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EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The University of Evansville baseball team has a busy week ahead, playing five games against three different teams. The Aces start by hosting cross-city rival University of Southern Indiana Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. CDT at Braun Stadium. UE will travel to Saint Louis Wednesday, taking on the Billikens at 3:00 p.m. before returning home for a three-game series with IPFW this weekend.

LAST OUTING
Evansville (11-8, 0-0 MVC) bounced back from a tough, 6-5, extra inning loss in game one to win the nightcap, 7-5, over Indiana University Sunday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind. After starting the game Saturday in Evansville, rain caused the contest to be postponed until Sunday, and Evansville made the morning bus ride to Bloomington to continue play in the fifth inning with the score tied 1-1. Despite tagging the Hoosiers for 16 hits, UE lost game one by one run in 10 innings. However, UE rallied in game two, scoring five runs in the second inning giving starter Cody Fick a nice cushion on the mound. Fick earned the win and led the Aces at the plate with six hits, two runs scored and five RBI, going 3-for-4 in both games.

LAST WEEK
Mar 23 UT-MARTIN Home W, 18-6, 18-21-0 / 6-6-2, Copeland (W 2-1)  
Mar 26/27 INDIANA Home L, 5-6 (10 inn.), 5-16-1 / 6-9-1, Isom (L 3-2) 
Mar 27 at Indiana Away                W, 7-5, 7-16-1 / 5-11-0, Fick (W 4-0)  

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
March 29 vs. USI 6:00 p.m.
March 30 at Saint Louis 3:00 p.m.
April 1 vs. IPFW 6:00 p.m.
April 2 vs. IPFW 2:00 p.m.
April 3 vs. IPFW 1:00 p.m.

SCOUTING THE SCREAMING EAGLES
USI (14-5, 6-0 GLVC) comes into Tuesday’s contest on a hot 11-game win-streak. The 17th-ranked University of Southern Indiana baseball team remained perfect in the GLVC with a doubleheader sweep of Rockhurst University, 5-2 and 7-1, Monday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. The 2010 NCAA Division II National Champions play in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and hold a perfect 6-0 mark so far. Justin Blinn leads the squad at the plate with a .352 average, followed closely by Brad Wannemuehler’s .340 average. Tyler Choate (5-0, 2.62 ERA) and Trevor Leach (5-1, 2.78 ERA) pilot the pitching staff with five wins apiece. As a team, the Screaming Eagles are hitting .264 and hold a 3.61 ERA.

SCOUTING THE BILLIKENS
The Billikens (15-8, 1-2 Atlantic 10) defeated Southeast Missouri State 14-9 last Tuesday, but dropped two of three at Saint Joseph's to begin A-10 play. They host Eastern Illinois Tuesday before meeting the Aces Wednesday. The 2010 A-10 champions made their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament and won a school-record 33 games last season. They are currently led by Nick Becker at the plate with his .323 average and Brett Vanover (3-0, 1.07 ERA) on the mound. As a team, the Billikens are hitting .292 and have a 3.27 team ERA.

MVC HONORS
Senior Cody Fick led Evansville to a 2-1 week, as he hit .769 across three games and picked up a win on the mound over Big Ten opponent Indiana University, earning himself Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors. Fick went 10-for-13 at the plate with two home runs, five doubles, five runs scored, and 11 runs batted in, as he recorded a 1.615 slugging percentage and .750 on-base percentage on the week. Against UT-Martin, Fick belted home runs in his first two at-bats, tallying six RBI in the contest and scored four runs in the 18-6 win. In a doubleheader with Indiana, Fick led the Aces with six hits, two runs scored and five RBI, going 3-for-4 in both games. The Freeburg, Mo. native lined three doubles in game one, including a ground-rule double in the 10th inning that kept the Aces’ hopes alive in the one-run game and would have actually tied the score had the ball not hopped the fence as UE fell 6-5. In the nightcap, Fick helped his own cause with three hits, including a double and two RBI while throwing six complete innings on the mound, allowing three runs on eight scattered hits to earn his fourth straight win in UE’s 7-5 victory. Fick leads the UE pitching staff with a 4-0 record and 1.73 ERA on the season despite third base being his primary position.

LET’S GET SOME RUNS
Scoring 119 runs so far this season, the Evansville offense has allowed its pitching staff some room for error. When the Aces hold their opponent to less than six runs, they have a perfect 10-0 record.

EARLY AND OFTEN
When the Aces cross the plate first, they own a 10-2 record this spring, but when their opponent tallies a run in the first inning, they are winless, 0-6.

STEALTH STAMETS
Sophomore Eric Stamets currently ranks tied for 17th nationally in the stolen bases per game category. Stamets averages 0.79 steals per game, swiping 15 successfully this season, while only being caught five times. Last season, Stamets broke the UE program record with 43 stolen bases in a season.

HITS, RUNS, SCORE!
The Aces come off a very hot offensive week, hitting .434 as a team. UE tallied 30 runs on 53 hits across three games last week. UE tagged UT-Martin for 18 runs on 21 hits, while recording 16 hits in each game versus Indiana University. Nate Smith (.452), Cody Fick (.382), Greg Wallace (.365), Ryan Oesterle (.338), Eric Stamets (.321), and Jared Baehl (.319) are all hitting above .300 on the season, as the team boasts a collective .301 average.