The final week of the regular season is up next for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team, closing out 2015 with four home games, including the annual contest at Miller Park and "Senior Day" in the season finale.

Up first is the final midweek non-conference game, welcoming Northern Illinois University to Henry Aaron Field for a 3 p.m. contest Tuesday. The team then welcomes Oakland University for the final series, with Thursday getting underway at 3 p.m. as well. Friday's game at Miller Park is slated for a first pitch of 6 p.m. and the series finale starts at noon Sunday.

The matchup with the Huskies will be broadcasted by Time Warner Cable SportsChannel for viewing on a tape-delay basis later in the week (schedule will be announced when available). Scott Warras and Bill Johnson will have the call. All four games will have live statistics available on the UWM website and both Thursday and Friday will have live audio.

The 2015 campaign marks the 51st season of baseball at UWM. It is also the 45th season of varsity play (the program was played at the club level from 1982-1986) and the 25th in the Panthers NCAA Division I era.

LOOKING AT THE OPPONENTS
The Huskies are 21-30 after dropping a weekend series, 2-1, against Western Michigan. After 11 seasons under former head coach Ed Mathey (2003-2014) and a 17-36-1 record a year ago, NIU has a new skipper in the dugout in Mike Kunigonis, who spent the last seven seasons at Virginia Tech. The Huskies return their middle infield in 2015 in Justin Fletcher and Brian Sisler, both of whom were NIU's top-hitters last season. Stephen Letz leads the team with a .319 average. Sisler is second at .303 and has driven in a team-best 29 runs.

The Golden Grizzlies are now 10-34 (5-21 league) after getting swept at home by UIC to fall for the fifth time in six games. The team opened 2015 with eight straight losses, coming against a stacked scheduled that included No. 12 Florida State, USC and Arizona. They also play a Monday at Eastern Michigan before traveling to the Panthers. Robby Enslen was named the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year and Mike Brosseau was named to the preseason all-league team, announced the same day that saw the Grizzlies picked to finish in sixth place after a 12-33 season in 2014. Enslen leads the offense, batting .333 with a team-high 60 hits, driving in 22.

SERIES HISTORY
The series with NIU is dead-even, tied at 26-26 after the Panthers won, 13-11, back on March 31 of this season. The teams split two games a season ago and UWM has now won four of the past five overall.

The series saw its first-ever game when Oakland joined the Horizon League in 2014, with UWM taking five of the seven contests played between the two. The Panthers swept the three-game series at home and also topped the Grizzlies, 4-2, in the Horizon League tournament. The teams split a weather-shortened two-game series at the end of March.

THE WEEK THAT WAS
The Panthers went 3-2 last week, earning victories over MSOE, Chicago State and one of three against Wright State on the weekend. The offense continues to produce, batting .330 last week in collecting 62 hits in five games. Senior Mike Porcaro (.550) paced the offense with a big week, going 11-for-20 with four runs scored. Sophomore Eric Solberg (.455) went 5-for-11 and senior Derek Peake (.435) and junior Mitch Ghelfi (.409) were also above the .400 mark for the five games.

STANDINGS CHECK
Heading into the final weekend of Horizon League play, the regular-season title will be decided this upcoming weekend. UIC currently leads the league with a 19-8 mark (.704 winning percentage), just a half-game ahead of Wright State at 18-8 (.692). The Flames host Youngstown State (9-18) this weekend, while the Raiders host Valparaiso (15-11). The Crusaders can finish as high as second, or can get bumped to fourth by the Panthers if UWM sweeps Oakland and Valpo loses twice at WSU. Milwaukee would hold the 4-2 head-to-head tie-breaker if both teams finish 16-13 in conference play. The top two spots in the league standings earn first-round byes at next week's Horizon League Tournament. The event, hosted by Valparaiso and set to be played at Oil City Stadium in Whiting, Ind., gets underway Wednesday with single-elimination games between the No. 3/No. 6 seeds and the No. 4/No. 5 seeds. The rest of the weekend is then double-elimination to decide the winner and eventual NCAA Tournament participant.

SENIOR-ITIS
Saturday at Henry Aaron Field will be "Senior Day". The roster in 2015 is unique, featuring a top-heavy senior class of 14 members. There are numerous ways the Panthers got to this point, with the backgrounds among the group extremely varied - in fact, there are just two fourth-year seniors in the group.

