Aces and Flames to meet up for three games
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – With the regular season entering its final weeks, another Missouri Valley Conference road series is on the slate with the University of Evansville softball team traveling to UIC. Action runs from Friday through Sunday with ESPN3 and ESPN+ having coverage of the three games.
Looking at the Match-up
– For the first time as fellow members of the MVC, the Purple Aces and Flames will meet up on the diamond
– It will mark the first meeting between the program since March 9, 2018 when UIC finished with a 1-0 victory in eight innings to open the Racer Classic in Murray, Ky.
– A scheduled meeting between the squads earlier in 2018 at the Louisiana Classic was canceled due to weather
Last Time Out
– SIU Edwardsville took a 6-3 victory over UE on Tuesday evening inside Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James and Dorothy Cooper Stadium
– The Cougars scored three runs in both the first and fourth innings to take a 6-0 lead before the Aces scored a run in the fourth
– In the bottom of the 7th, Evansville rallied as Syndey Kalonihea hit a 2-run home run, the first of her collegiate career, to make it a 6-3 final
Grand Slam
– Last Friday’s game at Murray State saw Alexa Davis hit a grand slam while setting her career mark with six runs batted in
– On April 11 at Indiana State, Davis hit the game-winning 2-RBI double in a 2-0 shutout victory
– Davis continues to rank in the top five in the MVC in triples (T-3rd), stolen bases (3rd) and walks (T-3rd)
– Over the last 17 games, Davis has seen her average dip from .347 to .273 after going 8-for-49 at the plate
On a Roll
– Over the last five games, Marah Wood has started to find her swing as she is batting .500 (8-for-16)
– She has accumulated three multi-hit performances in the last five contests
– Wood is hitting .254 on the season with three homers, 18 RBI and 16 runs
– In the April 1 opener against Belmont, she went 3-4 with two RBI and two doubles while adding a walk, run and steal
– She followed that up with her second home run of the season and two more RBI in the second game of the series
First Home Run
– Freshman Sydney Kalonihea recorded the first home run of her collegiate career on April 18 versus SIU Edwardsville
– Her 2-run shot in the 7th inning cut into what was a 5-run deficit against the Cougars
– Over the last three games, Kalonihea has gone 3-for-10 at the plate, which put a halt to a 1-of-37 stretch that went from Feb. 19 through April 14
