Series Notes (PDF)
Live Game Audio (Courtesy of WUEV)
The University of Evansville-Southern Illinois baseball game scheduled for Thursday at Carbondale was rained out. The two teams will play a doubleheader Friday beginning at 12 noon, then conclude the series on Saturday at 1:00. All three games can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.
Evansville will be trying to finish the 2008 season on a high note after being eliminated from MVC Tournament contention last weekend. It marks just the third time in UE’s 14 years in the Valley in which the Purple Aces have not advanced to tournament play, with the last coming in 2003.
Evansville will bring a 14-39 overall record and 4-17 Valley mark into this weekend’s series after suffering a 10-4 loss at Eastern Illinois on Tuesday afternoon. UE held a 2-0 lead early before the Panthers erupted for 10 runs in the sixth inning to take control of the contest. UE freshman second baseman Shawn Kuester went 3-for-5 with an RBI on Tuesday to extend his hitting streak to six games. Kuester has now hit safely in 29 of his 31 starts since moving into the UE starting lineup on March 15.
Fellow rookie Greg Wallace continues to pace the Evansville attack this year with a .320 average. Wallace has opened up a 15-point lead on Illinois State freshman Kevin Tokarski in the Valley’s freshman batting race. Overall, Wallace ranks 22nd in the league in hitting, and third in the Valley in doubles with 17. He not only leads all MVC rookies in hitting, but also in extra-base hits with 21.
Southern Illinois will bring a 29-21 overall record and 9-12 MVC mark into this weekend’s series. The Salukis have already clinched a spot in the 2008 State Farm MVC Tournament field and can finish as high as fifth in the league standings. Southern Illinois has been playing as well as anyone in the MVC of late, having won eight of the last 11 games.
The Salukis are paced by one of the league’s top hitters in junior catcher Mark Kelly, who ranks eighth in the Valley in hitting with a .365 batting average. Kelly went 4-for-5 on Tuesday night to help the Salukis knock off Saint Louis University, 2-1, in 11 innings.
Southern Illinois leads the all-time series over UE, 80-53. The series dates back to 1947 and ranks as the most-played series in UE baseball history, as the two teams have met at least twice each year on the diamond since 1983. Evansville has dominated the series of late, winning six of the last seven meetings between the two teams, including posting a pair of run-rule victories over SIU last year at Braun Stadium.
