LIVE STATS

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team will host Austin Peay Tuesday night at 6 p.m. for a non-conference game at Braun Stadium.  The Purple Aces will be looking to snap a six-game losing skid, before returning to Missouri Valley Conference play next weekend.
 
Evansville (14-23) was swept last weekend in a non-conference series against former Midwestern Collegiate Conference foe Xavier at Braun Stadium.  The Aces dropped a 9-7 decision Friday night, before falling, 3-2, Saturday afternoon and, 4-3, Sunday in the series finale.  Senior Chris Pearson led UE against the Musketeers, hitting .455 (5-for-11) for the series with a double, a solo home run and two RBI.  Sophomore Kyle Pollock went 4-for-9 in the three-game set with a pair of doubles, while redshirt sophomore Kevin Kaczmarski finished 4-for-13 with two runs scored and four RBI on a grand slam Friday night.
 
Evansville enters Tuesday night’s game hitting .272 as a team with 40 doubles, seven triples and nine home runs for a .339 slugging percentage.  The Aces own a .369 on-base percentage and have stolen 29 bases in 44 chances.  Defensively, UE is fielding .971 as a team, but has committed eight errors in its last three contests.
 
Kaczmarski, who is currently on a 14-game hitting streak, leads Evansville with a .338 average, 11 doubles, a .483 slugging percentage and nine stolen bases, and is tied for the team lead with three homers.  Seniors Jason Hockemeyer and Pearson are hitting .323 and .308, respectively.  Hockemeyer leads the Aces with a .467 on-base percentage and is tied for third on the team with 21 RBI.  Pearson co-leads the team with three long balls and ranks second on the squad with 24 RBI.  Redshirt junior Johnny Day is hitting .260 with seven doubles and had driven in a team-high 26 runs.
 
UE pitchers have combined for a 4.71 ERA, .286 opposing batting average and 271 strikeouts in 319.0 innings.  Senior Kyle Lloyd leads the staff with a 4-2 record and 2.73 ERA.  The right-hander has tallied a team-high 67 strikeouts and is holding opposing hitters to a .230 batting average in his 59.1 innings of work.  Sophomore Kyle Freeland is 3-5 in his nine starts and sports a 3.08 ERA with 59 strikeouts around 16 walks in 61.1 innings of work.  Out of the bullpen, senior Jake Naumann has made 14 appearances and tallied all six saves for Evansville.  Naumann has struck out 10 and is limiting opponents to a .170 batting average in his 13.1 innings of relief. 
 
Austin Peay (26-11) has lost six of its last seven and dropped two of three in a series at Southeast Missouri State last weekend in Ohio Valley Conference action.  The Governors are 6-2 against MVC teams this season, as they have played Creighton, Illinois State, Indiana State and Southern Illinois earlier this season.
 
APSU is hitting .292 as a team with five players hitting .300 or better.  Austin Peay is slugging .410, as it has recorded 69 doubles, five triples and 25 homers.  The Governors are reaching base at a .391 clip, have stolen 39 bases in 62 attempts and are fielding .966 as a squad with 49 defensive miscues in their 37 contests.
 
Craig Massoni leads Austin Peay with a .362 batting average, .582 slugging percentage, seven round-trippers and 40 RBI.  Jordan Hankins has scored a team-high 38 runs and is hitting .352 with nine doubles, six homers and 33 RBI.  Cody Hudson owns a .331 batting average with a team-best 15 doubles and 13 stolen bases, while Reed Harper is hitting .302 with a double, a triple, three home runs and 32 RBI.
 
The Governor pitching staff has a combined ERA of 4.84 with a .270 opposing batting average and 276 strikeouts in 333.0 innings.  Lee Ridenhour is a perfect 6-0 in his eight starts this season and leads APSU with a 2.20 ERA, 52 strikeouts, 61.1 innings and a .206 opposing batting average.  Casey Delgado is 5-2 on the year with a 4.61 ERA and 50 strikeouts in his 52.2 innings on the mound, while Zach Hall is 3-2 with a 6.69 ERA and has fanned 29 opposing hitters over 40.1 innings.  Tyler Rogers has appeared 22 times out of the Austin Peay bullpen and has notched 12 saves, striking out 24 in 24.1 frames of relief.
 
The Aces and Governors will meet for the 61st time in series history Tuesday, with UE holding a 38-20-2 advantage in the all-time series.  Evansville won both meetings last season, defeating Austin Peay, 7-3, in Clarksville, Tenn., and, 12-1, in Evansville.
 
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (UE STARTER LISTED FIRST)
Ryan Billo (Sr., RHP, 1-3, 10.02 ERA) vs. Zach Hall (Jr., LHP, 3-2, 6.69 ERA)