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The University of Evansville baseball team will welcome longtime in-state rival Indiana State to Charles H. Braun Stadium this weekend for an important three-game Missouri Valley Conference series for both teams. The series will begin Friday night at 6:00 p.m. in a game that can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.
Evansville will bring a 7-28 overall record and 1-11 MVC record into the second-half of conference play Friday night. The Purple Aces currently sit in ninth place in the league standings, 4.5 games back of the Sycamores for the sixth and final spot in the upcoming State Farm MVC Tournament with 12 conference games remaining. Indiana State, meanwhile, finds itself in a log jam in the MVC standings, as the Sycamores’ 4-5 conference record puts Indiana State (10-21 overall) just 1.5 games back of fourth place, but also just one game out of seventh place in the race for the six-team MVC Tournament field.
Evansville is coming off of its first shutout victory of the season, as rookie right-hander Zach Taylor and junior closer J.R. Carbonell combined on a seven-hit shutout of visiting Oakland City, 5-0, on Wednesday night. Junior first baseman Derek Melton led the Evansville offense with a 2-for-4 effort against the Mighty Oaks, including launching his third home run of the year. Melton will ride a team-best six-game hitting streak into this weekend’s series, as he has hit .370 with two doubles, two home runs, and five RBI over the last six games. Overall, he hits .299 on the year for UE.
Indiana State will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak on Friday night, as the Sycamores dropped a three-game non-conference series at No. 22 Arizona last weekend, before losing a 14-13 extra-inning contest at Ball State on Tuesday. The Sycamores are led by senior outfielder Chris Schmidt, who currently ranks seventh in the MVC in batting average at .366. Junior outfielder Brady Shoemaker has also added a team-best 12 doubles and four home runs to go along with an MVC-best 44 RBI this year for Indiana State.
Evansville will turn to sophomore RHP Wade Kapteyn (0-2, 10.80 ERA) to try and silence the Indiana State attack on Friday night, as he will be opposed by junior LHP Michael Manus (1-5, 5.58 ERA) for Indiana State. Sophomore LHP Sean McCarthy (0-6, 5.53 ERA) will oppose Indiana State RHP Matt Shelton (3-2, 5.36 ERA) in Saturday’s 2:00 p.m. contest, while junior RHP John Foley (2-3, 4.72 ERA) will toe the rubber for UE in Sunday’s 1:00 p.m. series finale against Indiana State RHP Micah Spencer (2-3, 6.25 ERA). Friday’s opener and Sunday’s series finale can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.
