The Milwaukee baseball team enters the final week of the regular season, playing one more contest at home Tuesday before concluding the schedule with a three-game set at Valparaiso Thursday through Saturday.

Up first, the Panthers enjoy one last outing at Henry Aaron Field, welcoming Northern Illinois Tuesday for the non-league matinee. Game time is set for 3 p.m. and will be televised live on Spectrum Sports with Bob Brainerd and Matt Menzl on the call.

The final three games takes UWM to Indiana, playing once per day to close out the slate against the Crusaders. The opener Thursday will start at 3 p.m. and the final games Friday and Saturday have scheduled first pitches of 1 p.m. The matchups will be broadcast on 95.1 FM Valparaiso with links to live audio and live stats available on MKEPanthers.com.

The 2017 campaign marks the 53rd season of baseball at UWM. It is also the 47th season of varsity play (the program was played at the club level from 1982-1986) and the 27th in the Panthers NCAA Division I era.

POSTSEASON MIX
Milwaukee made the crucial jump up the standings the week prior and knew it was guaranteed a spot in the postseason tournament Sunday after Oakland's Jordan Jackson's walkoff three-run home run topped Youngstown State and eliminated the Penguins from contention.

There is, however, plenty to be decided in the final week. The top seed will host the postseason event and the race for 1-2 is tight. UIC currently leads at 21-6, with Wright State just behind at 19-8. The two teams battle it out this week in Dayton, where a sweep would swap positions. Third through sixth place are also tight, and the Panthers could help themselves and still finish as high as fourth place.

THE 200 CLUB
In the history of the Milwaukee baseball program, 12 players have recorded over 200 career hits at the NCAA Division I level after Luke Meeteer managed the feat last season. Mike Porcaro and Sam Koenig had been the most recent, joining in 2015. Not only did Meeteer join the list in 2016, but he graduated as the new "Milwaukee Hit King" after finishing at 273. Daulton Varsho is on-pace to become the first-ever junior to accomplish the feat this season. He started the year at 127, and now has the milestone within his grasp in the final week of the regular season.

Below is the current list of the "200 Club".
1. Luke Meeteer (2012-16): 273 career hits
2. Jesse Hart (2005-08): 267
3. Doug Dekoning (2008-11): 260
4. Cole Kraft (2008-11): 250
5. Darin Haugom (1997-2001): 245
6. Paul Hoenecke (2009-12): 242
7. Sam Koenig (2011-15): 233
8. Ross McCoy (2004-07): 220
9. Mike Porcaro (2012-15): 215
10. Charlie Reschke (2002-05): 213
11. Jonathan Capasso (2010-13): 211
12. Nick Wichser (2004-08): 206
T13. Daulton Varsho (2015-17): 197 and counting
T13. Chad Sadowski (1997-2000): 197

LOOKING AT THE OPPONENTS
Northern Illinois finished the 2016 season at 24-32 overall (14-10 in Mid-American Conference). The Huskies were picked to finished fourth in the MAC West in the Preseason Coaches Poll and returned three All-MAC performers in MAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year William Anderson, All-MAC First Team infielder Brad Wood and All-Defensive first baseman Tommy Hook.

The team will enter play Tuesday at 15-34 overall, having dropped five in a row after getting swept by Eastern Michigan at home over the past weekend. Samuel Vega (.303/25 RBI/30 R), Roderick Bynum (.299/5 3B/20 RBI) and Jesus Tovar (.298/18 RBI) lead the offense to date, while the staff has a 5.21 ERA.

In an odd scheduling quirk, the Panthers and Crusaders will take on each other in each of the last five league games of the year (Valpo claimed both in Milwaukee last week). The squad posted a winning record for the first time since 2013 a year ago at 30-28. They racked up 30 wins for the seventh time in program history, finishing the year with an appearance in the Horizon League final. Sam Shaikin leads the team with a .322 average and has knocked in 27. Five others bat .290 or better, with Giovanni Garbella (.308) pacing the team with 30 RBI. James Stea (.290) has 21 steals and a .429 OBP after walking 22 times and getting hit 22 more.

