PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Friday:
UE - RHP Kyle Lloyd (1-2, 9.64 ERA, 4 GS, 18.2 IP, 30 H, 23 R, 20 ER, 10 BB, 10 SO)
MSU - RHP Kurt Wunderlich (3-1, 1.75 ERA, 4 GS, 25.2 IP, 19 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 21 SO)
Saturday:
UE - LHP Cole Isom (2-1, 4.95 ERA, 3 GS, 20.0 IP, 24 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 11 BB, 9 SO)
MSU - RHP Tony Bucciferro (3-0, 2.49 ERA, 4 GS, 25.1 IP, 29 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 11 SO)
Sunday:
UE - RHP Cody Fick (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 12 SO)
MSU - RHP David Garner (2-1, 1.10 ERA, 2 GS, 16.1 IP, 12 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 7 BB, 17 SO)
ACES’ LAST OUTING
Evansville (7-6, 0-0 MVC) went 3-1 on its spring break trip, winning one game at Jacksonville last Tuesday, falling to USF Friday, then bouncing back Saturday to win both games of the doubleheader. The Aces are 4-1 in their last five games and 7-3 in their last 10.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
Michigan State (11-3, 0-0 Big Ten) won 34 games in 2010, the fifth winningest season in program history, and has 22 letterwinners and four all-Big Ten players on the current squad. The Spartans got off to a strong start this season with a 3-0 showing at the Big East/Big Ten Challenge and are currently on a four-game win streak topping Miami (Ohio), Yale, Akron, and Pittsburgh on their spring trip. The Spartans’ three losses come from No. 6 Clemson, Bethune Cookman, and Boston College. As a team, Michigan State is hitting .346 and owns a 2.71 team ERA. Senior first baseman Jeff Holm was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week, and right-hander David Garner earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for last week’s performances.
FICK DOES IT ALL
Senior Cody Fick did it all for Evansville last Tuesday night versus Jacksonville, as the Aces started their spring break trip with a 7-0 win. Making just his second career start on the mound, Fick threw a complete-game, three-hit shutout, with nine strikeouts. At the plate, Fick led the Aces with three hits, just a home run shy of hitting the cycle, and had a hand in all of UE's seven runs, batting in five and scoring two. On the week, Fick led the Aces with eight RBIs. After multiple early-season injuries in UE’s pitching staff, Fick has stepped up to lead Evansville with a 2-0 record, 0.00 ERA, and has held his opposition to a .157 batting average on the season.
OESTERLE STIRS IT UP
Leading Evansville to a 3-1 week with wins over Jacksonville and USF, senior Ryan Oesterle recorded hits in all four games, including three multi-hit games. The Peoria, Ariz. native batted .438 on the week with seven hits that included three doubles and his first home run of the season. Oesterle is currently riding a six-game hitting streak and leads the Aces with a .357 batting average through 13 games. In the field, the senior led UE with 32 putouts, playing first and third base, and has yet to commit an error on defense, piloting the Aces with 73 putouts on the season.
PITCHING PICKING UP
After losing UE’s top two pitchers, Sam Johns and Zach Taylor, to injuries in their first outings, and going 0-4 to start the season, Evansville’s pitching staff has really turned it around. Since game five on, the hurlers have gone 7-2 with a collective 2.25 ERA and .228 opposing batting average, while allowing just 66 hits compared to UE’s 87 on offense.
MR. CLUTCH
Senior Cody Fick has proven to get hits in the optimal situations. With bases loaded, Fick is 2-for-2 and owns a .455 average (10-for-22) with runners in scoring position. When there’s a runner on third base and less than two outs and Fick’s at the plate, it is almost certain the Aces will tally a run, as Fick is 9-for-10 in that situation. He leads the team with 20 RBIs on the season.
SCORE EARLY
When the Aces cross the plate first, they own a 6-1 record, but when their opposition tallies runs in the first inning, the Aces are 0-5.
WALL-ACE
Senior Greg Wallace leads the Aces with four home runs on the season, belting 23 in his career. Wallace is currently hitting .340 with a team-leading .720 slugging percentage.
STREAKING STAMETS
Sophomore shortstop Eric Stamets is on a 19-game hitting streak, carried over from spring 2010. In UE’s doubleheader sweep over USF, Stamets led the Aces at the plate with three hits in game two, totaling five on the day.
HOT AND COLD INNINGS
It has taken the Aces just one time through the order to get the opposing pitcher’s number, as the Aces have scored 20 runs in the third inning this season, far more than any other inning. On the other hand, UE has been shut out in the second inning through all 13 games this season and hasn’t tallied a run in the second frame in 19 straight games. The last time was May 20, 2010 when the Aces scored two in their 5-4 win over Illinois State.
AWESOME ISOM
Left-handed pitcher freshman Cole Isom (2-1) has not allowed a run in his last two outings. Against USF, the Hopkinsville, Ky. native threw six scoreless innings, scattering six hits, striking out two and walking none to earn the first win of the doubleheader. Isom earned his first collegiate win when the Aces hosted Eastern Illinois on March 6, also hurling six scoreless innings, while giving up just four hits in UE’s 4-1 victory.
