Game 4 - Fri. Feb. 25, 6:00 p.m. CST
Fr. LHP Cole Isom (0-0, 7.20 ERA) vs. Sr. RHP Andy Ferguson (0-1, 11.25 ERA)

Game 5 - Sat. Feb. 26 ,4:00 p.m. CST
So. RHP Kyle Lloyd (0-1, 38.57 ERA) vs. Jr. RHP Jacob Lee (0-0, 1.50 ERA)

Game 6: Sun. Feb. 27, 1:00 p.m. CST
Sr. RHP Cody Fick (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. So. RHP Daniel Wright (0-1, 6.75 ERA)

Live Stats    Game Notes    

ALL-TIME SERIES
Evansville leads the all-time series against the Red Wolves, 3-0 after a sweep at Charles Braun Stadium last year. UE won by scores of 5-4, 7-4, and 9-5.

LAST TIME OUT
The Aces come off three losses at the University of Memphis in the season-opening series. UE lost by scores of 13-9, 8-4, and 17-6. Arkansas comes off Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to Ole Miss, who scored the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. The Red Wolves topped Murray State, 8-4, in their home-opener on Tuesday.

LEADING SLUGGERS
Six Aces enter the weekend batting above .300. Senior Greg Wallace and sophomore Chris Pearson hit .500 with an .833 slugging percentage versus Memphis, while freshman Brett Wiley (.400), senior Nate Smith (.375), sophomore Eric Stamets (.375 avg/.875 slg), and senior Ty Legan (.333) all had solid starts at the plate.

INJURY REPORT
Just three games into the season and the Aces have already been hit with a list of injuries. Freshman outfielder Kevin Kaczmarski is out with a broken foot, while sophomore Sam Johns suffered an arm injury in the first inning of the UE’s first game at Memphis. Both are out for the remainder of the season. A day after Johns’ first inning injury, senior pitcher Zach Taylor took a liner to the head in the opening frame and had to leave the game. He will be unable to play this weekend.

WALL-ACE
Senior outfielder Greg Wallace led the Aces’ bats in the opening weekend, hitting .500 (6-for-12) with a .833 slugging percentage. Wallace belted a triple and two doubles, batting in two runs and scoring four in the three-game series versus Memphis. The British Columbia native’s two hits in each game extended his hitting streak to 10 games, carried over from the 2010 season.

FIRST INNING BLUES
Mostly due to bad luck and injuries in the opening frame of each game vs. Memphis, the Aces gave up a combined 13 runs in the three-game series. Evansville was put into what became an insurmountable hole to start each game after starters Sam Johns and Zach Taylor were knocked out of games 1 and 2, respectively, with injuries before recording an out. The Tigers tallied six runs in the first inning of game 1, three in game two, and four in game three off sophomore Kyle Lloyd.

PITCHING LEADERS
Sophomore Josh Biggs leads the Aces’ young pitching staff with a 2.08 ERA, making two relief appearances last weekend. Biggs threw 4.1 innings, allowing five hits, two, runs, one earned, while limiting his opposition to a .294 batting average. Adam Culiver maintained a 0.00 ERA in one inning of work, while freshmen Ryan Billo (3.38 ERA) made one appearance out of the bullpen, throwing 2.2 innings, allowing three hits, a run, and striking out one.

ALREADY STREAKING
Senior Greg Wallace entered the 2011 season riding a seven-game hitting streak and extended it to 10 games after opening weekend. In addition, sophomore Eric Stamets has had a hit in his last nine games, carried over from last spring.

NEW BATS
After speculation that the new bats mandated by the NCAA this season would cut down on offensive output, Evansville and Memphis combined for 78 hits and 57 runs in the season-opening three-game series. The bats must comply with the Ball-Bat Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) standard. That is, the NCAA now tests a baseball’s liveliness off the bat rather than its speed to determine whether the bat meets performance standards.

ACES PICKED THIRD
Evansville was picked third in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Baseball Coaches’ Poll. The Aces tallied 41 points, chosen behind Illinois State (58) and Wichita State (53)
1. Illinois State (4) 58
2. Wichita State (4) 53
3. Evansville 41
4. Indiana State 37
5. Creighton 35
6. Missouri State 27
7. Southern Illinois 25
8. Bradley 13

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
Sophomore Eric Stamets and seniors Greg Wallace and Cody Fick were chosen to the MVC’s Preseason All-Conference Team.
Fick - Third baseman and power hitter Fick garnered first-team all-conference honors last season after slugging a Valley-leading 19 home runs which also ranked 36th nationally.
Wallace - Centerfielder Wallace tied former Major League great Joe Carter’s single-season MVC record for triples with a school-record 13, the fourth-highest single-season total in NCAA Division I history and also broke UE single-season records for both hits (91) and RBI (75), while hitting a team-best .371.
Stamets - Sophomore shortstop Eric Stamets was a consensus Freshman All-America selection after earning MVC Freshman of the Year laurels, ranking as the nation’s top freshman stolen base thief with a school-record 43 steals. Overall, Stamets hit .321 in his rookie campaign with 15 doubles, four home runs and 27 RBI. .

RECORD BREAKING YEAR
In the 2010 season, the Aces broke or tied 19 different single-game, single-season and career records, including one MVC mark as the Aces finished the year 32-27 overall and 10-11 in conference play. Nearly all those players that set the new bars will be taking the field again this spring.