EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Coming off one of its biggest series wins in years, the University of Evansville baseball team makes the trip down to Clarksville, Tennessee for a midweek non-conference matchup against Austin Peay of the Ohio Valley Conference Tuesday night. First pitch is at 6 p.m.
The Aces (17-10, 5-1 in MVC) took two of three games this past weekend against preseason favorite Dallas Baptist, dropping the series finale by a razor-thin margin of 4-3 Saturday night in the nightcap of a doubleheader.
Austin Peay comes into the contest with an overall record of 15-15, with a 9-6 mark in OVC play. The Governors have dropped three of their last four, losing a two of three to Eastern Kentucky University this past weekend.
Game Notes
- At 17-10, Evansville is off to it's best overall start since 2014, when the Aces last won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title.
- At 5-1 in MVC play, UE is off to it's best start in league play since 1998.
- Evansville's series victory over Dallas Baptist is it's first over the Patriots since 2014
- Senior outfielder Nate Reeder leads the way at the plate for the Aces, batting .337, with a .500 slugging percentage. He is also tied for second on the team in home runs with three, and is third in RBIs with 22.
- Sophomore first baseman Tanner Craig is the Aces' RBI leader with 26 runs batted in. Craig is also third in batting average with a .291 clip, and is second in slugging percentage with a .447 mark.
- Freshman second baseman Danny Borgstrom is the leader of a bumper crop of newcomers, posting a .296 batting average, good enough for second on the team. Borgstrom is also second on the team in RBIs with 23 runs batted in.
- Senior third baseman Sam Troyer is Evansville's top base stealer, swiping eight bags in nine attempts
Pitching Matchup
- Freshman right-hander Shane Gray will make fourth collegiate start against Austin Peay Tuesday night. Gray has the top ERA of all Aces pitchers who qualify for that stat, with a 3.10 ERA. He also sports an impressive 25 to 10 strikeouts to walks ratio.
- Gray is coming off a strong relief performance in the Aces' 11-5 come from behind victory over Dallas Baptist Saturday. Gray pitched 2.2 shutout innings against the Patriots, picking up his second collegiate victory.
All-Time Series
- Evansville has the lead in this series with Austin Peay, with a 41-24-2 record against the Governors in the all-time series, which has been played annually since 1984. The Aces are 22-15 all-time in Clarksville
- Austin Peay has won four of the last seven meetings dating back to 2013.
- The Govs and Purple Aces split last season's home-and-home series with the home team winning each time.
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