DATES:  March 12-15
TIMES (CST):  2:30 p.m.  |  5:30 p.m.  |  4:00 p.m.  |  1:00 p.m.
LOCATION:  Winter Haven, Fla.
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL:  RussMatt Central Florida Invitational
LIVE STATS:  Bowling Green  |  Northwestern  |  North Dakota State
LIVE AUDIO:  Maine
NOTES:  Evansville

EVANSVILLE ROTATION
Wednesday:  Cole Isom (Sr., LHP, 3.12 ERA)
Thursday: Kyle Freeland (Jr., LHP, 3.00 ERA)
Friday:  Jimmy Ward (Fr., RHP, 11.32 ERA)
Saturday:  Connor Strain (So., RHP, 7.36 ERA)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After having all four of its games cancelled due to weather last week, the University of Evansville baseball team will head south to the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational in Winter Haven, Fla., March 12-15.  The Purple Aces will play four games in four days, as UE is slated to play Bowling Green (Wednesday, 2:30 p.m.), Northwestern (Thursday, 5:30 p.m.), North Dakota State (Friday, 4:00 p.m.) and Maine (Saturday, 1:00 p.m.).
 
Evansville (6-4) last played March 1, when it split a doubleheader with visiting Western Illinois at Braun Stadium.  The Leathernecks defeated the Aces, 12-1, in the opener, before UE rebounded with a 1-0 victory in the nightcap.  Senior southpaw Cole Isom tossed 7.0 scoreless innings and junior Matt Rodgers came on to record a two-inning save to complete the win in game two. 
 
Evansville is hitting .228 as a team with 23 extra-base hits for a .322 slugging percentage.  The Aces are reaching base at a .353 clip, haven stolen 19 bases in 21 chances and are fielding .960 as a squad.  Senior Jake Mahon leads UE with a .308 batting average, nine runs scored and nine walks.  Sophomore Josh Jyawook is also hitting over .300 at a .306 mark and leads the team with a .468 on-base percentage.  Junior Kevin Kaczmarski boasts a .289 batting average with a team-best .553 slugging percentage, as he has legged out six doubles and two triples and has tallied a team-high nine RBI.
 
On the mound, Evansville pitchers have combined for a 4.20 ERA, 71 strikeouts and a .276 opposing batting average in 90.0 innings.  Junior Kyle Freeland is 1-1 in his previous three starts with a 3.00 ERA in 18.0 innings.  Freeland ranks seventh nationally with a 20:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and is limiting opposing hitters to a .209 batting average.  Isom is 1-0 in three starts with a 3.12 ERA in 17.1 innings, as the Hopkinsville, Ky., native has recorded eight strikeouts against six walks.  Out of the bullpen, the trio of Sam Johns, Brent Jurceka and Rodgers has tallied one save each and has combined to toss 22.2 scoreless innings.  Jurceka has logged 11.0 innings with 11 strikeouts in four appearances, while Rodgers is 2-0 in his 7.0 innings of relief with nine strikeouts.  Johns is holding hitters to a team-low .133 batting average in 4.2 innings of work.
 
Bowling Green (3-9) has lost seven of its last eight contests and dropped two games in a three-game series at High Point last weekend.  The Falcons are slated to play Illinois State and Yale Tuesday, before taking on Evansville Wednesday afternoon.
 
BGSU is hitting .267 as a team with 16 extra-base hits, including 12 doubles.  Bowling Green has swiped eight bases in 12 attempts and is fielding .952 as a squad.  Brian Bien leads the Falcons offensively with a .357 average and a .431 on-base percentage, while Jeremy Shay is slugging a team-best .605 with BGSU's lone home run and eight RBI.
 
On the mound, Bowling Green sports a 4.18 ERA with 40 strikeouts against 47 walks and a .263 opposing batting average.  Ethan McKenney owns a 0.90 ERA in his eight appearances out of the bullpen and starter Mike Frank is 0-2 with a 3.15 ERA in four starts.  Frank leads the staff with 13 strikeouts in 20.0 innings and is holding opponents to a .227 batting average.
 
Northwestern (3-10) has dropped six of its last seven decisions and fell to South Florida, 7-0 and 4-2, in the first two games of a three-game set, before topping the Bulls, 6-4, in the series finale to avoid the sweep.
 
The Wildcats are hitting .282 as a team with 25 doubles and 61 RBI.  NU is just 5-for-10 in the stolen base department and is fielding .945, collectively.  Matt Hopfner leads Northwestern with an impressive .409 average, while Cody Stevens is hitting .286 with five RBI and Scott Heelan has tallied a team-best 12 RBI and the Wildcats' lone homer this season.
 
Northwestern pitchers have combined for a 5.45 ERA and 94 strikeouts against 49 walks.  Opposing hitters have posted a .310 average against Wildcat pitchers, including four round-trippers.  Despite an 0-2 record, Jack Quigly leads the NU staff with a 1.69 ERA in his five appearances that have spanned 5.1 innings.  Reed Mason is 0-1 on the year in his four starts with a 4.66 ERA and a team-high 17 strikeouts.
 
North Dakota State (4-6) split a four-game set with Northern Colorado last weekend, as the Bison prevailed, 8-4 and 7-3, in games two and three, but dropped the series opener and series finale by finals of 3-1 and 8-6, respectively.
 
NDSU is hitting .234 as a team with 14 doubles, six triples and one long ball for a .330 slugging percentage.  North Dakota State base runners are 13-for-18 on the base paths, while the Bison boast a .975 fielding percentage.  Kyle Kleinendorst is one of three NDSU batters hitting over .300, as he has posted a .387 mark with a double and three triples.  Nick Altavilla and Wes Satzinger are hitting .318 and .316, respectively, and Satzinger is tied for the team lead with four RBI.
 
North Dakota State's pitching staff has accumulated a 4.71 ERA, 50 strikeouts, 37 strikeouts and a .276 opposing batting average.  David Ernst has been the ace of the staff early in the season, as he is 1-1 with a 0.90 ERA in three previous starts.  Ernst has allowed just 11 hits in 20.0 innings for a .175 opposing batting average, despite notching only three strikeouts and walking eight.  Trewin Parker and Trent Keefer are both 1-1 on the year and tied for the team lead with 11 strikeouts.  Parker enters the week with a 4.61 ERA and Keefer sports a 4.72 ERA.
 
Maine (4-11) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory over South Dakota State in Port Charlotte, Fla., Sunday and will play a pair of games at Florida Atlantic, before opening the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational against Northwestern on Friday.
 
Offensively, the Black Bears are hitting .280 as a team with 25 doubles and four home runs for a .350 slugging percentage.  Maine hitters have fanned 118 times, while drawing just 40 walks and have stolen nine bases in 17 attempts.  Defensively, the Black Bears enter the week with a .947 fielding percentage.  Troy Black leads Maine with a .377 batting average with four stolen bases, and Colin Gay boasts a .367 mark with eight doubles and a team-best .500 slugging percentage.
 
The Black Bears' pitching staff has posted a 5.65 ERA with 83 strikeouts and 57 walks, and opposing batters are hitting .303 against Maine hurlers.  Scott Heath has been the top starter for the Black Bears and enters the week with a 2-1 record and 5.95 ERA.  Out of the bullpen, Charlie Butler is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA and two saves in 12.2 innings, while Jacob Gosselin-Deschesnes has appeared in six contests, making one start, and is 0-1 with a 1.84 ERA and eight strikeouts in 14.2 frames.
 
Evansville leads the series with Bowling Green (6-2) and Maine (1-0), but trail in the all-time series against both Northwestern (5-2) and North Dakota State (1-0).