Here is the breakdown:
Fifth-year seniors (7): Gunnar Eastman, Eric King, Sam Koenig, Derek Peake,
Mike Porcaro, Mike Schneider, Tell Taylor
Transfers (4): Tyler Hermann, Sam Kohnke, Ryan McShane, Cody Peterson
Fourth-year seniors (2): Sam Hammer, Justin Jaquish
Graduate students (1): Joe Pavlovich

IT'S MILLER TIME
Through a marketing agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Panthers have played at Miller Park every season since 2002. UWM posted a record of 15-9 in games at the major league park, following a loss to WSU in 2014.

SAVE A SPOT ON THE LIST
Cody Peterson is making this senior-year-transition-to-closer thing look easy. Not only does he lead the Horizon League with 10 saves, but that also makes him the first UWM closer with at least double-digit total since Matt Freisleben set the school record with 15 in 2002. The only other player with at least that many is Jon Schreiner, who recorded 10 in the 1997 season.

THE 200 CLUB
In the history of the Milwaukee baseball program, 11 players have now recorded over 200 career hits at the NCAA Division I level. Seniors Mike Porcaro (May 9 against Wright State) and Sam Koenig are the most recent (April 15 against Chicago State), both joining this season.

Below is the current list of the "200 Club".
1. Jesse Hart (2005-08): 267 career hits
2. Doug Dekoning (2008-11): 260
3. Cole Kraft (2008-11): 250
4. Darin Haugom (1997-2001): 245
5. Paul Hoenecke (2009-12): 242
6. Sam Koenig (2011-15): 222 as of 5/11/15 (150 entering 2015)
7. Ross McCoy (2004-07): 220
8. Charlie Reschke (2002-05): 213
9. Jonathan Capasso (2010-13): 211
10. Nick Wichser (2004-08): 206
11. Porcaro: 205 as of 5/11/15 (159 entering 2015)

STOP THAT THIEF
Luke Meeteer is having a season of thievery never before seen in Milwaukee baseball history. So far in 2015, the speedy junior has 31 stolen bases, enough to lead the conference by a wide margin (second is 18). His individual total is also more steals than Oakland (30) has as a team. He broke the school record of 24 against Northwestern April 21 - which was tied by Ryan Solberg in 2014 and set by Darin Haugom in 2000 and 1999 - and the career mark of 73 (also set by Haugom) might be threatened as well at this pace, with Meeteer sitting at 67 overall. He enters play this week seventh in the NCAA in total steals (leader is currently at 38) and 10th in steals-per-game.

TOUCH 'EM ALL
The Panthers have 32 home runs as a team, on pace for the most since 39 of them back in the 2010 season. Senior Sam Koenig leads the way with 13 dingers, making him the first Panther with 10-or-more since Tim Patzman hit 11 in 2010. The school record of 17 was set in 1999 by both Todd Ludwig and Chad Sadowski. Koenig's total already sits alone in third place.

SWINGING SAMMY
Sam Koenig is enjoying a stellar senior season, earning Horizon League Player of the Week honors on three occasions and is a strong candidate for Horizon League Player of the Year. He is also currently leading the conference in batting average, hits, runs, doubles, home runs and total bases. If he ends up with the award, it would mark the third straight for a UWM player, joining Ryan Solberg in 2014 and Mike Porcaro in 2013.

GETTING TO 20
The 23 runs scored by the Panthers against Edgewood April 28 marked the first outing of 20-or-more runs in a game since Milwaukee topped Bradley by a score of 20-2 back on April 21 of the 2010 campaign. The total tied for eighth-best all-time, as the school record is 28. The five home runs the team hit that day were a season-high and the most since banging out five dingers against SIU Edwardsville on March 6, 2010.

COMEBACK KIDS: PART 2
Earlier this season, the Panthers overcame a five-run deficit March 14 in claiming a 6-5 victory over Youngstown State, one of the biggest comeback victories of head coach Scott Doffek's tenure. For good measure, they came back again the next day, turning a 6-2 YSU lead in the eighth inning into another victory.

