EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Two of the hottest teams in the Missouri Valley Conference will square off this weekend at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in Evansville, Indiana, as the surging University of Evansville Purple Aces will do battle with the red-hot Redbirds of Illinois State. The series will begin Friday night at 6 p.m. and continue both Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) afternoon.
Evansville will enter the weekend series having won five out of the last six games, and six out of eight games overall, after knocking off Butler, 15-5, in seven innings on Tuesday. The Purple Aces are 15-17 overall and 4-5 in the MVC, and sit in a four-way tie for fifth place in the Valley standings.
Graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger, the current MVC Player of the Week, currently leads the UE offense with a .376 average. Shallenberger ranks second in the Valley in batting average, while ranking in the league’s top 10 in ten different offensive categories this year. Junior outfielder Harrison Taubert is not far behind with a .333 average overall, and a team-best .455 average in MVC play. In league play, Taubert ranks second in the Valley in batting average, on-base percentage (.571), and hits (15), while being tied for the league-lead with five Valley doubles.
Illinois State has been the surprise team of the league race so far, as the Redbirds are currently tied for first in the Valley standings with an 18-12 overall record and 7-2 conference mark. Illinois State was predicted to finish seventh in the league’s pre-season poll. The Redbirds have won eight of their last nine games after a 7-4 win at Western Illinois on Wednesday. Overall, ISU leads the league in team batting average this year at .303, as six Redbird regulars hit above .300 on the season. Sophomore Daniel Pacella leads the every-day Redbirds with a .364 average, while he leads the Valley with 44 RBI already.
Overall, Illinois State leads the series over Evansville, 68-58-1. The Purple Aces won two out of three games at Illinois State last year, and the Purple Aces have won five of the last six series meetings overall. Evansville will turn to freshman left-hander Kenton Deverman (3-1, 4.56 ERA) to start Friday’s series opener. All three games of the series this weekend can be heard live on 107.1 FM-WJPS and seen live on ESPN+. Tickets for all three games are also available by contacting the UE athletic ticket office by phone at 812-488-2623.
