Series Notes (pdf)
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Starting a 12-game home stand, the University of Evansville baseball team welcomes Missouri Valley Conference foe Wichita State to Charles H. Braun Stadium this weekend for a three-game series that begins Friday at 6:00 p.m. CT. The Aces bring a 20-13 overall record and 4-5 mark in the MVC into the clash, while the Shockers are 21-15 on the season and 4-2 in Valley play.
CATCH THE ACTION OF ALUMNI WEEKEND (Tickets are $7 for Adults, $5 for Youth/Seniors)
SCOUTING THE ACES (20-13, 4-5 MVC) – Evansville looks to bounce back from their first midweek loss of the season, falling 3-1 at Murray State Wednesday, and build off their last Valley game, a 6-2 victory over SIU on Sunday (4/8). Hitting .255 has a team,
Tim Bodine leads the Aces’ bats with a .305 average, followed by
Jason Hockemeyer (.304) and
Kyle Pollock (.296). In conference play,
Chris Pearson and
Kevin Kaczmarski have been the most consistent with a .344 and .310 average, respectively. The Aces’ defense ranks eighth in the nation, boasting a .979 fielding percentage, while the pitching staff owns a collective 3.81 earned run average.
SCOUTING THE SHOCKERS (21-15, 4-2 MVC) – Winning seven of their last 10 games, the Shockers come off a midweek sweep over Kansas, as well as consecutive series victories in conference play over SIU and Illinois State. Wichita State overcame the Jayhawks, 6-4, Tuesday evening in a marathon 16-inning game and followed with a 10-2 win Wednesday as well. In Valley play, WSU went 2-1 against both the Salukis and Redbirds, winning the Friday and Sunday contests in both series. Offensively, the Shockers are hitting .284 as a team, led by Taylor Doggett (.395), Dan Lambert (.340), and Johnny Coy (.331, 40 RBI, 6 HR). Casey Gillaspie leads the squad with a .391 mark in the MVC with eight runs batted in and three home runs. The WSU pitching staff owns a collective 3.37 ERA and has held the opposition to a .253 batting average, while being backed by a .972 fielding percentage.
THE SERIES
Wichita State leads the all-time series, 49-22, winning the last five series. UE’s last series win was in 2006, played at Braun Stadium. Last year, the Aces went 1-3 against the Shockers, winning the first game 12-11 in Wichita, but fell in the next two, 11-1 and 9-2. In the MVC Tournament, WSU edged UE, 2-1, in Omaha.
GATE CLOSERS
UE’s bullpen has inherited 34 runners this season and allowed just 10 of them to score.
Josh Biggs and
Jake Naumann have been the most efficient relievers, as Biggs has inherited 13 runners and allowed only two to score. Naumann has taken over 12 base runners, allowing three to come in.
Josh Biggs: 13/2
Jake Naumann: 12/3
Tyler Miller: 2/0
Zach Taylor: 6/4
Sam Johns: 1/1
LATE-GAME GRINDERS
The Aces are 15-0 this spring when they lead after the seventh inning. UE has given up just five runs in the ninth inning, while scoring 25 runs themselves in the frame – the most of all innings.
GOING STREAKING
Freshman
Kyle Pollock and sophomore
Jake Mahon enter the weekend riding an eight-game and six-game hitting streak, respectively. The eight straight games marks Pollock’s longest streak of the season. In addition, Pollock has hit in each of the last eight Valley contests. Mahon has also reached base in the last 11 consecutive games, marking UE’s longest current streak.
THIEVES
Wichita State and Evansville lead the Valley in stolen bases and attempts. The Shockers rank first with 59 stolen bases in 82 attempts, followed by the Aces who have swiped 56 in 72 tries.
ACE PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Kyle Freeland, Fr., LHP, Denver, Colo.
1-1 AP-GS, 1.29 ERA, 0 CG, 0 SHO, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, .160 BAA
Freshman
Kyle Freeland tossed a gem Sunday afternoon at Abe Martin Field, leading Evansville to a 6-2 win over Southern Illinois in the final game of the three-game series. Freeland (3-3) threw seven innings, allowing one run, four scattered hits, two walks, while striking out four in his third win of the season. The southpaw hurled four perfect frames in the outing, and gave up just two hits out of the infield. In Valley play, Freeland improved his record to 2-1 with a 1.23 earned run average.
ACE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kyle Pollock, Fr., DH, Clinton, Ohio
4-4 GP-GS, .444 Avg., 18 AB, 3 R, 8 H, 2 RBI, 2 2B, .556 Slg%, 1 BB, .474 Ob%, 2-2 SB-Att
Freshman designated hitter Kyle Pollock led Evansville with a .444 batting average and .556 slugging percentage with two doubles on the week, piloting the Aces to wins over SIU Edwardsville and Southern Illinois. Extending his hitting streak to seven games, Pollock recorded three multi-hit games with three runs scored and two runs batted in, going 3-for-4 vs. the Cougars and went 2-for-5 in each of the final two contests at SIU. Pollock also was perfect on the base paths, stealing two bags. The Clinton, Ohio native raised his Valley average to .298.
PUT AWAY THE BROOMS
Faced with their first possible sweep, Evansville bounced back Sunday to top Southern Illinois, 6-2, to hold UE’s longest winless streak to just two games this spring. Evansville is 3-3 in weekend series of three or four games, neither sweeping nor being swept in any of them.
HOME AGAIN
After playing eight straight road games, Evansville returns home to play 12 consecutive contests at Braun Stadium starting this weekend. The Aces own a 12-8 record on the road and 8-4 mark in Evansville.
