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CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois baseball will play host to Evansville for the final weekend series of the season starting Friday at Itchy Jones Stadium. SIU will honor its 2025 Senior Class prior to Sunday's series finale.

The Salukis (33-15, 13-8 MVC) enter the weekend two games back from first-place Missouri State (15-6 MVC), a game back from second-place Murray State (14-7 MVC) in the Missouri Valley Conference with just two weekends remaining in the regular season.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE Friday – 6 p.m. Saturday – 6 p.m. Sunday – 1 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW • All three games will air on ESPN Plus. Luke Martin and Kirk Champion will call the action. • Live stats and in-game updates are available on Twitter @SIU_Baseball.

QUICK HITS • Southern enters the matchup at 33-15 overall and 13-8 in Missouri Valley Conference play after dropping two of three at Murray State last weekend. The Salukis defeated SIUE in midweek action on the road to improve to 20-7 in the nonconference slate. • SIU is a combined 26-6 when scoring six or more runs. • The Salukis are 25-0 this season when leading after six innings.

THE MATCHUP • Evansville comes into the weekend at 14-33 overall and 8-13 in MVC action. • UE has dropped five straight games after being swept at home against Belmont last weekend and falling in midweek action to Southern Indiana Wednesday. • The Aces are hitting .265 as a team which ranks seventh in the MVC while holding an 8.38 combined ERA. • Ty Rumsey (.326) and Cal McGinnis (.315) lead the squad at the plate. Rumsey has a team-best 29 stolen bases in 32 attempts. As a team UE has stolen 57 bases which ranks fifth in the MVC. • On the mound, Kenton Deverman holds a 5.47 ERA in 10 starts for the Aces.

THE SERIES • The Salukis lead the series with Evansville, 120-72. • The Aces took two of three in Evansville last season, including an 11-10 walk-off win in 10 innings to win the series. • The last time the two squads met in Carbondale was in 2023 when the Salukis claimed the series 2-1 after taking the final two games. • Southern is 68-30 all-time against the Aces.

TEAM NOTES • The Salukis have hit 79 home runs which ranks second in the MVC and 23^rd nationally. The Salukis average of 1.65 per game to rank second in the MVC and 24^th nationally. • SIU is 18-3 when hitting two or more home runs in a game. • Offensively, the team has been strong all season, ranking first in the MVC with 400 runs scored and averaging 8.3 runs per game, third in the conference. • The Salukis boast a power lineup, ranking second in the MVC with a .518 slugging percentage which is 23^rd in the nation. • The team's 17 triples are the most in the MVC and tied for 17^th nationally • Four everyday players have a batting average of over .300, led by Tim Simay's .338 average. • Patience at the plate has paid off, as the Salukis have drawn 270 walks (22^nd nationally) leading to a .410 on-base percentage (2^nd in the MVC and 54^th nationally). • The Salukis have been aggressive on the base paths, stealing 65 bases to rank second in the MVC, averaging 1.35 per game. -- • On the mound, the team has posted a 5.09 ERA, second-best in the MVC. • The bullpen has been effective, recording 11 saves. • SIU's five shutouts rank 12^th nationally. • As a squad, Southern pitching has a 1.55 WHIP to tank second in the MVC.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES • Tim Simay leads the team with a .338 batting average. Matt Schark hold a .323 average and leads the team with 64 base hits. • Jordan Bach leads the team and is third in the MVC with 19 doubles. • Matt Schark paces the lineup with 64 hits and 59 RBIs (1st in MVC). He has a .639 slugging percentage, the highest among everyday starters. • John Lemm leads the Salukis and is seventh in the MVC with a 1.058 OPS. • Lemm's 26 game reached base streak is one away from top-10 in program history. P.J. Finigan (2005) and Nikola Vasic (2018) held a 27-game reached base streak during their time on campus. • Ten Salukis have at least 20 RBIs, and six have 30. -- • Alec Nigut has a 4.01 ERA which is fifth in the MVC, while holding opponents to a .251 batting average and striking out 48. • Sam Frizzi has been lights out in relief, recording a 2.12 ERA with a 1.20 WHIP and seven saves in 20 appearances. The seven saves are tops in the MVC. • Dylan Petrey has been a reliable bullpen arm, striking out 45 batters in 41.2 innings while holding opponents to a .244 average.

MIDSEASON POLL AND AWARDS • Southern Illinois was picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason/Midseason Poll, the MVC announced on March 17. The Salukis picked up 86 points and four first-place votes while Missouri State was tabbed the favorite with 90 overall points and five first-place votes. • Shortstop Jaxon Holder (SS) and left-hander Alec Nigut (SP/LHP) were selected as Preseason All-MVC players.

RHODES AT THE HELM • Lance Rhodes is in his sixth season at the helm of the program, leading the team to 40 or more wins during two of the last four seasons -- including the first back-to-back 40-win seasons in program history (2021 & 22). • Rhodes holds an overall record of 192-111.

