The University of Evansville baseball team heads down to the Bluegrass State Tuesday night looking to turn their recent struggles around in a midweek matchup with non-conference opponent Murray State.
The Aces have dropped six straight, including suffering a four-game sweep at the hands of Indiana this past weekend. Despite the recent downturn in their fortunes, head coach Wes Carroll’s squad has five more victories than all of last season, with 17.
Meanwhile, the Racers are on a tear of late, winning five of their last seven games, including Ohio Valley Conference series victories over both Tennessee Tech and Southeast Missouri. Murray comes into Tuesday’s game with an overall record of 16-17, but an impressive 10-5 mark in league play.
The Aces will send out freshman right-hander A.J. Fritz to make his first start of his collegiate career. Last week, Fritz looked strong in his first pitching appearance of the year, going 2.2 IP, allowing one run on four hits, while striking out three in a relief role in Evansville’s 10-2 loss to Austin Peay.
The Racers will counter with junior right-hander Justin Thomas, who comes into Tuesday night with a 2-0 record and a 5.25 ERA. The Tuscaloosa, Alabama native has made 13 appearances in 2019, however this will be his first start of the season.
The all-time series record between these two squads favors UE, who holds a 19-8 mark over the Racers. However, Murray State did walk away the winner the last time these two teams crossed paths, taking an 8-3 last season.