20 WINS
Evansville logged its 20th win of the season at SIU Sunday in UE’s 32nd game of the season. The Aces are off to their best start since 2007 and an even hotter start than the 2006 team that went on to win the MVC title and three regional games.
MIDWEEK MASTERS
Evansville owns a 7-1 record this season on games played on Tuesday or Wednesday. UE is 3-0 on Tuesdays and 4-1 on Wednesdays.
NEARING 200 HITS
Senior
Trentt Copeland enters the weekend with 192 career hits. He needs eight more to become the 24th member of UE’s 200-hit club.
SMALL BALL
The Aces lead the MVC and rank 13th in the nation with 40 sacrifice bunts this season and also ranks second in the Valley for stolen bases with 56.
Tim Bodine leads the league with eight sac bunts while
Eric Stamets leads the MVC with 21 swiped bags.
LAST TIME OUT
With one out in the top of the ninth, UE brought the go-ahead run to the plate, but the hosting Murray State Thoroughbreds drew the double play ball, taking a 3-1 victory over the Aces Wednesday afternoon at Reagan Field. Sophomore
Ryan Billo (5-1) took his first loss of the season, despite pitching well, tossing six and a third innings, allowing two runs, eight scattered hits, a walk, and struck out two. Reliever
Jake Naumann threw the remaining one and two thirds, giving up a run, two hits, while striking out one. Recording his third straight multi-hit game,
Chris Pearson led the Aces’ offense, going 2-for-4, while
Eric Stamets,
Jake Mahon,
Kyle Pollock, and
Jason Hockemeyer combined for UE’s six hits in the game.
COMPLETE GAMES
Three active UE pitchers have recorded complete games in their careers, and they all happen to be left-handed. Sophomore
Cole Isom has hurled three, including one this season versus Indiana State (3/23). Isom took the tough-luck 2-0 loss, allowing two runs nine hits, a walk, and struck out five. Freshman
Kyle Freeland recorded a three-hit complete game shutout at Creighton (4/1) with six strikeouts, while
Josh Biggs is UE’s only other hurler who has tossed all nine, being done vs. Saint Louis on April 12th, 2011. He allowed four runs, five hits, a walk, and stuck out six.
100 WINS
Head Coach
Wes Carroll recorded his 100th career win versus Indiana State (3/24) in UE’s 3-2 walk-off victory. Carroll has led his squad to above .500 records in each of the last two seasons, going 32-27 in 2010 and 28-25 in 2011, and posted the second-highest victory total by a first-year baseball coach at Evansville with 25 wins in 2009. Carroll, a 2001 Evansville graduate, is in his fourth season at the helm with a 105-95 record.
GO THREE
Kevin Kaczmarski and
Jason Hockemeyer co-rank second in the MVC with three triples apiece this season. Kaczmarski recorded one in three consecutive games from 3/18-3/23. Hockemeyer recorded his third in UE’s win at SIUE (4/3) -- a two RBI triple in the sixth inning. Kaczmarski, Hockemeyer, and
Trentt Copeland all have three career triples to their name.
DOUBLE-T TRENTT
Trentt Copeland continues to move up the career doubles list, now with 52 after recording a two-bagger vs. SIUE (4/3) to lead off a three-run sixth inning. Copeland now ranks eighth all-time, tied with Rob Maurer (1986-88). He needs two more to move into seventh, and three more to become sixth.
BALL MAGNET
Leading the Valley and ranking 16th in the nation, sophomore
Jake Mahon has been plunked 13 times this year, already surpassing his season total in 2011 (12) that marked a team-high last year. Mahon was hit at SIUE(4/3), representing the first HBP after an eight-game break. In the first 20 games, the sophomore was hit 12 times.
IT’S OUTTA HERE
In game 17 of the season at Austin Peay (3/14), freshman
Kyle Pollock recorded both his first home run of this career and the first long ball hit by an Ace this year. Trentt Copeland’s solo shot at Creighton (4/1) marked the only other homer on the team this year. Both Copeland and Eric Stamets lead the active players with six home runs each in their careers.
STEALTH STAMETS
Eric Stamets, who has stolen 21 bases in 24 attempts this season, ranks 10th in the nation for steals. He also currently ranks third in program history with 91 steals (91-112) in just his third year of play. Stamets needs three more to tie Ryan Brownlee (1994-97) in second place. Aaron Pembroke (1995-98) holds UE’s record with 106 career steals.
PITCHERS GALORE
Evansville returns 12-of-13 pitchers from last season and also adds three newcomers to the staff, including
Kyle Freeland, a 35th round pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
For the second consecutive year, shortstop
Eric Stamets was named to the Missouri Valley Conference preseason all-conference team, voted on by the league’s eight head coaches. Stamets, a junior from Dublin, Ohio, projects to be one of the best shortstops in the nation this year. Last season, Stamets hit .292 with a team-high 51 runs scored and 27 stolen bases. Defensively, he led the Aces with 181 assists and helped the squad to a program-best .977 fielding percentage with a record-low 48 errors as a team. In addition, Stamets turned heads in the summer, playing for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks and was named a Cape Cod League All-Star. Stamets was a consensus Freshman All-American and the MVC Freshman of the Year in 2010.
ON DECK
After this weekend’s series, the Aces host SIU Edwardsville for a midweek non-conference contest Wednesday before welcoming Dayton of the A-10 to Braun Stadium for three next weekend.
