The Milwaukee baseball team looks to give its home opener another attempt, hoping to get the 2018 slate at Henry Aaron Field underway this weekend when it hosts UIC.

Before that, a pair of non-league road games dot the schedule, headed to Chicago State Tuesday and Valparaiso Wednesday. First pitches of both midweek affairs is set for 3 p.m. Each contest will have live statistics available and the matchup against the Crusaders Wednesday is also slated for an audio broadcast on 95.1 FM Valparaiso and online via the TuneIn Radio App.

Following a day off, the first game of the spring at the Hank is set to occur when UIC gets to town, set for single meetings Friday (3 PM), Saturday (1 PM) and Sunday (1 PM). All games will have live stats available. Weather permitting, the games will all have an audio broadcast available with Jared Cohen on the call. All links are available on the Milwaukee website. Stay tuned to the website for schedule change announcements, as the forecast is once again not ideal for spring baseball in Wisconsin.

The 2018 campaign marks the 54th season of baseball at UWM. It is also the 48th season of varsity play (the program was played at the club level from 1982-1986) and the 28th in the Panthers NCAA Division I era.

LOOKING AT THE OPPONENTS
Coming off an 11-41 mark a year ago, Chicago State started the season 4-1, but now enters play this week at 5-22. That fifth win did come recently, however, with the Cougars topping Northwestern, 8-7, March 27. Sixth-year head coach Steve Joslyn's offense is led by Tyler Lowe (.286/15 RBI), Matt Pacielle (.283/13 RBI) and Zach Thomas (.280). The staff ERA checks in at 8.30 at this point.

Former Horizon League foe Valparaiso has embarked on its initial run through the Missouri Valley and starts the week at 9-18 overall after dropping three of its last four. Fifth-year head coach Brian Schmack led the Crusaders to 24 wins a year ago (24-29), including a strong finish to the regular season that saw them win eight of their last 11. The team boasts a .289 average in 2018, led by four regulars batting .305 or better. Zack Leone leads the way at .423, adding a team-best 23 RBI and .511 on-base percentage. The staff ERA is 6.58.

The Flames were 39-17 a year ago (22-8 and conference champs) before earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament as well. UIC started strong in 2018, but has dropped 8 of its last 11 to begin the week at 16-12 overall and 5-6 in league play. Scott Ota (.318/20 RBI), Bowen Ogata (.310) and Thomas Norton (.290) led the offense. Despite the tough stretch, the staff ERA is currently just 2.95, ranking 14th in the NCAA. Ace Ryan Campbell (4-2 W/L) ranks 27th in the NCAA with a 1.47 ERA and reliever Charlie Cerny is 3-1 with a 0.40 ERA in 16 appearances, striking out 31 (to 4 walks) in 22.2 innings of work.

SERIES HISTORIES
The Panthers have put together their best winning percentage against an opponent against Chicago State, posting an impressive .800 mark (48-12) over the years against the Cougars. Milwaukee has also won six in a row in the series and is 12-1 in the past 13 and 17-2 over the past 19 meetings in the series. MKE has gone 36-30 all-time against Valparaiso, but the Crusaders have had the upper hand of late. Valpo has claimed wins in the past four and six of the last seven.

The Panthers now hold an all-time mark of 60-74 against the Flames, winning one of five over the course of the 2017 campaign. The series has gone back-and-forth over the years, with the Flames having claimed wins in 16 of the past 23 meetings. That snapped a stretch that saw Milwaukee win 10 of 12 contests.

THE WEEK THAT WAS
Milwaukee went 2-1, with the bats doing a lot of talking in the pair of wins and a historic effort on the mound as well. Leading the way at the plate was Matt Quartel, who earned himself Horizon League Batter of the Week honors after a red-hot .636 weekend (7-for-11) that included six runs scored, four hits for extra-bases, four RBI and a 1.273 slugging percentage. Ben Chally (.462/6-for-13) and Devin Rybacki (.385/5-for-13) also put up some solid numbers. The team batted .339 in the series, with six regulars at .333 or better. On the mound, Austin Schulfer was special, breaking the school record of 13 K's with his 15 whiffs in Friday's opener. The bullpen was also very good, with six hurlers recording ERA's of 0.00 for the series.

KING OF THE "K"
Austin Schulfer earned Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week and Horizon League Pitcher of the Week honors after his dominant 7-inning effort against Northern Kentucky April 6, striking out a school record 15 batters while not walking a single one. It wasn't Schulfer's first crack at the record, as he was one of six different pitchers to be tied with the former standard of 13, which he accomplished on April 30 of last season (at Miller Park). It also marked his third career game of 10-plus K's.

He will also have a chance the rest of the way to add the career strikeout record to his resume. He starts this week at 210 punchouts, currently in fourth place all-time on the career K list.