That was nothing compared to what happened at Henry Aaron Field against Chicago State April 15. Trailing 10-1 after the top of the fourth inning, the Panthers scored 13 unanswered runs en route to the amazing 15-11 win.

TOP COMEBACKS SINCE 2007
1. Trailed Chicago State, 10-1, fourth inning. Won 15-11 (4/15/15)
2. Trailed Cleveland State, 6-0, third inning. Won 7-6 (4/11/08)
3. Trailed Youngstown State, 5-0, second inning. Won 6-5 (3/14/15)
4. Trailed Butler, 5-0, second inning. Won 13-5 (5/13/12)

ONE OF A KIND
The Milwaukee baseball team had played 1,277 games in its NCAA Division I history prior to its matchup with UW-Superior April 7 that resulted in the first no-hitter in team history. Freshman Alex McIntosh, who did not even know he would be the starter until 20 minutes before first pitch, did the heavy lifting with 7.0 innings of work, striking out 11 while walking just one. Senior Mike Schneider, coming off Tommy John surgery, made his first appearance since the 2013 season to close out the final six outs and preserve history for the day. McIntosh earned Horizon League Pitcher of the Week honors for his efforts, certainly making his first collegiate start a memorable one.

FRESHMEN K K K K K K K KLUB
McIntosh joined a small list with the 11 strikeouts, becoming just the fifth freshman at UWM to post double-figures in K's in a game. Current sophomore Justin Langley is on the list with 12 from 2014. Also on the list is Robert Michalkiewicz (10 in 2004), Rob Erickson (10 in 2000) and Chad Sadowski (10 in 1997).

SOME KIND OF STRETCH
Senior Sam Koenig put together a 24-game hitting streak to open the season, a stretch that was snapped at Iowa April 8 after he was intentionally walked twice in the game and also drew a third walk on four pitches. That tied for the third longest hit streak in program history.
1. Mike Goetz: 32 games in 2006
2. Goetz: 27 games in 2005-06
T3. Sam Koenig: 24 games in 2015
T3. Nick Wichser: 24 games in 2008

RARE DEFEAT
The 11-10 defeat suffered by the Panthers against Valparaiso April 2 was a rare one for UWM, in that the team lost for the first time when scoring 10-or-more runs in quite some time. The loss snapped a 42-game stretch (41-0-1) of games where the Panthers scored at least 10 runs and claimed victory. The last time they did not? A 20-12 defeat at the hands of Butler in April of 2010. Ironically, the tie in the streak (11-11 in May of 2011) also came vs. Butler.

THAT WAS FAST
The series opener against Wright State March 20 was the definition of an efficient game. Both starting pitchers went the distance, combining to allow one run on 11 hits while walking just one batter. The teams made one lineup substitution, resulting in a game time of just one hour, 44 minutes. That marked the second-fastest 9-inning game ever played since Scott Doffek became the UWM head coach in 2006. Just eight other 9-inning affairs in that span have been played in under two hours, with the best mark of 1:39 set in a 4-1 setback at UIC on May 2 of 2015.

GOOD OUT OF THE GATES
The Panthers 10-4 start was its best through 14 games in program history. That topped the previous best run of 9-5 by both the 2001 and 1995 squads.

MAKING SOME NOISE
The Panthers hot start did get them noticed nationally, with the team receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll in back-to-back weeks (March 9 and 16). The week of March 16, they were also receiving votes in the USA Today Baseball Coaches Poll.

NOT YOUR "AVERAGE JOE"
Newcomer Joe Pavlovich was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week March 9 after an impressive stretch. First off, he took the mound in the exhibition contest against the Milwaukee Brewers March 4. He struck out Adam Lind, Khris Davis and Gerardo Parra on nine pitches in the second inning.

Then Pavlovich helped the Panthers complete a three-game sweep of Missouri March 8, throwing six strong innings to record the victory. He struck out seven Tigers and faced just one batter over the minimum over the first four innings and did not allow a base hit until the fifth. He worked out of trouble the only time Missouri had a runner in scoring position, inducing a fly out and recording a strikeout in the sixth when the Tigers had runners on second and third with just one out. He allowed just two hits on the day as Milwaukee posted a 3-1 victory.

