EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team will put the nation’s longest road winning streak on the line on Tuesday night, as the Purple Aces will travel to Bowling Green, Kentucky to take on the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers. First-pitch is set for 6 p.m. and Tuesday’s game can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS and the Old National Bank/Purple Aces Sports Network from Learfield.
Evansville will bring a 19-12 overall record into Tuesday night’s game. The Purple Aces have won eight-straight road contests dating back to a 2-0 loss at Middle Tennessee State on March 10. The eight-game road winning streak is the longest active road winning streak in Division I baseball.
Evansville will also be looking for its third-straight win overall, after the Purple Aces got a walk-off home run by graduate outfielder Eric Roberts in the bottom of the ninth inning on Sunday to post a 4-3 victory over Valparaiso. For Roberts, it was his Missouri Valley Conference-leading 13th home run of the year, as he continues to lead the Valley in both home runs (13) and RBI (38). It also marked the fourth-straight Sunday in which Roberts has homered, and overall, he has eight of his 13 home runs on Sundays this year.
Fifth-year first baseman Chase Hug continues to lead UE in hitting, as he will bring a .397 average into Tuesday night’s game. Hug has excelled in mid-week action this year, as he has hit a team-best .448, while posting a .600 on-base percentage in UE’s seven mid-week games this year. Junior shortstop Simon Scherry also bats above .300 this season for UE, as he will bring a .311 average into Tuesday’s game. He has reached base safely in 12-straight games.
Western Kentucky will bring a 16-17 overall record into Tuesday’s action, after getting swept in a three-game Conference USA series by Middle Tennessee State over the weekend. The Hilltoppers will be trying to snap an eight-game losing streak on Tuesday. Offensively, WKU ranks third in C-USA with a .290 team batting average, and they rank 20th in the country with 72 doubles. Grad transfer infielder Drew Reckart currently paces the WKU attack with a .360 average, 13 doubles and 24 RBI.
Roberts will actually make his first career start on the mound for UE on Tuesday. He has not pitched this year, after appearing in eight games on the mound last season. He is expected to be opposed by sophomore LHP Cal Higgins (0-1, 11.12 ERA) for WKU. Evansville won a wild 9-8 game in Bowling Green last March, as Hug capped a five-run ninth-inning rally by UE with a game-winning three-run home run.