SERIES HISTORIES
Milwaukee holds the slim 29-27 all-time lead over Northern Illinois (following a 2-0 win in DeKalb April 4) in a series that has gone back-and-forth of late. An even 8-8 over the past 16 prior to this season, UWM has now claimed wins in seven of the past nine. The teams split a pair of matchups in 2016.

The series between UWM and Valpo sits at 36-29 in favor of the Panthers. The Crusaders claimed four of six meetings a season ago and both games last week at Henry Aaron Field.

THE WEEK THAT WAS
Milwaukee was slowed down after a recent stretch that saw them win eight of 10, dropping three of four games (at home) on the weekend after a 17-1 defeat of Chicago State midweek. The offense clicked along at .314, led by Ian Ross at an eye-popping .600 (9-for-15, 4 RBI). Chris Kelly (.429/9-for-21/6 RBI) and Mike Ferri (.400/6-for-15) also had solid weeks at the plate.

PETERS' PATROL
Jay Peters has been on quite a roll of late, recording victories in each of his past six appearances. He has also thrown four complete game in a row, moving past Jake Long (three straight in 2013) in becoming the only UWM pitcher in program history to ever record four straight complete games. In that six-game stretch of victories, Peters has posted a 1.44 ERA while holding opponents to a .170 batting average. In 50.0 innings, he has struck out 45 and walked just nine. He starts the week leading the Horizon League in innings pitched (93.0) and second in wins (8) and strikeouts (75).

WALK THIS WAY
Daulton Varsho added to his resume as a Panther over the weekend, recording walk No. 42 of the season to break the school record of 41 set by Dave Pudlosky in 2002 and tied by Mike Goetz back in 2006. In addition, he now has eight intentional walks this year - the most for any UWM player in the past 15 seasons (5 was the high in that span). That gives him 12 intentional passes in his three-year UWM career.

SENIOR SALUTE
The Panthers honored their 10-member senior class in an on-field ceremony between games of the doubleheader against Valparaiso May 13. Congratulations and best wishes go out to: #7 Billy Quirke, #9 Chris Kelly, #12 Adam Reuss, #14 Ian Ross, #15 Jeremy Wright, #21 John Boidanis, #23 Dylan Detert, #24 Jay Peters, #30 Cole Heili and #32 Mike Jordahl.

BIG HAUL FOR JORDAHL
Mike Jordahl was honored May 8 with Horizon League Batter of the Week honors, marking the first time in his career he has been tabbed for the weekly conference award. The redshirt-senior batted an impressive .526, collecting 10 hits in 19 at bats. He drove in 11 runs, setting a career-high twice during the week with 4-RBI outputs against both Illinois State (which included his first home run in a UWM uniform) and Northern Kentucky. He recorded an .842 slugging percentage, .609 on-base percentage, scored four runs and also stole a pair of bases. Jordahl capped the weekend with a 3-hit/4-RBI contest to help the Panthers to the twinbill sweep of the Norse May 7.

KEEP 'EM COMING
Scott Doffek joined some rare company on April 22 when the Panthers topped Youngstown State, giving Doffek career victory No. 300 as the Milwaukee head coach. He's just the second coach in program history - dating all the way back to 1957 - to reach that level. The only coach ahead of him? Jerry Augustine, who holds the record of 347 wins in his time at Milwaukee from 1995-2006 (347-297-1 / .539).

HARD TO KEEP HIM OFF THE BASES
Daulton Varsho had long streak get snapped in the second game of a doubleheader at UIC May 5. The Flames held him to an 0-for-4 showing, snapping a streak of consecutive games reaching base safely at 41. That marked the longest streak for a Panther since Mike Goetz went 57 games in a row (the school record) in 2006 reaching base safely. The only other streaks to reach even 30 straight games in that time frame were Ryan Solberg (37 in 2014) and Rob Brockel (34 in 2007).

A BAKER'S DOZEN FOR SCHULFER
Austin Schulfer added his name to the record book in his start at Miller Park against Oakland April 30 when he struck out 13 batters to equal the school record for a game. Schulfer had a pair of K's in five of his seven innings of work and struck out the side in the fifth to become the fifth different UWM pitcher to reach the mark.

