DATES:  March 28-30
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 (3-1, 2.25 ERA) vs. Tanner Perkins, Sr., LHP (2-3, 4.05 ERA)
SATURDAY:  Connor Strain, So., RHP (0-2, 4.50 ERA)  vs. Brent Cobb, Sr., RHP (2-3, 5.23 ERA)
SUNDAY:  Cole Isom, Sr., LHP (2-1, 3.38 ERA) vs. Caleb Johnson (2-0, 2.52 ERA)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team will host Eastern Kentucky for a three-game non-conference series this weekend at Braun Stadium beginning Friday, March 28, at 6 p.m.  The Purple Aces have won six of their last eight contests entering the series, while Eastern Kentucky swept Belmont in an Ohio Valley Conference series last weekend.

Evansville will be hosting a pair of promotions for this weekend's games, as all fans wearing apparel from their favorite Major League Baseball team will receive a $2 discount on tickets to any game this weekend to celebrate the MLB's opening weekend.  Fans will also have a chance to win great prizes during the game by playing Aces Baseball Bingo sponsored by ProRehab.  Fans can pick up their bingo cards at any of the entrance gates to Braun Stadium.
 
Evansville (13-8) split a midweek doubleheader with Austin Peay Wednesday night in Clarksville, Tenn., as both matchups were decided on walk-off hits.  The Governors defeated the Aces, 7-6, in 11 innings in the opener on a walk-off single by Ridge Smith, before senior Jake Mahon came through with a walk-off single of his own in the nightcap to give UE a 10-9 win.  Junior Kevin Kaczmarski finished the twin bill 4-for-9 at the plate, including a pair of homers in game one and sophomore Conor Gilligan earned his first collegiate win in game two.
 
Evansville is hitting .268 as a team with 37 doubles, four triples and six homers for a .358 slugging percentage.  The Aces had drawn 93 walks on the season and been hit by 25 pitches for a .370 on-base percentage and are 32-for-41 on the base paths.  Defensively, UE owns a .967 fielding percentage.
 
Junior Josh Jyawook is one of three Evansville players hitting over .300 on the season and leads the team with a .345 average and .439 on-base percentage.  Jyawook also ranks second on the squad with six doubles and 17 RBI.  Fellow junior Kyle Pollock boasts a .321 average with a pair of homers and 14 runs scored, while Kaczmarski is hitting .317 with a team-best 10 doubles and 20 RBI.  In addition, Kaczmarski is slugging a team-best .561 with seven stolen bases.
 
On the mound, the Aces' pitching staff has combined for a 3.93 ERA, 142 strikeouts, 61 walks and a .285 opposing batting average in 185.2 innings.  Junior Kyle Freeland leads the staff with a 3-1 record, 2.25 ERA and 35 strikeouts in a team-high 32.0 innings.  The Denver, Colo., native ranks fifth in the country with a 17.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio and is holding opponents to a .258 batting average.  Saturday starter Connor Strain is 0-2 on the year with a 4.50 ERA in his 16.0 innings of work, as he has fanned nine opposing hitters, while issuing 13 free passes.  Cole Isom enters the series with a 2-1 record and 3.38 ERA in 26.2 frames and is expected to start Sunday afternoon.  The senior lefty has notched 12 strikeouts against eight walks.  Out of the bullpen, sophomore Brent Jurceka sports a sparkling 0.77 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 23.1 innings out of the bullpen and senior Sam Johns has recorded six saves on the year in 14.2 innings of relief.
 
Eastern Kentucky (11-13) outscored Belmont, 25-9, in its three-game sweep of the Bruins last weekend in Nashville, Tenn., and have scored 10 or more runs in six of its last 10 outings.
 
The Colonels are hitting .276 as a squad and own a .416 slugging percentage, which includes 41 doubles, five triples and 22 round-trippers.  EKU is reaching base at a .367 clip and has swiped 30 bags in 41 attempts.  Eastern Kentucky has committed 27 errors this season for a .969 fielding percentage.
 
Kyle Nowlin leads the Colonels in nearly every offensive category with a .357 batting average, .653 slugging percentage, nine doubles, 23 runs scored and six home runs.  Sean Hagen has posted a .333 average on the year with 10 stolen bases and has driven in a team-high 21 runs to go with four doubles and five long balls.  Both Bryan Soloman and TJ Alas are hitting .299 on the year, as Soloman has homered three times, driven in 17 runs and scored 18 others.
 
On the mound, EKU pitchers have posted a 6.29 ERA with 137 strikeouts, 92 walks and a .309 opposing batting average in 209.0 innings of work.  Tanner Perkins, who is scheduled to take the mound Friday night, enters the series with a 2-3 record, 4.05 ERA and a team-best 19 strikeouts against just six walks.  Saturday starter Brent Cobb is 2-3 on the season with a 5.23 ERA and has notched 15 strikeouts in his 32.2 innings of work, while Sunday's scheduled starter Caleb Johnson is 2-0 in his four previous starts and has posted a team-best 2.52 ERA.  In addition, Johnson is holding opponents to a .191 average and has allowed just six extra-base hits.
 
Evansville leads the all-time series with Eastern Kentucky, 8-7-1, and the two teams will be meeting for the first time since 1988, when the Aces defeated the Colonels, 5-4, in Richmond, Ky.