive weeks, will toss game three.
Offensively, four Aces own averages better than .280, led by Trey Hair's .287 mark with a team-best 28 runs and 30 RBI. Hair's former junior college teammate, Andrew Tanous, is just behind him with a .286 mark with 24 scores and 23 RBI. Meanwhile, Korbin Williams and Travis Tokarek have combined for a .284 average with 46 runs, 40 RBI and 11 home runs.
First pitch on Friday is slated for 6 p.m.
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