Eric Semmelhack: 13 on 3/31/12
Aaron Sorenson: 13 on 5/20/16 and 4/8/05
Ben Stanczyk: 13 on 4/23/04
Korey Keller: 13 on 4/26/03

Schulfer had reached a collegiate-high against Oakland April 23, establishing a personal-best when he struck out 10 Golden Grizzlies (in just 7.0 innings) in his start. That topped his former best of nine set back on May 5, 2015. It also marked the first outing of 10-plus K's for a Panther pitcher since Brian Keller had 12 in May of 2016.

MOWING THEM DOWN
Paced by the 13K-effort of starter Austin Schulfer, the Milwaukee pitching staff broke another school record the same day against Oakland. Jake Sommers pitched the final two innings and fanned four more Golden Grizzlies, giving the team 17 strikeouts for the day to break the school record of 16.

The former mark of 16 punchouts had been previously accomplished twice, most recently against UIC on April 24, 2016. For perspective, that contest against UIC was a 12-inning affair.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Chris Kelly has certainly answered the call. A year ago, Kelly - after a highly-successful two-year stint at Des Moines Area Community College, batted .292 in his 30 appearances with the Panthers, earning 12 starts and 65 at bats in his first season with UWM. Fast-forward to 2017 and Kelly has been solid and steady - he has spent time as the top hitter in the Horizon League and is currently batting .311 in 49 games, driving in 24 while piling up 59 hits - second on the team.

LOOK NO FURTHER FOR BATTING LEADERS
The Panthers have had a trio of batters who are having strong seasons at the plate. In fact, UWM has two of the top six in the league batting average category as play starts this week. Daulton Varsho is now fsecond at .370, while Ben Chally (currently sixth at .333) and Chris Kelly (.311) have spent a large majority of the season in the Top 10 as well.

Varsho not only has paced the conference in average for most of the season, but is first in on-base percentage (.494), hits (70), slugging percentage (.651), runs (46), walks (42) and triples (6). He also leads the team in home runs (10) and extra-base hits (27).

VARSHO NAMED TO BENCH WATCH LIST
Daulton Varsho had a good week. On March 7, he was named Horizon League Batter of the Week after hitting .412 with a pair of home runs in four games. Then, on March 9, he was named to the 2017 Johnny Bench Award National Watch List. The award was created in 2000 to honor college baseball's top catcher at the NCAA Division I level.
 
The 85-catcher watch list will be narrowed down to the semifinalists, whom will be announced May 17, 2017. The finalists will be announced June 5, 2017. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at the 20th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 29, 2017.

SO MUCH FOR THAT SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Daulton Varsho had an impressive sophomore season a year ago. Varsho was honored on the 2016 ABCA/Rawlings All-Mideast Region First Team after an impressive campaign that also saw him named Horizon League Player of the Year. He led the league in numerous categories, including his .381 average, .610 slugging percentage and 88 hits. In doing so, he became just the second sophomore to earn Player of the Year honors in the past 20 seasons. He continued to play well all summer long, earning 2016 Northwoods League Postseason All-Star Team honors for the Eau Claire Express. Varsho batted .321 (.427 OBP/.588 SLG) with a team-leading 15 home runs and 63 RBI, establishing new Express season marks for RBI, home runs and walks, earning the distinction as the No. 3 prospect across the league.

FIRST OF ITS KIND
Daulton Varsho was also named a 2017 Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-American in December. Just 81 total players received the accolade and Varsho earned a spot on the third team. He's the first UWM baseball player to ever be named to a preseason All-American team.

ALL IN THE EYE
Milwaukee batters drew a season-high 14 walks at Chicago State April 11. When combined with what was then a season-high 16 base hits, the game produced a 15-1 victory that included UWM home run No. 1 for Joe Vyskocil and Ian Ross as well as a 3-for-3 day (with three walks) that ran Daulton Varsho's streak to 11 at bats in a row reaching base (5 hits/6 walks).

