EVANSVILLE @ DALLAST BAPTIST
April 18 | Dallas, Texas | Horner Ballpark
 
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
DBU Audio: Patriot Broadcasting Network
Livestats: DBU Livestats
Facebook: DBU Athletics
 
SERIES INFORMATION
Dates: April 18, 2014                      
Time: 6:30 PM (Fri.) 1 PM (Sat. GM1) 4 PM (Sat. GM2)                                                             
Stadium: Horner Ballpark (2,000)                                     
Broadcast: Patriot Broadcasting Network
Talent: Reagan Ratcliff, Brendan Smith, and Nate Frieling
 
PROBABLE STARTERS
 
Friday, April 18
Evansville – LHP Kyle Freeland (6-1, 1.74 ERA, 57 IP, 4 BB, 75 K) 
vs.
DBU – RHP Paul Voelker (6-2, 3.09 ERA, 55.1 IP, 21 BB, 56 K)
 
Saturday, April 19 (Game 1)
Evansville – RHP Connor Strain (2-3, 3.34 ERA, 35 IP, 17 BB, 21 K) 
vs.
DBU – RHP Cy Sneed (6-1, 2.24 ERA, 60.1 IP, 20 BB, 28 K)
 
Saturday, April 19 (Game 2)
Evansville – LHP Cole Isom (3-3, 3.59 ERA, 42.2 IP, 11 BB, 23 K)  
vs.
DBU – Cory Taylor (2-2, 3.53 ERA, 51 IP, 23 BB, 57 K)   
 
FIRST PITCH – The Dallas Baptist Baseball Team returns to Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend at Horner Ballpark, with University of Evansville coming to town for a three-game series.  This weekend marks the first conference series for the Patriots and features the top two teams in the Missouri Valley.  Dallas Baptist enters this weekend with a one-game lead over Evansville in the league standings.
 
On Friday, DBU will open the three-game set with a 6:30 PM first pitch versus Evansville.  Saturday's contests feature a double-header, with game one slated at 1 PM, and the second game scheduled to follow 30-45 minutes following the completion of game one.
 
DBU is 7-1 in double-headers in 2014.   The Patriots' only loss in a twin-bill came in the club's second game last Saturday at Baylor.  The 7-4 setback, coupled with Tuesday's non-conference loss at Texas Tech has the club on a two-game slide.  
 
DBU (25-11, 5-1) opened MVC action with a sweep at Bradley University for the first conference series in school history, and followed the next weekend by taking two out of three at Illinois State. The Patriots also swept MVC member, Missouri State, prior to conference starting, with those contests no counting towards either team's conference record.
 
The Patriots have been tough to beat at Horner Ballpark this year, posting a 13-4 record at the friendly confines.  DBU is in a stretch of six out of their next nine games being played at home.  Currently, the Patriots are 1-1 in their last two games at home, as they open a four-game homestand. It's the club's longest homestand since early March.
 
RECENT ACTION – The Patriots were unable to hold off No.24 Texas Tech in the ninth inning, and fell 5-4 in walk-off fashion on Tuesday afternoon.  DBU scored four runs in the third inning and half of  their 10 hits in the game.
 
The four-run inning was started with a double from junior, Drew Turbin, who scored off a single from senior, Mike Wesolowski.  Redshirt sophomore, Justin Wall, doubled to put runners on second and third with one out.  Freshman, David Martinelli, hit the second double in a row to drive in two runs and make the score 3-0.  Two batters later, junior, Nash Knight, completed the scoring with an RBI single to score Martinelli.
 
The Red Raiders began chipping away at the deficit right away in the fourth inning, pushing a run across the board.  In the fifth, Texas Tech plated two more runs, to cut the deficit to 4-3.
 
Sophomore, Drew Smith, got the start and pitched four innings of action. He allowed three runs on two hits while walking three and fanning four.  Redshirt senior, Josh Urban, came out of the pen to put out the fire, hurling three innings of one-hit ball and keeping the lead intact.
 
Joseph Shaw, who has four saves for second on the club, worked a scoreless eighth and had the ball in the ninth with an opportunity to close it out. With one out, a critical error kept the Red Raiders alive and a base hit by Stephen Smith brought home two runs to cap off a dramatic come from behind win for Texas Tech.
 
HITTING NOTES – Senior, Mike Wesolowski, boasts the highest batting average on the squad at .301, and is the lone Patriot Player batting above the .300 mark.  The native of Mesa, Arizona, is riding a season-long, 10-game hitting streak with 16 coming in the past 18 contests. He's also reached base safely in 14-straight games.
 
David Martinelli is second on the team with a .288 batting clip, and has tallied a hit in three of the last four; as well as produced at least one RBI over the four-game stretch.  His two-RBI double in Tuesday's setback at Texas Tech gave him 23 runs batted in on the year, to rank fourth overall on the club.  
 
