EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team will briefly return home on Tuesday night to conclude a home-and-home mid-week series against the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers. First-pitch is set for 6 p.m. at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium.
Evansville will bring a 20-15 overall record into Tuesday night’s game after a heart-breaking 3-2 walk-off loss to Southern Illinois on Sunday. After winning the series-opener 10-2 on Friday night at SIU, the Salukis rallied for 6-3 and 3-2 victories to win the series.
Graduate outfielder/pitcher Eric Roberts led UE last week both offensively and on the mound. Roberts hit a team-best .389 last week with two doubles, a home run, four RBI and two stolen bases to lead the Purple Aces’ offense. He also went 3.0 shutout innings in his first career start on the mound last Tuesday at WKU. Overall, Roberts is hitting .307 with a Missouri Valley Conference-leading 14 home runs and 42 RBI. He is joined above .300 this year by fifth-year first baseman Chase Hug, who is hitting a team-best .366 going into Tuesday night’s action.
WKU will enter Tuesday’s game at 19-18 overall after winning two out of three games at UAB over the weekend. WKU infielder Tristin Garcia was named the Conference USA Player of the Week on Monday, after hitting .556 last week to help the Hilltoppers to three victories. Garcia went 1-for-4 in the game between UE and WKU last Tuesday, but exploded for nine hits in three games at UAB. He will bring a team-best .370 batting average into Tuesday night’s game.
WKU used eight different pitchers to keep UE at bay last Tuesday night in a 6-2 win in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Senior third baseman Brent Widder had two of UE’s five hits with a double and a solo home run to pace the Purple Aces’ attack. Evansville will send freshman RHP Max Hansmann (2-0, 9.15 ERA) to the mound to try and get revenge on Tuesday night. WKU will counter with LHP Cal Higgins (0-1, 10.22 ERA), who also started last Tuesday’s game for the Hilltoppers. Higgins worked a scoreless first inning last Tuesday, issuing a walk and recording a strikeout.
The game will not be televised and there will be no local radio available. The only audio stream available will be WKU’s radio stream, available from a link on GoPurpleAces.com.
