Game Notes (pdf)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team looks for a home-and-home series sweep Wednesday when the Aces host SIU Edwardsville of the Ohio Valley Conference at 6:00 p.m. CT at Braun Stadium. Evansville overcame the Cougars, 8-6, in Edwardsville on April 3rd.

Last week: 2-2
4/11  at Murray State, 1-3, L
4/13  vs. Wichita State, 4-1, W
4/14  vs. Wichita State, 5-4, W
4/15  vs. Wichita State, 9-14, L

CATCH THE ACTION (Tickets are $7 for Adults, $5 for Youth/Seniors)

Wednesday

Evansville

vs. SIUE

6:00 p.m. CT

Live Stats

SCOUTING THE ACES (22-14, 6-6 MVC) – Evansville comes off an exciting series win over conference foe Wichita State, winning games one and two by scores of 4-1 and 5-4. The Shockers came back to top the Aces, 14-9, in the Sunday finale, preventing the sweep. Hitting .254 has a team, freshmen Kyle Pollock (.309) and Kevin Kaczmarski (.302) lead the squad offensively, followed by junior Jason Hockemeyer’s .298 average. Defensively, Evansville’s pitching staff owns a 4.00 earned run average and is backed by a team fielding .977.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS (17-19, 5-7 OVC) – The Cougars come off a 2-1 series win over Tennessee Tech, winning the first two games, 10-3 and 10-6. SIUE fell in the series finale, 15-8. Travis Becherer leads the team with a .313 batting average and was named the OVC Player of the Week, hitting .500 in SIUE’s 3-2 week. Matt Highland also owns a .313 average, followed by Joel Greatting’s .282, as the team is batting .260 collectively. Sweeping the OVC’s weekly awards, Friday night starter Travis Felax garnered Pitcher of the Week honors leading the pitching staff that owns a 6.00 team ERA. The Cougars defense ranks first in the Ohio Valley with a .977 fielding percentage.

PITCHING PROBABLES
UE: So. RHP Ryan Billo (5-1, 2.85 ERA, 41.0 IP, 9 BB, 23 K)
SIUE: Jr. LHP Drew Staples (0-1, 7.71 ERA, 28.0 IP, 23 BB, 18 K)

MVC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Cole Isom, So., LHP, Hopkinsville, Ky.
1-1 G-GS, 1 CG, 1-0 W-L, 1.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 11 K, .094 BAA
Sophomore Cole Isom’s three-hit, complete-game gem steered Evansville to a 4-1 victory over Wichita State Friday evening at Braun Stadium and set up the Aces for their first series win over the Shockers since 2006. The southpaw struck out a career-high 11 batters in his first Valley victory of the season and did not allow a hit until the seventh inning. Isom also had a shutout into the ninth, giving up just a solo shot. In his ninth season appearance, Isom held the Shockers to a .094 batting average and lowered his season earned run average to 3.75. The performance garnered MVC Pitcher of the Week honors for Isom.

ACE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kyle Pollock, Fr., DH, Clinton, Ohio
4-4 GP-GS, .400 BA, 15 AB, 2 R, 6 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .667 Slg%, .471 ob%
Freshman Kyle Pollock extended his hitting streak to 11 games, the longest of any Ace this spring, leading Evansville to their first series win over Wichita State since 2006. On the week, Pollock hit .400 as the designated hitter with a .667 slugging percentage. In UE’s Friday night victory, Pollock hit a team-best 2-for-2 and scored what would be the winning run in the fourth inning. The Clinton, Ohio native kept his hitting streak intact in the series clincher with a single in the first inning, and recorded his second home run of the season, finishing with two hits in the series finale game with the Shockers. Pollock elevated his batting average in Valley play to .333 and a team-high .309 on the season.

LAST TIME VS. THE COUGARS
The Aces came away with an 8-6 victory over SIUE at Roy. E Lee Field on April 3rd. Evansville scored two runs in the first inning and led the rest of the way. Ryan Billo improved his record to 5-0 in that game, tossing 5.1 innings, allowing four runs, eight hits, a walk, and struck out four to earn the win. Jake Naumann hurled 1.2 frames out of the bullpen, giving up a run, two hits, and struck out one, while Sam Johns earned his first save of the season, holding off the Cougars in the eighth and ninth innings. He allowed one run, one hit, two walks, and struck out two. Offensively, Kyle Pollock (3-for-4), Trentt Copeland (2-for-5), and Jason Hockemeyer (2-for-5) led the Aces with multiple hits, as UE combined for 10 total. Kevin Kaczmarski’s two and Hockemeyer’s three runs batted in represented five of Evansville’s seven RBI in the game.