YES, "THE" MILWAUKEE BREWERS
One look at the 2015 schedule and the opponent on March 4 jumped out immediately. The Panthers took on the Milwaukee Brewers in a contest that opened Spring Training competition for the 2015 Brewers at Maryvale Baseball Park. This exhibition was the first time the Brewers have faced a collegiate team in an exhibition game since 1983 when they played Arizona State University. It was also the first time the Brewers have ever played the Panthers in an exhibition. The game was scoreless after three innings when both teams had their starting lineups on the field. UWM's Derek Peake recorded the first hit of the contest in the fourth, with the Brewers eventually earning the 8-0 decision.

HOW'S THAT FOR OPENERS?
As a northern team that cannot practice outdoors before the start of the season, it is no surprise that Milwaukee does not have a great record in season openers. It is now 5-20 in such contests at the Division I level, but the opening of the 2015 season was record-breaking from a couple of viewpoints.

First off, it marked the first 3-0 start in program history since becoming an NCAA Division I program in the 1990 season. The only other time UWM even began 2-0 was in 1995 when the Panthers topped Youngstown State (16-6) and Bowling Green (6-5). Secondly, the team opened with at least 10 runs in a season opener for just the second time (also 1995, see above). They topped that by making it three in a row when they plated 12 and 11 runs the next day in a twinbill against the Black Bears. That had never even accomplished twice before.

EARLY WHITEWASH
The 10-0 shutout over Maine came as soon as the schedule allowed. The only other time a UWM team ever matched that was in 2006, when the Panthers blanked Saint Mary's (CA), 2-0, in the season opener. The other time the Milwaukee pitching staff was able to record an early-season shutout was 2013, when the Panthers beat New Mexico State, 11-0, in the second game on the schedule that season.

BASEBALL SEASON ALREADY?
The February 13th opener to the 2015 campaign is one of the earliest in program history. In fact, five of the top six all-time earliest starts to the season have taken place in the past nine years.

1. 2006: February 10
2. 2015: February 13
2. 1999: February 13
4. 2014: February 14
5. 2013: February 15
6. 2007: February 16

PRESEASON NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Various publications and websites came out with their annual college baseball previews and players from the Milwaukee roster have earned a handful of mentions. Baseball America lists senior Sam Koenig (No. 2) and junior Mitch Ghelfi (No. 7) as part of the "Top 10 Prospects, 2015 MLB Drafts" chart. The "College Sports Madness" website lists seniors Sam Koenig, Tyler Hermann and Ryan McShane as well as juniors Brian Keller and Luke Meeteer as preseason second-team all-league members.

LET'S HIT THE ROAD...
As usual, the Panthers were busy waiting for the snow to melt away and Henry Aaron Field to be ready for them to play in Milwaukee. While that happened, they played 17 straight road games to open the 2015 slate. That will seem a touch easier compared to other seasons, as the record for longest season-opening road trip was set at 30 games in 2008. However, the past few Wisconsin springs have not been kind. Postponements and cancellations have been the norm the past two years, with the Panthers having to play their "home" opener in Chicago last season and, in 2013, the team ended up playing 29 in a row on the road (losing 12 contests to the weather overall) before finally playing a home game April 24.

The Panthers traveled over 11,000 miles over the course of the first seven weeks of this season via plane or bus, visiting seven different states (Florida, Kentucky, Arizona, Missouri, Ohio [twice], Michigan and Illinois) before playing their home opener April 2 against Valparaiso. To put that in perspective, that would be equivalent to circling the bases 161,362 times.

FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
Injuries hit the Panthers harder in 2014 than in any season in recent memory. Milwaukee lost Mike Schneider (8-3, 3.64 ERA in 2013) before the year even started to Tommy John surgery and proceeded to lose Sam Koenig (.424 with 14 hits in first 9 games) and Luke Meeteer (Second-Team All-League in 2013) before even playing its home opener. Then, throw in injuries that slowed down an All-American second baseman and an all-league catcher and you get what UWM had a season ago – a tough year full of adversity that ended at 21-29 and short of expectations. But, there's always next year, as they say in sports. And the Panthers are as healthy as can be expected headed into 2015.

