Aces set sights on weekend series at Illinois State

Battle for Conference seeding already heating up

NORMAL, Ill. – Setting out for a Conference road trip, the University of Evansville baseball team heads to Normal, Ill. for a four-game set at Illinois State on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Last Time Out: Missouri State 9, Evansville 5

• Tanner Craig turned-in another strong performance at the plate, but it was not enough in Evansville 9-5 loss to Missouri State in the series finale on Sunday.
• “Tough loss to lose the overall series. Just didn’t play well enough,” said Aces head baseball coach Wes Carroll. “You have to credit Missouri State for applying pressure in all aspects of the game. I’m anxious to see how this group handles this adversity deep into the season.”
• The Aces offense got started early in the game with a pair of runs in the first, but it was big second and fourth innings from the Bears that was difficult for Evansville to overcome. Missouri State struck for four runs in the second frame, all coming with one out and in successive at bats. In the fourth, the Bears added two runs
• Single runs for Evansville in the fifth and eighth helped aid the Aces effort, but Dakota Katowski lifted a two-run home run to center that pushed Missouri State further in front en route to the 9-5 win.
• At the plate, the Aces were led by a trio who recorded two hits on the day. Simon Scherry, Danny Borgstrom, and Tanner Craig, the three, four, and five hitters, each tallied two hits with Borgstrom recording a pair of RBI.
• On the mound, Evansville cycled through seven pitchers as starter Donovan Schultz was credited with the loss after pitching the first two innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits. Drew Dominik pitched most effectively of Evansville relievers, entering in the seventh and throwing a scoreless inning and a third, allowing just one hit and striking-out one.

Previewing the Matchup: Illinois State

• The Aces and Redbirds meet for the 120th time on Friday night in the series opener.
• Illinois State owns a 66-53 advantage in the all-time series, but Evansville has captured five of the last seven matchups in the series.
• The Redbirds enter the weekend with a 13-21 overall record and a 4-4 mark in MVC play.
• Entering the weekend, Illinois State is coming off a series loss in non-conference action to Milwaukee last weekend, capping-off the series with a 10-2 win to avoid the series sweep.
• Despite dropping a series to Missouri State last weekend, the Aces still have a winning record in their last 10 games, going 6-4 during that stretch.
• The battle for sports 4 through 7 in the MVC is hotly contested and both Illinois State and UE both sit inside that group.

On-Base Any Way

• The Aces have found ways to get on base this season and have been comfortable earning it any way, including via hit-by-pitch.
• Evansville ranks 26th in the nation in hit-by-pitch, drawing 50 on the season through 34 games.
• Troy Beilsmith and Ben Komonosky have been the two primary batters who have been hit by pitches this season with Beilsmith sitting second in the nation, being hit 17 times.

Meyer Leads as Closer

• Freshman Jakob Meyer has been a force out of the pen for the Aces this season.
• In 13 appearances, Meyer has a 1.10 ERA, earning three victories and has recorded a team-high five saves.
• Meyer’s save total is the 33rd-best in the nation and sits second in the MVC.