FOLLOW THE SALUKIS Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on X at @SIU_Baseball, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiBaseball, and on Instagram at @SIU_Baseball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.

NORMAL, Ill. – The offense struggled to get going on Saturday afternoon in the University of Evansville baseball team's 7-1 loss to the Illinois State Redbirds.

The Purple Aces competed in an almost opposite game from its first of the series against Illinois States in a low scoring affair. UE's offense only had seven hits over nine innings with three batters connecting on all but one of the team's hits. Outfielder Ty Rumsey (Evansville, Ind. / North HS), infielder Cal McGinnis (Kimberly, Wis. / Bradley) and infielder Jake McGhee (Fenton, Mo. / Christian Brothers Academy) all had two hits each on the afternoon.

"Back-to-back series losses on the road is tough, but we haven't earned it over the last two weekends," said Head Coach Wes Carroll. "We need to play well tomorrow to showcase this great conference on national TV. I'm ready to see a complete competitive game out of this club."

Both teams were held scoreless in the first two innings as the Redbird and Evansville defense shined. The Aces turned their 20^th double play of the season in the bottom of the second as third baseman Drew Howard (Ferdinand, Ind. / Forest Park HS) was part of all three outs. Howard slid in for a bunt lineout and got the out at third on the double play with an assist to first to end the inning.

After getting two hits in the top of the second, Evansville's bats went quiet for the top of the third. Illinois State took the early lead in the bottom of the third with four straight hits. The Redbirds had three singles to score the first run of the game. And then first baseman Judah Morris hit a three-run homer to make it a 4-0 score for Illinois State.

The Aces had two on base in the fourth as catcher Matt Flaherty (Lake Zurich, Ill. / Bellarmine) led off the inning with a hit by pitch and McGinnis put a single into right center. But UE's next three batters went down in order, sending the defense back out onto the field. The Redbirds added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth, scoring three runs on five hits with four straight hits to begin the frame.

Evansville scored its lone run of the game in the top of the fifth. A lead off walk to shortstop Drew McConnell (Blue Springs, Mo. / Blue Springs HS) followed by a single from Howard had a runner in scoring position for the Aces. Rumsey then connected on his second hit of the afternoon with a double down the right field line to score McConnell, making it a 7-1 game.

That would remain the final score as neither team brought a run home in the final four innings of the afternoon. UE left two runners in scoring position in the top of the seventh, as the top of the seventh was the last time either team got close to scoring another run.

Evansville will try to close out the series with a win on linear television on Sunday afternoon. The Aces third game at Illinois State will be broadcast on ESPNU, the first of two linear games for UE this season. First pitch for Sunday's series finale is set for 1:30 p.m. from Duffy Bass Field.

NORMAL, ILL -- The University of Evansville baseball team will try to get back in the win column against one of the top teams in the Missouri Valley Conference.

The Purple Aces return to the road for MVC play after a brief stop at home for a midweek game against Butler. UE struggled to keep the Bulldogs bats quiet in the 17-5 loss on Tuesday night as Evansville used seven members of its pitching staff. UE goes for its third series win in Valley action over the weekend at Illinois State. Last season, Evansville swept the Redbirds for the first time since 2022 to get the series within five games. The Aces also succeeded over Illinois State in postseason play with two run-rule wins during the MVC Tournament.

It'll be a different series this year as the Redbirds have had more success in 2024. Illinois State has a 15-16 overall record and a 6-3 conference record to be tied for second in the league with Southern Illinois. The Redbirds had a big win to start March as they defeated 25th ranked Oklahoma State in their series opener 12-6. Illinois State did drop the next two games of the series for its first ranked win of the year and its first win over a ranked non-conference opponent since 2023. The Redbirds have the third best offense in the Valley at a .298 average led by junior outfielder Daniel Pacella with a .407 average. Pacella leads the MVC in batting average and slugging percentage at .708.

Evansville will play in its first of two nationally televised games this weekend in Normal. Sunday afternoon's match up between the Aces and the Redbirds will be simulcast on ESPN+ and ESPNU. UE had an ESPNU game last season on the road as well at Indiana State when the Sycamores were ranked 14th in the nation. Evansville will then have its first nationally televised game at home since 2018 when the Saturday game of its series with Dallas Baptist was on ESPNU.

With two steals against Butler on Tuesday senior outfielder Ty Rumsey has the most stolen bases in a season for the Aces since 2012. Rumsey currently has 21 steals midway through the season to lead the MVC. He is also 20th in the nation in stolen bags while being 27th in stolen bases per game. Rumsey has a ways to take the season record for stolen bases from Eric Stamets who had 43 in the 2010 season.

Sophomore left-hander Kenton Deverman pitched his first complete game of the season over the weekend. Deverman spent eight innings on the mound in the opening game of UE's series at UIC. Through eight innings of work Deverman allowed seven hits, four runs, only two earned runs, walked a batter, and struck out seven. With only five walks on the season, Deverman leads the MVC in walks allowed per nine innings at 1.40 to be 20th in the nation. He is also 59th in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 4.67 to lead Valley pitchers.