THAT BRAVE WIN
The Panthers saw a pair of players set a career-high against Bradley April 9 in the team's 13-4 victory. John Boidanis knocked in a career-best five runs, with a double and home run among his three hits. That marked the most RBI for a Panther player since Nick Unes drove in six against Kansas State March 11 of last season. Daulton Varsho also had a quality day - he went 3-for-3 and walked twice to reach base all five times - setting a new career high by scoring four runs.

LEAGUE PREMIERES
Milwaukee is now 13-11 all-time in affiliated conference openers since becoming an NCAA Division I team after falling to NKU in the 2017 version. Head coach Scott Doffek has posted a 6-5 ledger in his 11 openers, including a 10-3 victory over Youngstown State in 2016.

READY TO ROLL
Austin Schulfer got off to a great start to the season, becoming just the third UWM starting pitcher in the past 12 years to earn victories in his first two starts - joining Justin Langley in 2015 (he beat Maine and Grand Canyon) and Cody Peterson in 2014 (Omaha and Akron).

YES, "THE" MILWAUKEE BREWERS
One look at the 2017 schedule and the opponent on February 24 jumps out immediately. The Panthers once again took on the Milwaukee Brewers in a contest that opened Spring Training competition for the 2017 Brewers at Maryvale Baseball Park. The matchup marked the third straight year that the Panthers have made the trek to Phoenix to take on their Wisconsin MLB counterparts.

Last season's game saw Milwaukee hold a 2-1 lead before the Brewers rallied in claiming an 11-2 win. The 2015 matchup marked the first time the Brewers had faced a collegiate team in an exhibition game since 1983 when they played Arizona State University. It was also the first time the Brewers had 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.

BASEBALL SEASON ALREADY?
The February 17th opener to the 2017 campaign may sound early, but it does not even rank in the top six anymore following the past few seasons. In fact, five of the top six all-time earliest starts to the season have taken place in the past 11 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 picks the Panthers for second and lists Daulton Varsho as the projected Horizon League Player of the Year. He is also ranked as BA's No. 1 "Top Prospect" in the conference. Another Panther joins him on the list, with pitcher Adam Reuss coming in at No. 9.

The Perfect Game website also lists Milwaukee No. 2, and it's Varsho again as the Player of the Year. He also is on their Preseason All-Conference Team, joined again by Reuss.

CollegeBaseballInsider.com's survey included numerous UWM entries. Varsho led the way as the "Best Catcher", "Best Power Threat", "Best Pure Hitter" and "Hitter You Least Want to Face". Scott Doffek was also named the "Best Game Coach" and Elijah Goodman was selected as one of the "Top Starting Pitchers" in the same poll. D1Baseball.com gives Varsho the sweep, also naming him as the league player of the year.

THE OPENING ACT
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 5-22 in such contests at the Division I level, but did post an impressive 10-0 victory over Maine to open the slate in 2015. The 2017 version was Scott Doffek's 11th opener as head coach.

LET'S HIT THE ROAD...
As usual, the Panthers will be busy waiting for the snow to melt away and Henry Aaron Field to be ready for them to play in Milwaukee. While that happens, they will be playing 29 (28 regular-season contests plus the exhibition against the Milwaukee Brewers) straight road games to open the 2017 slate.

A season ago, by the time all the postponements were finally over and the home opener "officially" got here April 20 against Edgewood, the Panthers played 31 regular-season games (plus the exhibition against the Brewers, so technically 32) either on the road or on a neutral field before finally getting to play at Henry Aaron Field. That became the new school record for most contests away from Milwaukee before playing a true home game.

The past few Wisconsin springs have not been kind. Postponements and cancellations have been the norm most of the past four years, with the Panthers having to play their "home" opener in Chicago in 2014. Also, 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 will travel almost 13,000 miles over the course of the first six weeks of this season via plane or bus, visiting eight different states (Texas, Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, back to Texas, Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio) before playing their home opener April 13 against Youngstown State. To put that in perspective, that would be equivalent to circling the bases 190,600 times.

FOX 6 television in Milwaukee recently did a feature on the team's travel exploits. Tim Van Vooren's "Beyond the Game" segment from March 14 can be viewed here: https://t.co/hAavRO50aS

PRESEASON POLL
Milwaukee was picked to finish third in the 2017 Horizon League preseason baseball poll, released by the league office this morning.
 