1. Brian Keller (2013-16): 239 K's
2. Quintin Oldenburg (1998-2002): 238
3. Chad Sadowski (1997-2000): 213
4. Schulfer (2015-present): 210

MOWING THEM DOWN
Paced by the 15K-effort of starter Austin Schulfer, the Milwaukee pitching staff tied another school record the same day against Northern Kentucky. Patrick Tomfohrde added a pair in his relief appearance to up the total to 17 whiffs - tying the school mark set last season against Oakland April 30.

SOPHOMORE SURGE
Mike Ferri has played his way into being a regular starter in 2018 and has topped most marks from his entire freshman season a year ago. In just 22 appearances, Ferri has already set collegiate-bests in hits with 30 (was 20), doubles with 6 (3), runs with 12 (10), home runs with 1 (0) and stolen bases with 7 (4). He will also move past his RBI total soon as well. His .337 average leads the Panthers and sits fifth in the Horizon League.

HOW MANY?!?
Milwaukee will have played 29 games in a row on the road to open the 2018 season (prior to its home opener April 13) if things go as scheduled this week. It's been a rough spring, but there have been a few that have been "worse" in regards to both the total amount of road games played and the latest date for a home opener in program history.

In 2016, 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.

2016: 31 regular-season games on the road prior to first home game
2008: 30
2017: 29
2013: 29
2001: 26

The latest "date" for a home opener? That belongs to the 2013 campaign.
2013: April 24
2016: April 20
2008: April 15
2017: April 13

PUTTING THE "K" IN RE'K'LAITIS
Jared Reklaitis made his first start of the 2018 season a memorable one, allowing just one hit and no runs in 5.0 innings against Sacramento State March 4. Although he had to work around six walks, he also recorded a then career-high eight strikeouts (prior UWM high was five), including the fourth inning where he struck out the side following a leadoff triple.

Since earning a spot in the weekend rotation, Reklaitis picked up victories in back-to-back starts against YSU March 18 (8 K's) and Wright State March 25 (season-high 7.0 IP) before tallying a career-best 10 strikeouts against Oakland March 31. It marked the first 10+ K game for a Panther this season and just the 33rd in program history. He claimed his third win of the season at Northern Kentucky April 8.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Scott Doffek brought a roster into the 2018 season that included 14 newcomers as well as a pair of redshirts who did not appear in a game for the Panthers, meaning that essentially half of the roster never played a game for the program. The breakdown of the new student-athletes is as follows:
Freshman (11): Mitch Buban, Bryce Cross, Mike Edwards, Conner Goodman, Jack Kraus, Jack Mahoney, Nick Moeser, Zach Nogalski, Joey Scaffidi, Jack Thelen, Patrick Tomfohrde
Redshirt Freshman (1): Matt DeYoung
Transfers (4): Tyler Bordner (JR), Colin Kreiter (JR), Oakland Scanlon (JR), Joshua Serio (SR)
In addition, redshirt freshman Nick Winter made just one appearance last season before being lost to injury.

That makes the squad young as well, consisting of 20 total underclassmen, made up of 14 freshmen and six sophomores on the roster.

BIG SHOES TO FILL
With a big senior class departing last season as well as players lost early to the Major League Baseball Draft, a look at the numbers shows the Panthers lost a large percentage of production in numerous categories.

GAMES STARTED (field players only): 352/486: 72.4 percent of starts will not return to the field in 2018.
AT BATS: 1,334/1,890: 70.5 percent of at bats do not return
RUNS: 200/282: 70.9 percent of runs
HITS: 363/516: 70.3 percent of hits
HOME RUNS: 28/30: 93.3 percent of home runs do not return

LEAGUE PREMIERES
Milwaukee is now 14-11 all-time in affiliated conference openers since becoming an NCAA Division I team. Head coach Scott Doffek has posted a 7-5 ledger in his 12 openers, including a 12-4 victory over Youngstown State March 17.  A year ago, the Panthers fell to Northern Kentucky in a slugfest, 13-9.

THOSE PESKY PANTHERS
The Panthers have held their own against nationally-ranked opponents over the years, with a victory over No. 1 Rice in the 1999 NCAA Tournament at the top of the list. In their most recent attempt, Milwaukee led No. 24 Illinois by a score of 4-0 in the fourth inning March 14 and were still dead-even at 6-6 heading into the last of the eighth before falling, 9-6. The squad did not play any ranked teams in 2017, but started 2016 by knocking off #25 Texas Tech in the opener of a doubleheader Feb. 20, claiming a 10-3 victory to mark the second season in a row where the team beat a nationally-ranked opponent. The victory was the programs sixth against a ranked foe all-time, with a win over No. 15 Iowa (4/8/15) the most recent one prior.

