• Series Notes (PDF)
• Free Live Game Audio (Courtesy of WUEV)
• Live Game Statistics
The University of Evansville baseball team will begin a five-game road trip this weekend in Peoria, Illinois, as the Purple Aces will battle the Braves of Bradley University in a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series at O’Brien Field. The series will begin on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. and all three games of the weekend set can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.
Evansville will bring a 16-18 overall record and 4-8 MVC mark into this weekend’s series. UE will ride its first three-game winning streak of the year into this weekend’s play, after knocking off crosstown rival Southern Indiana, 3-2, on Wednesday. Overall, the Purple Aces have won eight out of the last 12 games thanks to a pitching staff which has posted a 4.22 staff ERA during the month of April, while striking out 76 men against just 29 walks in 98.0 innings of work.
Offensively, sophomore outfielder Greg Wallace has paced the Purple Aces’ attack of late by hitting safely in eight-straight games. Wallace’s current eight-game hitting streak is a career-best for the 2008 Freshman All-America selection, and he has hit .382 (13-for-34) with two home runs and nine RBI during the streak to raise his season batting average to .288. Wallace feasted on Bradley pitching last season to the tune of a .538 clip, as he went 7-for-13 in the three-game set against the Braves in Evansville last March.
Bradley will bring a 12-19 overall record into this weekend’s series after holding off Western Illinois, 13-9, on Tuesday in Peoria. The Braves have played well at home this year, having posted a 7-3 home mark at O’Brien Field and winning six-straight contests on their home field. Bradley is still looking for its first MVC victory of the year though under first-year head coach Elvis Dominguez, as the Braves are currently 0-7 in the MVC. Senior infielder Tommy Fitzgerald currently leads the Bradley attack with a .346 batting average, three home runs, and 18 RBI.
UE leads the all-time series over Bradley, 34-29, after the Braves won two out of three games from Evansville last season. This weekend’s series will begin Friday night at 6:00 p.m., with UE senior RHP John Foley (3-2, 4.03 ERA) expected to battle Bradley junior RHP Brad Altbach (1-4, 7.15 ERA) on the mound. The series will continue Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. with UE junior RHP Keegan Dennis (1-2, 7.39 ERA) expected to oppose Bradley senior RHP Collin Brennan (0-3, 8.24 ERA). UE junior RHP Wade Kapteyn (2-5, 4.06 ERA) is expected to get the start in Sunday’s 1:00 p.m. series finale opposite of Bradley junior RHP Rob Scahill (1-1, 6.65 ERA).