Wright State was the favorite to win the title in balloting by the conference's seven head coaches. The Raiders received all six possible first-place votes and topped the poll with 47 points after claiming the conference's bid to the NCAA Tournament and reaching the regional finals for the second year in a row.
 
UIC was second with 40 points, with the Panthers just behind the Flames at 36. Valparaiso (27 points) and Northern Kentucky (22) were the next grouping with Oakland (16) and Youngstown State (8) rounding out the list. A year ago, UWM was pegged for fourth but won 32 games and finished second in league play with a 17-11 ledger.
 
2017 Horizon League Baseball Preseason Poll
1. Wright State (6 first-place votes) – 47
2. UIC (1) – 40
3. Milwaukee – 36
4. Valparaiso – 27
5. Northern Kentucky – 22
6. Oakland – 16
7. Youngstown State – 8

MORE MEETEER REWRITES
Luke Meeteer left his name all over the record book upon completing his senior campaign last year. Other career records he now holds include:

-Meeteer holds the record (tie) of 222 games played
    Former No. 1. Doug Dekoning, 222, 2008-11
-Meeteer holds the record at 854 at bats
    Former No. 1. Paul Hoenecke, 803, 2009-12
-Meeteer holds record (tie) of 99 walks
    Former No. 1. Jak Kraus, 99, 1992-96
-Meeteer holds the record of 98 stolen bases
    Former No. 1. Darin Haugom, 73, 1997-2001
-Meeteer holds the record of 189 runs scored
    Former No. 1. Darin Haugom, 179, 1997-2001

GETTING TO 30
When the Panthers defeated Oakland May 19, it gave them at least 30 wins for the ninth time in program history. Following a school-record 39 wins last season, that 'W' gave Milwaukee 30-plus in back-to-back years for the first time since 2001-02.

MAN, HE WAS GOOD
Elijah Goodman impressed in his debut campaign, joining a small list in program history when he totaled 11 strikeouts in his 8.0 scoreless frames in his victory over Northern Kentucky April 30. He missed the record for most strikeouts by a frosh by just one (12 by Justin Langley), becoming the sixth UWM freshman in school history to record 10-or-more strikeouts in a game.

His season statistics ranked him among the highest for a freshman pitcher. His five wins tied for most victories by a freshman in program history. His 2.73 ERA placed fourth, 46 strikeouts second and 56.0 innings pitched finished in fourth place.

IT'S MILLER TIME
Through a marketing agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Panthers have played at Miller Park every season since 2002. UWM has now posted a record of 17-10 in games at the major league park, following a 10-3 victory April 30 against Oakland.

WALK THIS WAY
When you look at the box score from Daulton Varsho's performance against UIC in game one of a doubleheader April 24, it officially read 0-for-1 with an RBI. But, a closer look revealed he tied one school record and set another. Varsho walked in the first, added a sac fly in the third, grounded out in the eighth and was intentionally walked in the fifth, 10th and 12th innings. The three intentional base on balls set a new school mark and the four total walks in a game tied the standard that has now been achieved four times, most recently by Andy Hetebrueg in April of 2007.

PILE UP THE K'S
In that same 12-inning contest, the pitching staff also tied a program record. Adam Reuss recorded eight strikeouts in his start and Cal Haley added a career high by fanning seven batters in his 3.2 innings of work. Jake Tuttle also had a K, giving Milwaukee 16 on the day to equal the school record for most strikeouts in a game (also had 16 against Wisconsin Lutheran in April of 2015). The team has also fanned 15 in a game five times.

THOSE PESKY PANTHERS
The Panthers managed to knock off Texas Tech in the opener of a doubleheader Feb. 20 last season, claiming a 10-3 victory to mark the second year in a row where the team beat a nationally-ranked opponent. The victory was the program's sixth against a ranked foe all-time, last topping No. 15 Iowa in 2015.

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

ON TAP
The postseason is next, opening up May 24 at either UIC or Wright State, depending on which teams ends up claiming the regular-season title. That opening Wednesday features two elimination games, with the #4/#5 seeds playing at 12 p.m. local time followed by the #3/#6 seeds at 4 p.m. local time.