Baseball Aces try to dodge red-hot Creighton and early spring's wrath this weekend

3/28/2018 11:28:00 AM

OMAHA, Neb. - With six rain-outs already on the schedule, the University of Evansville baseball team will look to regain their groove on the road in Omaha this weekend, as they face their former Missouri Valley Conference rivals from Creighton this weekend.

The Purple Aces come into the weekend at 6-12 on the season, struggling for consistency, with Mother Nature not doing them any favors with all the postponements and cancelations so far during the 2018 campaign. UE ended a six game losing streak last Friday as they split a rainy doubleheader with their country cousins from Oakland City. Senior reliever Jimmy Ward came out of the bullpen to make his first start of the season, and delivered a 3-2 victory in the opener against the Mighty Oaks.

However, since dropping the nightcap of their twin bill with Oakland City, head coach Wes Carroll's crew has been sidelined, as rains washed out mid-week match-ups with SIU-Edwardsville and the University of Tennessee at Martin.

The Blue Jays come into this weekend's series riding high on a weather-abbreviated series sweep of the Aces' MVC rivals from Illinois State, taking two in a row. Creighton followed that up with a 3-1 victory over Nebraska at TD Ameritrade Ballpark Tuesday night.

The weekend opens with UE sophomore right hand reliever Adam Lukas (1-1, 1.69 ERA) making his second start of the season. He'll be opposed by Blue Jays righty Ryan Tapani (4-0, 1.49 ERA). Game two will feature Evansville's junior left hander Alex Weigand (1-3, 6.65 ERA) going up against Creighton RHP Mitch Ragan (1-1, 5.67 ERA). The pitching match-up for the third and final game of the series has yet be determined by both teams.

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