WOW THAT WAS CLOSE
Senior Cody Peterson came within five outs of program history against Valparaiso last April 18, carrying a no-hitter into the top of the eighth before a one-out infield single spoiled the bid. He finished with a one-hit shutout, walking one and striking out eight batters to help him earn the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week award. It was just the fifth one-hitter thrown by a UWM pitcher since the start of the 2000 season and the first that did not occur in a scheduled seven-inning contest.

April 29, 2011, 8-0 over Youngstown State: Chad Pierce (7 innings)
April 12, 2011, 11-0 over St. Norbert: four pitchers combined (7 innings)
May 1, 2007, 9-1 over Carroll College: four pitchers combined (7 innings)
April 5, 2003, 6-0 over Valparaiso: Mikel Schaefer (7 innings)

SIT THEM DOWN
Redshirt freshman Justin Langley made a strong statement against Valparaiso last April 19, pitching 7.0 strong innings to help UWM to the shutout win. In his outing, he struck out 12 batters, coming up just short of the Milwaukee school record of 13 in a game. In the process, he became the first freshman to record 10-or-more K's in a game since Robert Michalkiewicz had 10 in 2004.

HOW'S THAT FOR A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION
A pair of newcomers stepped up immediately in 2014, each earning Horizon League Second-Team postseason honors. Ryan McShane and Tyler Hermann made an impact in their first season at UWM, McShane mainly at shortstop and Hermann all over the field (3B, OF, 1B, DH). McShane made 37 starts in 41 appearances, batting .290 - the third-highest on the squad. He recorded 42 hits, scored 18 times, drove in 16 and went a perfect 11-for-11 in stolen bases. Hermann batted .280 overall, making 43 starts in 47 games. He scored 21 runs, recorded 45 hits, hit three home runs and drove in 17 runs.

PRESEASON POLL
Milwaukee was picked to finish third in the 2015 Horizon League preseason baseball poll. Wright State was the favorite to win the title in balloting by the conference's six head coaches. The Raiders received five first-place votes and topped the poll with 35 points after claiming the regular-season title in 2014. UIC was second with 28 points. The Panthers grabbed the final first-place vote and collected 23 points to take third. Valparaiso was fourth with 19 points. Youngstown State was fifth with 12 points Oakland and rounded out the poll in sixth place with nine points.

Oakland's Rob Enslen was voted as the Preseason Player of the Year and Valparaiso's Dalten Lundeen was named the Preseason Pitcher of the Year in voting of the coaches. For the third-straight year the league has also announced a preseason all-conference team and the Panthers had a trio of seniors on the squad. Sam Koenig (OF), Tyler Hermann (3B) and Tell Taylor (Utility) were all honored.

2015 Horizon League Preseason Baseball Poll
1. Wright State (5 first-place votes) - 35
2. UIC - 28
3. Milwaukee (1) - 23
4. Valparaiso - 19
5. Youngstown State - 12
6. Oakland - 9

PLAYER BLOG
Senior Mike Porcaro is back for his fourth season of putting together the baseball blog, chronicling the exploits of the team in detail. This year, he will once again joined by Eric King from time to time. Find the link to "Diamond Chronicles" off the baseball page or go to: uwmathletics5.blogspot.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA
You can also follow the baseball team on Twitter @MKE_Baseball. In addition, assistant SID Chris Zills will be updating game scores and highlights when in attendance all season long on his Twitter account at @sidzills.

ALUMNI UPDATE
Paul Hoenecke and Josh Uhen continue to play professionally and headed to Spring Training in March, with both players stopping by to catch UWM's Arizona appearance against the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2014, Hoenecke played with the Great Lakes Loons, the Class A team of the Los Angeles Dodgers. A regular starter, Hoenecke appeared in 128 games, batting .256 with 15 home runs and 61 runs batted in. He earned player of the year honors by the Dodgers Farm System review. Uhen played for the Helena Brewers, the Rookie affiliate of the parent club. He appeared in 15 games, making eight starts, striking out 37 batters in 54.2 innings.

Hoenecke was moved up to Double A by the Dodgers to start the 2015 season, playing for the Tulsa Drillers in the Texas League. He is currently with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, the Class A Advanced affiliate in the California League. Uhen has opened the 2015 campaign at the Brewers Class A team in the Midwest League located in Appleton, Wis., the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.

ON TAP
The Panthers head to Indiana for the Horizon League Tournament. Game dates, times and opponents will be released when announced.