EVANSVILLE – On the heels of a second consecutive Missouri Valley Conference series victory, the University of Evansville baseball team will engage in another non-conference showdown on Wednesday night as the Purple Aces will square off against Western Kentucky at 5 p.m. at Charles H. Braun Stadium.
Evansville vs. Western Kentucky (Game Notes)
Wednesday, 5 p.m. -- Live Stats
The Aces, who are 20-14 on the season, will be looking to exact a bit of revenge against the Hilltoppers, who came away with a 6-5 win in Bowling Green earlier this month. UE stranded 12 runners in the contest, and WKU made the most of a five-run fourth inning before ultimately holding off the comeback attempts from the Aces lineup late.
Five different players recorded multiple hits for UE, with Korbin Williams and Jonathan Ramon leading the way after combining to go 5-for-8 with three runs and two walks.
The UE lineup has been a strength for the team this season, and the team enters the weekend with a .283 team batting average. Trey Hair, who is the second leading hitter in the MVC, tops the team with .386 mark at the plate, but it's Boomer Synek who is coming off the bigger week. The senior catcher hit .500 over four games last week, highlighted by a ninth-inning game-winning home run at Murray State last Tuesday.
Williams also starred last week, leaving the park three times against Bradley to help take UE's impressive home run total up to 37, which is the best single season total for an Aces squad since the 2010 season.
Meanwhile, UE will turn to Austin Allinger on the mound. The freshman right-hander is coming off his best career outing a week ago, tossing eight one-run innings in the Murray State win while striking out a career-best seven hitters in the process.
WKU, which hosts Belmont on Tuesday night, is 18-17 on the year. After starting Conference USA play with series wins over Middle Tennessee and UAB, the Hilltoppers will be looking to bounce back from a three-game sweep at the hands of Rice this past weekend.
First pitch from Braun Stadium is slated for 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
NOTES: Wednesday will mark the 46
th meeting between UE and WKU since 1978 … The Aces are 20-23-1 versus the Hilltoppers over that timespan … Last season, UE took home two victories in a three-game set that was played in Emerson, Ga. … UE and WKU have played in four of the last five seasons … Since 1978, the Aces are 113-86-2 against teams that hail from the state of Kentucky.
- INFO: For all of the latest information on University of Evansville Baseball, log on to the sport page on GoPurpleAces.com or follow the program on Twitter via @UEAthleticsBASE.
- DONATE: For information on giving to UE Athletics or its individual athletics programs, visit the DONATE tab on the top of GoPurpleAces.com.
- TICKETS: To purchase tickets for University of Evansville athletics events, log on to GoPurpleAces.com and click on the TICKETS tab on top of the page.
-www.GoPurpleAces.com-
