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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team will host cross-town rival Southern Indiana Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at Braun Stadium for the eighth “Battle at the Braun” presented by the Evansville Teachers Federal Credit Union.
 
Evansville (16-29) enters Wednesday’s contest having won just two of its last 10 games, after dropping two of three games to Missouri State in a Missouri Valley Conference series last weekend at Braun Stadium.  The Bears won the opener, 9-5, before the Aces rebounded with a 2-1, walk-off victory Saturday afternoon.  However, MSU grabbed the series by posting a 2-1 win Sunday on UE’s Senior Day. 
 
Freshman Jonathan Ramon led Evansville offensively by going 3-for-10 in the series with a double, a triple and three RBI.  Redshirt junior Nick Hathcoat provided the game-winning hit Saturday with a single to right and senior pitcher Kyle Lloyd earned MVC Pitcher of the Week honors for his complete-game, five-hit performance Saturday, in which he tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts.
 
As a team, the Aces are hitting .264 with 45 doubles, eight triples and 12 home runs for a .331 slugging percentage.  UE enters Wednesday’s matchup with a .356 on-base percentage and 37 stolen bases in 55 attempts.  Defensively, Evansville is fielding .968 as a team with 54 errors in its 45 games.
 
Redshirt sophomore Kevin Kaczmarski leads the Aces individually with a .343 batting average, .486 slugging percentage, 12 doubles, four home runs and 12 stolen bases.  Senior Chris Pearson boasts a .315 average with five doubles, three homers and a team-best 27 RBI, and brings a 15-game hitting streak into the midweek tilt with the Screaming Eagles.  Fellow senior Jason Hockemeyer is hitting .293 on the year with four doubles, two triples and 24 RBI.  Hockemeyer has drawn a team-high 34 walks and leads the squad with a .437 on-base percentage to go with eight stolen bases.
 
Aces’ pitchers have combined for a 4.52 ERA, .283 opposing batting average and 327 strikeouts over 384.0 innings.  Lloyd leads the staff with a 2.35 ERA, 6-2 record and 87 punch outs in his 76.2 innings of work, while sophomore Kyle Freeland is 3-7 on the year with a 4.06 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 71.0 frames.  Junior left-hander Cole Isom is slated to get the start for UE Wednesday and enters the game with a 2-5 record and 5.11 ERA in his previous six starts.
 
Southern Indiana (29-15) has won its last seven games and nine of its last 11.  The Eagles swept McKendree in a four-game Great Lakes Valley Conference series last weekend in Evansville and outscored the Bearcats, 18-5.
 
USI is hitting .296 as a team with 70 doubles, seven triples and eight homers for a .374 slugging percentage.  Southern Indiana is reaching base at a .380 clip and is 68-for-92 in the stolen base column.  The Eagles are fielding .970 as a team, as they have made 47 defensive miscues in 44 games.
 
Brent Weinzapfel leads USI with a .379 batting average and .529 slugging percentage.  Weinzapfel has driven in 28 runs and tallied five doubles, a triple and two homers.  Reece Rounder sports a .372 average with a team-best 58 hits to go with eight doubles, 24 RBI and 12 stolen bases.  Hamilton Carr and Kyle Niemeier own .358 and .357 averages, respectively, while Brad Wannemuehler is hitting .313 with five doubles, a triple and 13 RBI.
 
The Southern Indiana pitching staff has posted a 2.85 ERA, .264 opposing batting average and 257 strikeouts in 370.0 innings collectively.  Ben Wright leads the Eagles with a 2.16 ERA and is 6-4 in 11 starts with 44 strikeouts in his 83.1 innings on the mound.  Matt Bowles owns an 8-3 mark with a 2.97 ERA and a team-best 52 strikeouts in his 69.2 innings of work.  Craig Austin is scheduled to start for USI Wednesday, as he is 2-0 this spring with a 2.73 ERA in his 12 appearances, including three previous starts.
 
Wednesday will mark the eighth time that Evansville and Southern Indiana have played at Braun Stadium and the Aces have won all seven of the previous meetings.  UE leads the all-time series with the Eagles, 31-18.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP (UE STARTER LISTED FIRST)
Cole Isom (Jr., LHP, 2-5, 5.11 ERA) vs. Craig Austin (So., RHP, 2-0, 2.73 ERA)