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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team will play its final Missouri Valley Conference series this weekend, when it travels to Normal, Ill., for a three-game series with Illinois State at Duffy Bass Field.  The Purple Aces and Redbirds will open the series Friday at 6 p.m., continue the set Saturday at 2 p.m. and conclude it Sunday with a 1 p.m. matinee.
 
Evansville (20-29, 9-8 MVC) will take a season-best four-game winning streak into the series, as the Aces defeated SIU Edwardsville, 11-7, in non-conference play Wednesday night on their home diamond at Braun Stadium.  UE pounded out 15 hits in the contest and had four different players drive in multiple runs.  Senior Chris Pearson and freshman Jonathan Ramon each drove in three runs, while seniors Jason Hockemeyer and Andy Lasher added two apiece.  The three in Evansville’s lineup, which included redshirt sophomore Kevin Kaczmarski, Pearson and Hockemeyer, combined to go 8-for-12 with six runs scored and six RBI.  Junior Cole Isom earned the win on the mound to improve to 4-5, as he allowed four runs on six hits in his 6.0 innings of work.
 
As a team, the Aces are hitting .265 with 54 doubles, 10 triples and 14 home runs for a .338 slugging percentage.  UE enters the series with a .359 on-base percentage and has stolen 42 bases in 63 attempts this season.  Defensively, Evansville has committed 58 errors for a .968 fielding percentage.
 
Four Aces are hitting over .300 this season, including Kaczmarski, who leads the team with a .347 average, .487 slugging percentage, 12 doubles and 14 stolen bases.  Kaczmarski has also belted four home runs and driven in 26 runs.  Chris Pearson boasts a .311 average and has racked up a team-best 31 RBI.  Pearson has also gone deep four times this year and has legged out six doubles.  Junior Jake Mahon, who returned to the lineup for UE last weekend at Indiana State after suffering a broken hamate bone in his left hand against Southern Illinois on April 5, is hitting .311 with four doubles, two triples, a homer and 13 RBI.  Hockemeyer leads the squad with a .440 on-base percentage and three triples, brings a .305 batting average into the weekend and ranks second on the team with 28 RBI.
 
On the mound, Evansville pitchers have combined for a 4.31 ERA, .278 opposing batting average and 356 strikeouts in 424.0 innings this spring.  Senior right-hander Kyle Lloyd, who leads the MVC with 91 strikeouts, leads the Aces’ staff with a 7-2 record and 2.18 ERA in his 82.2 frames on the mound.  In his six league starts, Lloyd is a perfect 5-0 with a 1.67 ERA and 42 strikeouts against just 12 walks.  Sophomore southpaw Kyle Freeland, who will pitch Sunday for UE, enters the series with a 3-7 record, 3.97 ERA and 73 strikeouts over 79.1 innings.  Senior Josh Biggs is slated to take the hill for Evansville Friday night and is 0-2 on the year with a 2.87 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 31.1 innings of work.
 
Illinois State (31-17, 11-4 MVC) enters the series as one of the hottest teams in the country, as the Redbirds have won 17 of their last 20 games.  In addition, ISU has posted a 20-6 record on its home field this season.  Last weekend, Illinois State took two of three from Creighton in Normal.
 
As a team, the Redbirds are hitting .291 with 78 doubles, 11 triples and 25 round-trippers for a .401 slugging percentage.  ISU is getting on base at a .384 clip and are 67-for-82 in the stolen base department.  Illinois State has posted a .966 fielding percentage, as it has been charged with 63 errors this season.
 
Individually, Eric Aguilera leads the Redbirds with a .359 average, .552 slugging percentage, seven home runs and 45 RBI.  Kyle Stanton, who was named the MVC Player of the Week on Monday, is hitting .351 on the season with a team-high 16 doubles, three homers and 37 RBI.  Zac Johnson boasts a .317 average with 13 doubles, a triple, six homers and 37 RBI.  Chad Hinshaw, who leads ISU with 28 stolen bases, is hitting .295 with eight doubles and 28 RBI.
 
The Redbird pitching staff has combined for a 3.56 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a .242 average with 320 strikeouts over 412.0 innings.  Friday night starter Chris Razo, who is the reigning MVC Pitcher of the Week, leads ISU with a stellar 1.21 ERA and a perfect 6-0 record.  Razo has fanned 62 opposing batters in his 59.1 innings of work this season.  Dan Savas is slated to start on Saturday and brings a 2.15 ERA and 7-0 record into the series.  Savas leads ISU with 71 strikeouts and a .185 opposing batting average in 75.1 frames.  Sunday starter Brad Sorkin is 6-4 with a 3.42 ERA and has posted 37 strikeouts in a team-high 76.1 innings on the mound.
 
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Evansville, 55-40-1, and won four of the five meetings with the Aces last season.  The Redbirds won two of three regular-season meetings with UE and handed Evansville both of its losses in last year’s MVC Tournament.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP (UE STARTER LISTED FIRST)
Friday – Josh Biggs (LHP, Sr., 0-2, 2.87 ERA) vs. Chris Razo (RHP, Sr., 6-0, 1.21 ERA)
Saturday – Kyle Lloyd (RHP, Sr., 7-2, 2.18 ERA) vs. Dan Savas (RHP, RSo., 7-0, 2.15 ERA)
Sunday – Kyle Freeland (LHP, So., 3-7, 3.97 ERA) vs. Brad Sorkin (RHP, Sr., 6-4, 3.42 ERA)