EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team will put its nine-game winning streak on the line on Wednesday night, as the Purple Aces will return home to German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium to host preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite Southeast Missouri State. First-pitch is set for 6 p.m. and the game can be heard live in the Tri-State area and on-line on 107.1 FM-WJPS and the Old National Bank/Purple Aces Sports Network.
Evansville will enter Wednesday night’s game at 16-7 overall after sweeping its Missouri Valley Conference-opening series at Missouri State over the weekend. The Purple Aces have won nine-straight contests, and 16 out of 18 games overall. UE’s nine-game winning streak entered the week as the fourth-longest active winning streak in Division I baseball, and it moved up one spot on Tuesday afternoon, as Central Connecticut State saw its 10-game streak snapped with a 5-2 loss to Northeastern.
Wednesday night will mark the second time in which UE and SEMO have met this year, as the Purple Aces picked up a 14-8 victory at SEMO on March 1. Six different Purple Aces had multi-hit games that day, and junior catcher Brendan Hord and fifth-year outfielder Danny Borgstrom both had home runs, with Borgstrom launching a grand slam in the win.
Fifth-year first baseman Chase Hug continues to lead the UE offense this year, as he will bring a .422 batting average and .579 on-base percentage into Wednesday night’s contest. Hug ranks in the nation’s top 35 in both categories. Fellow fifth-year outfielder Eric Roberts was named the MVC Player of the Week on Monday, and Roberts currently leads the Valley in home runs (nine), stolen bases (10), runs scored (27) and RBI (32).
Southeast Missouri State will bring a 12-14 overall record into Wednesday’s contest after winning two out of three games at SIU-Edwardsville to open Ohio Valley Conference play. The Redhawks are the preseason favorite to win the OVC, after SEMO won the 2022 OVC Tournament title and participated in the NCAA Regional Tournament. Senior infielder Jevon Mason currently leads the Redhawk attack with a .322 batting average, while senior outfielder Carlos Aranda leads SEMO with six home runs and 20 RBI. Aranda had a grand slam and drove in five runs in the first meeting between the two schools.
Freshman LHP Willard Peterson (0-0, 0.00 ERA) is expected to make his second start of the year for Evansville on Wednesday night. He is expected to be opposed by SEMO LHP Ethan Osborne (2-3, 8.03 ERA).
