DATES:  March 21-23
TIMES:  6:00 p.m.  |  2:00 p.m.  |  1:00 p.m.
LOCATION:  Evansville, Ind. (Braun Stadium)
MEDIA CENTER:  Live Video  |  Live Audio  |  Live Stats

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS (EVANSVILLE LISTED FIRST)
FRIDAY:  Kyle Freeland, Jr., LHP (2-1, 2.25 ERA) vs. David Stagg, Jr., LHP (4-0, 1.85 ERA)
SATURDAY:  Connor Strain, So., RHP (0-1, 6.35 ERA) vs. Brad Lombard, Jr., RHP (3-1, 2.67 ERA)
SUNDAY:  Cole Isom, Sr., LHP (1-1, 4.15 ERA) vs. Kurt Kudrecki, Sr., RHP (3-0, 3.52 ERA)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team will open Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend, when it hosts in-state rival Indiana State for a three-game series at Braun Stadium beginning Friday at 6 p.m. 
 
Evansville (10-6) enters its MVC opener on a three-game winning streak, after defeating UT Martin in both games of a midweek doubleheader at Braun Stadium on Tuesday.  Sophomore Jonathan Ramon finished the twin bill 4-for-8 at the plate to lead the Aces offensively, while fellow sophomore Josh Jyawook collected four hits and two RBI, and junior Kyle Pollock drove in two runs, including one with a walk-off single in the nightcap.  On the mound, junior Matt Rodgers earned the win in the opener by allowing just two hits over 5.2 innings and senior Tyler Miller improved to 2-1 on the season by tossing two scoreless innings in game two.
 
UE is hitting .263 as a team with 30 doubles, three triples and three home runs for a .347 slugging percentage.  Evansville also owns a .369 on-base percentage and has stolen 28 bases in 33 attempts, which ranks third in MVC.  Defensively, the Aces have committed 23 errors for a .963 fielding percentage.
 
Individually, Pollock leads Evansville with a .354 batting average and is tied for the team lead with 11 runs.  The junior catcher has also racked up nine RBI and four stolen bases.  Jyawook boasts a .333 average, has driven in 15 runs and ranks second on the squad with six doubles, while sophomore Eric McKibban, who enters the series on a 16-game on-base streak is hitting .309.  Junior Kevin Kaczmarski is also hitting over .300 with a .302 average with a team-best eight doubles, two triples, 15 RBI and a .492 slugging percentage.
 
The Aces' pitching staff has combined for a 4.09 ERA, 107 strikeouts and a .283 opposing batting average in 141.0 innings.  Junior southpaw Kyle Freeland enters the series with a 2-1 record and leads the staff with a 2.25 ERA and 29 strikeouts against just two walks in his 24.0 innings of work.  Saturday's scheduled starter Connor Strain is 0-1 on the year with a 6.35 ERA in 11.1 frames, while senior Cole Isom, who is slated to start Sunday's contest, is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA and nine strikeouts in 21.2 innings.  Out of the bullpen, Brent Jurceka has yet to allow in any of his seven appearances that span 17.1 innings, and has notched 20 strikeouts, while holding opposing hitters to a .145 batting average.  Senior Sam Johns has recorded four of UE's six saves on the year and sports a 3.00 ERA in 9.0 innings.
 
Indiana State (14-3) enters the series with the Valley's best winning percentage (.824), after the Sycamores rattled off 12-straight wins following their season-opening loss to Auburn.  ISU fell to Illinois, 8-0, Tuesday night in Champaign, Ill., but took two of three from UNC Wilmington last weekend in Wilmington, N.C.
 
Indiana State is hitting .293, collectively, with a .390 slugging percentage that includes 25 doubles, five triples and eight homers.  The Sycamores have committed 23 errors defensively for a .967 fielding percentage, are reaching base at a .388 clip and rank second in the conference with 29 stolen bases in 40 chances.
 
Six ISU batters are hitting over the .300 mark, including Cody Zimmerman, who owns a .378 average and leads Indiana State with six doubles.  Tyler Wampler brings a .345 average into the weekend, while Derek Hannahs has driven in 12 runs on 17 hits for a .321 batting average.  Brian Romero and Landon Curry, who has swiped a team-high 11 bases, are hitting .316 and .313, respectively, and Jacob Hayes has posted a team-high .522 slugging percentage, after notching 10 extra-base hits, including five doubles, three triples and two round-trippers.
 
Indiana State ranks third in the MVC with a team ERA of 2.71 and Sycamores pitchers have recorded 115 strikeouts against just 59 walks, while limiting opponents to a .237 batting average.  The trio of David Stagg, Brad Lombard and Kurt Kudrecki are slated to take the mound for ISU this weekend and Stagg has been the ace of the staff, as he boasts a 4-0 record and 1.85 ERA with a team-high 34 strikeouts and a .203 opposing batting average.  Lombard is 3-1 with a 2.67 ERA in his five previous starts, while Kudrecki enters the series with a 3-0 record, 3.52 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 30.2 innings.  Indiana State's bullpen is led by closer Ryan Keaffaber, who has tallied an MVC-best six saves and has allowed just two runs in 14.2 innings of relief for a 1.23 ERA.
 
Indiana State leads the all-time series with Evansville, 78-59-1, but the Aces took both games of a rain-shortened series from the Sycamores last season at Bob Warn Field in Terre Haute, Ind.