EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team will return home to German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium this weekend, as the Purple Aces will host the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons in a four-game series. The series will begin Friday night at 5 p.m. and continue with a Saturday doubleheader and a single game on Sunday, both scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
Evansville will return home with a 4-4 overall record after dropping a 7-3 decision at #9 Vanderbilt on Wednesday night. The Commodores’ four-run sixth inning proved to be the difference on Wednesday night, as Vanderbilt spoiled a strong start from senior hurler Shane Harris on the mound. Senior first baseman/outfielder Kip Fougerousse launched his third home run of the year on Wednesday night, and graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger knocked an RBI double to help lead UE offensively.
Overall, junior second baseman Cal McGinnis continues to lead the way offensively for UE, as he will bring a .429 average into this weekend’s series. Shallenberger (.394) and senior shortstop Simon Scherry (.393) are not far behind, while Fougerousse is hitting above .355 as well. As a team, UE is hitting .318 so far this year, and the Purple Aces rank seventh in the country in doubles (seven) and 35th overall in scoring (9.8) entering this weekend’s series.
Purdue Fort Wayne, meanwhile, will bring a 2-6 overall record into this weekend’s series, although the Mastodons produced one of its program’s biggest victories on Tuesday night, as Purdue Fort Wayne knocked off #20 Indiana, 9-6, in Bloomington. The Mastodons launched five home runs on Tuesday in the win over IU, which was Purdue Fort Wayne’s first against a nationally-ranked team in program history. Junior infielder Camden Karczewski currently leads Purdue Fort Wayne with a .385 batting average, while senior infielder/outfielder Jacob Walker (.345) and freshman outfielder Nate Simpson (.300) also hit above .300 on the year.
UE and Purdue Fort Wayne have met eight times on the diamond all-time, with Evansville holding an 8-0 edge in the all-time series which began in 2006. Five of the eight all-time series meetings have been decided by two runs or less. Evansville will send senior LHP Donovan Schultz (0-0, 9.00 ERA) to the mound in Friday’s series opener. He is expected to be opposed by Purdue Fort Wayne RHP Mac Ayres (0-1, 12.00 ERA).