Sophomore, Austin Listi, leads the club with five home runs and is tied for the lead in RBI's with 26 alongside Daniel Salters.  Both Listi and Salters are each batting .263 apiece as well.  Listi has recorded a hit in five of the last seven games, while Salters leads the league in triples with four and is tied for second in doubles with 13.
 
Senior, KJ Alexander, continued his torrid stretch versus Texas Tech with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate.  The Denton, Texas, native, has collected hits in 10 of the past 13 games, including a stretch of five games in a row.  In the club's last four games at Horner Ballpark, Alexander has picked up six hits in 11 at bats, scoring three runs and picking up five RBI.  He drove in a season-high four runs in last Friday at home versus Baylor and collected his first homerun in 2014.  He would follow Friday's homerun with a solo blast in the first game of Saturday's double-header in Waco.
                               
ON THE BUMP – Through 326.2 innings, DBU hurlers have allowed 149 runs, 117 earned, to compile a 3.23 ERA for second in the Missouri Valley Conference.  In addition, the Patriots lead the league with 322 punch outs.

Paul Voelker and Cy Sneed lead the pitching staff with six wins each.  Sneed leads the weekend rotation with a 2.24 ERA, while Voelker owns a 3.09 ERA.  Completing the weekend rotation is sophomore, Cory Taylor, who stands at 2-2 with a 3.53 ERA.  All three pitchers have eclipsed the 50 inning mark this year led by Sneed with 60.1, Voelker with 55.1, and Taylor with 51 total.
 
Voelker has gone at least six innings in his latest pair of appearances, and has recorded exactly five strikeouts in three-straight outings. The righty from Plymouth, Minnesota, has won each of his last three starts.  Most recently, he went six innings and allowed three runs in a Friday night win versus Baylor.

Sneed has pitched at least six innings in all but one of his nine starts this season, falling short of the clip by 0.1 of an inning in his second start of the year. The native of Twin Falls, Idaho, pitched seven innings in his last outing at Horner Ballpark, allowing just three runs, while taking a no-decision.  Against MVC opponents, Sneed has gone 22 innings in three games, allowing three runs (two earned) off 16 hits, five walks, and 15 strikeouts.  His season-high, seven punch outs, came against Missouri State in an eight-inning shutout affair.

Taylor is coming off back-to-back losses.  Most recently, the sophomore right-hander, worked 5.1 innnigs and allowed four runs at Baylor in the series finale on Saturday.
 
Out of the pen, Brandon Koch remains spectacular with an ERA south of 1.00.  His 0.82 clip is the lowest on the squad, and his six-strikeout performance on Saturday lifted his total to 40 to lead all relief arms. The Plano, Texas, product has a team-high five saves on the season.  In each of his last three save opportunities, Koch has worked 2.1 innings to close out the game.
 
SCOUTING EVANSVILLE – The Purple Aces (22-13, 4-2) have lost two in a row after missing out on a chance to complete the sweep of Wichita State on Sunday.  Evansville fell in a non-conference contest at Murray State on Tuesday, 11-6. The Purple Aces are 8-7 on the road this season.
 
DBU holds a one-game lead in the standings over the Evansville entering this weekend series. 

The Purple Aces are the top fielding team in the conference, boasting a .971 fielding percentage.
 
Evansville ranks third in the MVC with a .287 batting average, which is paced individually by club-leader, Josh Jyawook at a .345 clip. Jyawook's average ranks seventh best in the conference.  A quartet of hitters are hitting over .300 for Evansville: Jyawook (.345), Kyle Pollock (.336), Eric McKibban (.324), and Kevin Kaczmarski (.302).  Kaczmarski is the top run producer in the MVC with 36 RBI.
 
On the pitching side, Kyle Freeland is third in the nation in strikeouts-to-walk ration at 18.75 and fifth nationally with 75 strikeouts.  On the season, Freeland has walked a miniscule four batters on the season.  In eight starts, he leads the staff with six wins and a 1.74 ERA in 57 innings.

Out of the pen, Sam Johns has picked up seven saves in 19.1 innings and posted a 2.79 ERA.
 
Entering this weekend, the team has won six of their last 10.  In MVC action, the Purple Aces own series wins over Indiana State and Wichita State, taking two out of three from both opponents.
 
SERIES HISTORY – DBU leads the all-time series 4-2 over Evansville. The last time these programs met was in 2012. The Patriots swept the series at home in three games.
 
This was prior to Horner Ballpark being built a year later, so this weekend will mark the first time the Purple Aces will play in DBU's current home venue.
 
In the three-game series, the Patriots outscored Evansville 29-7; including scoring at least 10 runs in the first two contests.
 
The Patriots have won four-straight meetings versus Evansville after falling in the first two match-ups.
 
UP NEXT – Dallas Baptist welcomes Stephen F. Austin to the confines of Horner Ballpark for the second of a home-and-home series. The Patriots prevailed earlier in the campaign at SFA by a final of 20-10. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM.
 
After the four-game home stand is concluded Tuesday, the Patriots will be on the road at Indiana State for MVC action March 25-27.  DBU completes the four-game road trip at the University of Oklahoma on April 29.