 After posting a pair of impressive come-from-behind victories over the weekend, the University of Evansville baseball team will be back in action on Tuesday as the Purple Aces are set to pay a visit to UT Martin.
The Aces (6-4) have now won five consecutive games, and the team will be looking for a second straight midweek win after rallying from an early 6-0 hole at Belmont last Wednesday to win 13-7.
Alex Weigand, who dealt with some adversity in the first inning at Belmont, would settle down as the game wore on, but he ultimately didn’t earn a decision. If the Aces are to be successful on Tuesday, head coach Wes Carroll will be hoping to see the freshman southpaw channel those final few innings as he steps to the mound at Skyhawk Field.
However, the big story for the Aces over the past week has been the high-scoring offense. UE has averaged better than seven runs per game so far this year, topping 10 runs on three separate occasions.
As a team, the Aces are hitting .279 on the season with a .379 on-base mark, and it’s been junior college transfer Trey Hair leading the way. The Firth, Neb., native is hitting .378, while Boomer Synek and Josh Jyawook, who have each boasted of all-conference honors in their career, have combined for 21 runs batted in and 16 scores. Eric McKibban is second on the team with a .368 average and a team-best 10 runs, and Korbin Williams is coming off a week where he posted a .538 average and a .667 on-base percentage.
Meanwhile, UT Martin will be entering Tuesday looking to build on a 4-8 record, which includes a 2-5 mark at home. Mike Murphy leads the way for the Skyhawks with a .405 batting average, and as a team, UTM is out-hitting its opponents .295 to .241.
First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.
NOTES: The Aces have now won five consecutive games for the first time since a streak from April 26 – May 2 last season … UE is off to a 6-4 start for the second year in a row … Since 1978, the Aces have posted a 15-3 record against UT Martin … The Aces and Skyhawks have played in each of the past five seasons, with UE posting a 9-1 mark … Last season, the Aces won 15-11 in Martin and 19-2 in Evansville … Overall, UE has taken home five straight wins in the series, including two in a row at Skyhawk Field … Overall, the Aces are 41-22-2 against teams that hail from the state of Tennessee, including a 1-0 mark this year.
