EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The surging University of Evansville baseball team will hit the road on Tuesday night to begin a five-game road trip, as the Purple Aces will travel north to Bloomington, Indiana to take on the Indiana Hoosiers. First-pitch is set for 5 p.m. central time and Tuesday’s game can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS and seen live on the Big Ten Plus streaming service.
Evansville will bring an 18-17 overall record into Tuesday night’s game after sweeping Illinois State in a three-game series over the weekend. The Purple Aces out-scored the Redbirds, 28-7, in the three-game series, with the seven runs allowed equaling the lowest three-game series run total for the UE pitching staff since 2020. All nine UE starters collected a hit in Sunday’s series finale 13-1 victory, with senior outfielder Kip Fougerousse leading the way by going 3-for-5 with three RBI.
Tuesday’s game will be a homecoming of sorts for Fougerousse, as he began his collegiate career at IU and played two seasons for the Hoosiers. Last year, Fougerousse earned first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference honors at second base for UE, and so far this year, he has hit .322 with eight home runs and 31 RBI. Last week, Fougerousse hit .529 (9-for-17) with two home runs and a team-best nine RBI to help UE rattle off four-straight wins.
Overall, UE has won eight of its last nine games going into Tuesday’s game. Graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger continues to lead the UE offensive attack with a .383 batting average, and he collected his 200th career hit over the weekend against Illinois State. Junior outfielder Harrison Taubert is second on the squad in hitting this year at .331, and since Taubert moved into the lead-off spot in the batting order on April 2, UE has gone 7-1.
Indiana will bring a 20-16 overall record into Tuesday’s game. The Hoosiers won two of three games at home against Penn State over the weekend. Sophomore infielder Tyler Cerny currently paces the Hoosier attack with a .348 batting average, 15 doubles, six home runs and 39 RBI. Five Indiana regulars bat above .330 on the season overall, with IU ranking among the national leaders in scoring at 8.5 runs per game.
All-time, Indiana leads the series over Evansville, 34-20, after last year’s 6-2 win in Bloomington in mid-May. Since 2020, the two teams have split the last six series meetings. Freshman LHP Kevin Reed (2-0, 8.13 ERA) will get the start for Evansville on the mound. IU has not yet named a starting pitcher for Tuesday’s contest.
