DATES:  May 20-24
TIMES:  11:30 a.m.  |  9:00 a.m./4:00 p.m.  |  TBD
LOCATION:  Terre Haute, Ind. (Bob Warn Field)
MEDIA CENTER:  Live Video  |  Live Audio (91.5 FM WUEV)  |  Live Stats  |  Tournament Central
NOTES:  Evansville  |  Southern Illinois

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP  (UE STARTER LISTED FIRST)
Tuesday:  Kyle Freeland, Jr., LHP (10-1, 1.62 ERA) vs. Sam Coonrod, Jr., RHP (1-6, 3.04 ERA)
Wednesday:  Cole Isom, Sr., LHP (6-5, 3.58 ERA) vs. TBD (Illinois State/Wichita State)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The No. 1 seed University of Evansville baseball team will open the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. CT against No. 8 seed Southern Illinois at Bob Warn Field in Terre Haute, Ind.  The Purple Aces will be looking to win their first MVC Tournament title since 2006, after capturing their first Valley regular-season crown since 2006 last weekend.
 
Evansville (34-19, 15-6 MVC) dropped its first MVC series of the season last weekend at Missouri State, as the Aces opened the series with a 1-0 win Thursday night, before dropping the final two games of the regular season, 8-1 and 9-8, Friday and Saturday.  Junior Kyle Freeland was named the MVC Pitcher of the Week for the fourth time this season, after he allowed just two hits and struck out 11 in 7.0 innings on Thursday around just two walks.
 
In addition, Freeland was named the MVC Pitcher of the Year, as he wrapped up his regular season with a 10-1 record and 1.62 ERA to lead the UE pitching staff.  The Denver, Colo., native ranks second in the country with 122 strikeouts and a 13.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio.  Freeland also ranks fifth in the NCAA with 11.60 strikeouts per nine innings and 10th in the nation by issuing just 0.86 walks per nine innings.
 
As a staff, Evansville's pitchers have combined for a 4.14 ERA, 377 strikeouts, 167 walks and a .271 opposing batting average in 458.2 innings.  Senior Cole Isom, who was an All-MVC Honorable Mention selection, enters the MVC Tournament with a 6-5 record and 3.58 ERA.  The Hopkinsville, Ky., native has fanned 33 opposing hitters and walked 22, and owns a 5-2 record and 2.76 ERA in Valley play.  Out of the bullpen, Brent Jurceka has posted a 3.18 ERA with 55 strikeouts in his team-high 24 appearances, while senior Sam Johns, who was an All-MVC Honorable Mention honoree, is tied for the league lead with 11 saves.
 
A trio of All-MVC First Team selections in Jake Mahon, Kevin Kaczmarski and Kyle Pollock lead the Aces offensively.  Kaczmarski is hitting a team-best .322 and is tied for the conference lead in both doubles (19) and RBI (50).  The junior outfielder is slugging .517, ranks third on the team with 40 runs scored and has tripled five times.  Pollock boasts a .306 average with 15 doubles and ranks tied for third in the Valley with 48 RBI.  The Clinton, Ohio native is slugging .455 and is tied for the team lead with four homers.  Mahon is hitting .286 and has scored a team-high 43 runs with 33 RBI as UE's regular third baseman.  All-MVC Second Team selection Boomer Synek is hitting .285 and leads Evansville with a  .413 on-base percentage, as he has drawn 41 walks, which ranks second in the MVC.
 
Southern Illinois (25-29, 4-17 MVC) was swept at Dallas Baptist in its final regular-season series, as the Salukis fell 11-6, 6-5 and 10-4.
 
Offensively, SIU is hitting .260 as a team with a .346 slugging percentage that includes 88 doubles, 10 triples and 18 home runs.  All-MVC Second Team selection Cody Daily leads the team with a .337 batting average and .518 slugging percentage, and has driven in 25 runs.  Daily has also coaxed 31 walks for a team-leading .426 on-base percentage.  All-Valley Honorable Mention Ryan Casillas has tallied a team-best 39 RBI and is hitting .284 with 17 doubles and five home runs.  Jake Welch boasts a .259 average with 30 RBI and is slugging .380 as Southern Illinois' starting shortstop.
 
On the mound, the Salukis have posted a 3.56 ERA with 352 strikeouts, 241 walks and a .241 opposing batting average in 495.1 combined innings.  Sam Coonrod leads the SIU staff with a 3.04 ERA, but is 1-6 on the season in his 14 starts.  Coonrod has notched a team-high 72 strikeouts in 77.0 innings and is limiting opponents to a .230 batting average.  All-MVC Honorable Mention pick Todd Eaton is 3-2 with a 3.73 in his 14 starts with one complete game.  Eaton has recorded 46 strikeouts and walked 23 in his 89.1 innings of work.  Kyle Pauly, who garnered All-MVC Second Team accolades, leads the Southern Illinois bullpen with a 1.55 ERA in his 23 appearances out of the bullpen.  Pauly has limiting opponents to a .170 average and struck out 36 opposing hitters in 46.1 innings of relief.
 
Southern Illinois leads the all-time series with Evansville, 95-59, but the Aces have won four of the six meetings with the Salukis in the MVC Tournament.  UE and SIU last faced each other in an MVC Tournament game in 2010, where Evansville posted an 11-5 victory in Wichita, Kan.  Under current head coach Wes Carroll, who was named the Dan Callahan Coach of the Year, the Aces are 6-12 against Southern Illinois.