EVANSVILLE NOTES  |  LIVE VIDEO  |  LIVE AUDIO (Fri. & Sun. Only)  |  LIVE STATS

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After a non-conference loss at Western Kentucky Wednesday night, the University of Evansville baseball team will return to Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend for a three-game set at Bradley.  The Purple Aces and Braves will open the series Friday at 6 p.m. at Peoria Chiefs Stadium, play at 2 p.m. on Saturday and wrap up the set Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Evansville (9-15, 1-2 MVC) opened its Valley slate last weekend, dropping two of three games to Creighton at Braun Stadium, before suffering an 8-5 setback to WKU in Bowling Green, Ky.  Redshirt sophomore Kevin Kaczmarski led the Aces by going 3-for-4 with a two-run home run in their loss to the Hilltoppers, while sophomore Kyle Pollock finished 3-for-5 with an RBI.
 
Freshman Connor Strain suffered the loss in his first collegiate start, allowing four runs, all earned, on four hits in 3.0 innings, with a strikeout and three walks.  Fellow freshman Brent Jurceka and junior James Kohler each tossed a scoreless inning of relief in the defeat.
 
As a team, UE is hitting .265 with 21 doubles, six triples and five long balls.  Evansville is getting on base at a .361 clip and has stolen 23 bases in 34 attempts.  Defensively, the Aces have committed 25 errors and sport a .972 fielding percentage.
 
Kaczmarski leads UE with a .326 batting average and seven doubles, and is tied for the team lead with six stolen bases.  Junior Jake Mahon, who has missed Evansville’s last four games due to injury, is second on the team with a .325 average.  Mahon has tallied four doubles, two triples, a homer and 12 RBI, and leads the Aces with a .468 slugging percentage.  Senior Chris Pearson owns a .321 batting average with a double, a homer and 14 RBI, while redshirt junior Johnny Day, who enters the series with a 32-game on-base streak, is hitting .288 with a team-high 16 RBI.
 
Evansville’s pitching staff has combined for a 4.54 ERA and .277 opposing batting average this season, while recording 176 strikeouts around 76 walks.  Senior Kyle Lloyd leads the staff with a 3-2 record, 2.41 ERA, 48 strikeouts, 41.0 innings and a .216 opposing batting average.  Sophomore Kyle Freeland is 2-4 on the season with a 3.10 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 40.2 innings on the mound.  Out of the bullpen, senior Jake Naumann has notched all five saves for the Aces and owns a 2.16 ERA with seven strikeouts in 8.1 innings of relief.
 
Bradley (9-11, 0-0 MVC) will open its MVC schedule this weekend on its home field and has won six of its last eight games.  The Braves had their six-game winning streak snapped last weekend at the RussMatt Baseball Central Florida Invitational, as they defeated Washington & Jefferson, 12-2, before falling in a pair of games to Dartmouth, 11-8 and 7-4.
 
BU is hitting .306 as a team with 47 doubles, seven triples and 10 round-trippers.  Bradley is averaging nearly seven runs per game and is slugging .432 with a .398 on-base percentage.  The Braves are 21-for-30 in the stolen base department and have committed 47 defensive miscues for a .941 fielding percentage.
 
Mike Tauchman, who ranks fifth in the MVC and leads Bradley with a .405 average, enters the weekend with six doubles, two triples, two home runs, 20 RBI and a .595 slugging percentage.  Tauchman has also swiped 10 bags in 11 chances on the base paths.  Tyler Leffler is hitting .352, leads the team with eight doubles and has driven in 14 runs.  Greg Partyka owns a .351 average with seven doubles, a triple and a home run to go with 17 RBI, while Max Murphy has posted a .329 average with six doubles, two triples, a pair of long balls and 19 RBI.
 
BU pitchers have combined for a 6.17 ERA and a .284 opposing batting average with 125 strikeouts and 90 walks.  John Nasshan, who is slated to start on Friday, leads the squad with a 4.32 ERA and is 1-4 in his six starts with 16 strikeouts and 16 walks in 33.1 innings.  Saturday’s scheduled starter, David Koll, is 1-2 on the year with a 5.46 ERA and 24 strikeouts around 16 walks in 29.2 innings, while Stephen Toma, Sunday’s probably starter, is 1-0 with a 4.94 ERA and 16 strikeouts in his 23.2 innings on the mound.  Brent Stong has made six appearances out of the Braves’ bullpen, has recored BU’s lone save and is 3-1 with a 2.63 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 13.2 innings of relief.
 
Evansville owns a 41-34 advantage in the all-time series with Bradley, but the Braves took two out of three from the Aces last season at Braun Stadium and are 9-7 against UE at Peoria Chiefs Stadium.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (EVANSVILLE STARTER LISTED FIRST)
FRIDAY – Kyle Freeland (So., LHP, 2-4, 3.10 ERA) vs. John Nasshan (RJr., RHP, 1-4, 4.32 ERA)
SATURDAY – Kyle Lloyd (Sr., RHP, 3-2, 2.41 ERA) vs. David Koll (So., LHP, 1-2, 5.45 ERA)
SUNDAY – TBA vs. Stephen Toma (So., 1-0, 4.94 ERA)