THE SERIES
Evansville leads the all-time series, 11-9. UE won the first meeting this season, 8-6, on the road April 3rd. Last year, the squads split the home-and-home series with UE winning the first clash at Braun Stadium, 5-3, on April 6th, but fell in Edwardsville, 4-1, on May 17th.

GOING YARD
Evansville doubled their home run output for the season in Sunday’s game versus Wichita State, as senior Trentt Copeland blasted a grand slam in the second inning and freshman Kyle Pollock went yard in the sixth. UE entered the contest with two long-balls total this spring -- both also hit by Copeland and Pollock.

TAYLOR MOVES UP
Making two appearances versus Wichita State, senior Zach Taylor moved into second place all-time at UE with 82 career appearances on the mound. Not allowing a run in either outing, Taylor (3-2) earned the win out of the bullpen in UE’s 5-4 series clincher and tossed a scoreless ninth Sunday. The Fort Wayne, Ind. native is tied with Corey Davisson (2008-10) in second place behind Willie Glen’s (1998-01) 97 career appearances.

’06 FLASHBACKS
Evansville’s series win versus Wichita State marks the Aces’ first over the Shockers since the 2006 season. Two weeks ago, the Aces won the series at Creighton, also marking the first time since ’06. That season, Evansville was Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Champions and won three NCAA Regional Tournament games.

GATE CLOSERS
UE’s bullpen has inherited 38 runners this season and allowed just 12 of them to score. Josh Biggs and Jake Naumann have been the most efficient mid-inning relievers, as Biggs has inherited 15 runners and allowed only two to score. Naumann has taken over 14 base runners, allowing five to come in.

LATE-GAME GRINDERS
The Aces are 16-0 this spring when they lead after the seventh inning. UE has given up just six runs in the ninth inning, while scoring 25 runs themselves in the frame – the most of all innings.

GOING STREAKING
Freshman Kyle Pollock enters the week riding an 11-game hitting streak, marking the longest streak of any Ace this season. In addition, Pollock has hit in each of the last 11 Valley contests. Jake Mahon (14), Jason Hockemeyer (12), and Pollock (11) have all reached base in double-digit consecutive games.

THIEVES
Evansville ranks second in the Missouri Valley Conference with 60 stolen bases in 77 attempts. Eric Stamets leads the conference and also ranks 17th in the nation with 21 swiped bags in 25 tries.

PUT AWAY THE BROOMS
The Aces were in position to sweep Wichita State this past weekend, but the Shockers came from behind to score 10 runs across the seventh and eighth innings for the win. On the other hand, faced with their first possible sweep, Evansville bounced back to top Southern Illinois (4/8), 6-2, to hold UE’s longest winless streak to just two games this spring. Evansville is 4-3 in weekend series of three or four games, neither sweeping nor being swept in any of them.

HOME AGAIN
The Aces are amidst a 12-game home stand after playing eighth straight contests on the road. Evansville owns a 12-9 record on the road and 10-5 mark in Evansville.

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 week with 194 career hits. He needs six more to become the 24th member of UE’s 200-hit club.

SMALL BALL
The Aces lead the MVC and rank 8th in the nation with 47 sacrifice bunts this season and also ranks second in the Valley for stolen bases with 60. Tim Bodine leads the league with eight sac bunts while Eric Stamets leads the MVC with 21 swiped bags.
 
LAST MIDWEEK CLASH
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 last 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 four, including two this season, versus Indiana State (3/23) and his most recent outing versus Wichita State (4/15). Against ISU, Isom took the tough-luck 2-0 loss, allowing two runs, nine hits, and struck out five, but earned the win versus WSU, throwing a three-hit gem with a career-high 11 punch-outs. 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, 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 107-96 record.

GO THREE
Kevin Kaczmarski ranks second in the MVC with four triples this season. Kaczmarski recorded one in three consecutive games from 3/18-3/23 and another in the series clincher vs. Wichita State (4/14).

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 24th in the nation, sophomore Jake Mahon has been plunked 14 times this year, already surpassing his season total in 2011 (12) that marked a team-high last year. In the first 20 games this spring, 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 second and both Pollock and Copeland went yard versus Wichita State (4/15). Copeland leads all active players with seven home runs in his career.

STEALTH STAMETS
Eric Stamets, who has stolen 21 bases in 25 attempts this season, ranks 17th in the nation for steals. He also currently ranks third in program history with 91 steals (91-113) 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
The Aces welcome Dayton of the A-10 to Braun Stadium for three games this weekend. Game one starts Friday at 6:00 p.m. CT.