EVANSVILLE – The University of Evansville baseball team will be back in action at Charles H. Braun Stadium this week as the Purple Aces will take on Murray State and Belmont on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, to close out the current five-game homestand.
The Murray State game, which was added to the schedule last week, was originally scheduled to be played on May 10.
UE vs. Murray State: Tuesday, 6 p.m. -- Live Stats |
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UE vs. Belmont: Wednesday, 6 p.m. -- Live Stats
The Aces (24-17) are looking to bounce back from their first three-game series loss since opening weekend after dropping two out of three to visiting Illinois State, and the team will be looking to get back on track prior to this upcoming weekend's showdown with Missouri Valley Conference-leading Dallas Baptist.
Both midweek contests represent the return legs of road games that were played earlier this season. UE ended a seven-game season-opening road swing back in March with a 13-7 victory over the Bruins in Nashville, and an Austin Allinger gem and ninth-inning Boomer Synek home run highlighted the Aces' 2-1 decision in Murray on April 12.
Synek, a senior out of Northbrook, Ill., is likely to be crucial once again in the contest, and his bat has certainly started to gain a reputation as the season's worn on. The catcher is hitting .339 for the year, but he's coming off his best month of the season as he led UE with a team-best .406 batting average, and defensively, he also picked off five runners and caught another five stealing over the 17 games.
Overall, seven different Aces players have batting averages better than .285, and with 40 home runs, the team owns the best power numbers of any UE squad since 2010, which was the last season before the NCAA changed its bat standards.
Meanwhile, both Murray State and Belmont will be looking to bounce back from series losses over the weekend, dropping two out of three to Southeast Missouri and Jacksonville State, respectively. Both teams also represent some of the better hitting teams that the Aces have faced this year as MSU enters Tuesday hitting at a .310 clip and BU boasts of a .301 mark. The pitching, however, has been less consistent, with each team carrying an earned run average north of 6.10.
First pitch on both Tuesday and Wednesday is slated for 6 p.m.
NOTES: With a solo blast on Sunday, Jonathan Ramon has 10 home runs for the season, the most for any Aces hitter since current UE assistant Cody Fick left the park 19 times in 2010 … He is just three homers away from entering UE's all-time top 10 for homers in a season … With 84 career appearances and 16 saves, Brent Jurceka is one save and two appearances away from moving into the career top three in both categories … Since 1978, the Aces are 2-8 against Belmont and 29-10 versus Murray State … In games against Tennessee and Kentucky schools, UE is 104-89-3 and 114-86-2, respectively … UE is 6-2 this season against Ohio Valley Conference schools.
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