TOUCH 'EM ALL
The Milwaukee offense returned players that accounted for just two of the 30 home runs the team hit in 2017. So far in 2018, the power numbers have been solid - the Panthers have hit 16 home runs (second in the league) through 24 games (on pace for close to 40), while allowing 12 to their opponents. Eight different players have knocked the ball out of the park, led by three apiece from Oakland Scanlan, Tyler Bordner and from Ben Chally - who coincidentally did not have a home run in 2017.
 
IF THEY BUILD IT ...
After more than two decades calling Henry Aaron Field home, the Milwaukee baseball program is moving to a new stadium starting in the 2019 season. Milwaukee baseball head coach Scott Doffek and Milwaukee Athletic Director Amanda Braun were part of the press conference unveiling the "Ballpark Commons" project at City Hall in Franklin on Feb. 28, highlighted by the 4,000-seat stadium.

Doffek and Braun were present to announce the department's partnership with ROC Ventures, one in which the Milwaukee baseball team will play all of its home games at the new stadium. Ground has been broken and the new facility is scheduled to be ready for the 2019 campaign. The Panthers have spent the past 24 seasons with Henry Aaron Field as their home park, putting together an impressive 266-112 (.704) winning percentage in home games in that span. The ballpark in Franklin will also host a new professional baseball team, one set to join the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

STOPPING AT THREE
Matt Quartel knocked in three runs against Bethune-Cookman Feb. 25, doing so on a pair of triples. Is a pair of three-baggers in the same game unique? Why yes, Quartel does tie the school record with it, set five other times. The most recent addition was Mike Porcaro, who collected a pair of three-base hits against Wright State on March 16, 2013.

GET CRACKING
The transition from an indoor gym the first few weeks of practice in the middle of a Wisconsin winter to an 80-degree season opener can get tricky. The Panthers made the adjustment a seamless one this season, with the offense cranking out 16 hits against Big Ten pitching versus Ohio State. That marks the most hits in an opener since Scott Doffek took over as head coach. The most prior was 13 safeties against Maine in the 2015 opener (a 10-0 win). Just two other times have the Panthers collected as many as 10 base hits in game one of a new campaign in that span (since 2007).

BACK IN ACTION
Alex McIntosh made his season debut out of the bullpen for the Panthers Feb. 16, getting back on the field for the first time since the end of the 2015 season due to injury. His inspiring journey back to the field hit exactly 1,000 days in between appearances, joining a small group of student-athletes across the country in similar situations. McIntosh's span in between sits close to the top of the list.
*McIntosh (P): 1,000 days (5/23/15 & 2/16/18) between appearances
*Alec Daily, CSU Bakersfield: 1,008 days (5/15/15 & 2/16/18). Formerly a pitcher; came back at 1B.
*Mike Concato, Dartmouth (P): 1,021 days (5/9/15 & 2/23/18)
*Clay Conaway, Delaware (P): 1,041 days (4/14/15 & 2/18/18) between appearances on the mound
*Matt Geiger, Georgia Southern (P): 1,000-plus days (5/8/15; yet to appear in 2018)

KEEP 'EM COMING
Scott Doffek joined some rare company on April 22 last season when the Panthers topped Youngstown State, giving Doffek career victory No. 300 as the Milwaukee head coach. He is 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). Doffek enters the 2018 season at 309 victories.

1. Augustine (1996-2006): 347
2. Doffek (2007-present): 319
3. Jim Burian (1982-1990): 143
4. Bill Ritter (1957-1970): 122

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 third place and lists Austin Schulfer as the No. 9 entry on BA's "Top Prospect List" in the conference.

The Perfect Game website also lists Milwaukee No. 3, and it's Schulfer again as a member of their Preseason All-Conference Team, where he is called "one of the top returning arms". He is joined on the squad by Trevor Schwecke, who is listed as having "+ makeup & instincts" by the site.

FOR OPENERS
As a northern team that cannot practice outdoors before the start of the season, it is not a surprise that Milwaukee does not have a great record in season openers. It is now 5-23 in such contests at the Division I level after letting a late lead get away against Ohio State in 2018, but did post an impressive 10-0 victory over Maine to open the slate in 2015.

BASEBALL SEASON ALREADY?
The February 16th open to the 2018 campaign may sound early, but it does not crack the top five anymore following recent seasons. In fact, six of the top seven all-time earliest starts to the season have taken place in the past 12 years.

1. 2006: February 10
T2. 2015: February 13
T2. 1999: February 13
4. 2014: February 14
5. 2013: February 15
T6. 2018: February 16
T6. 2007: February 16

DAULTON VAR-"SHOW"
Daulton Varsho put together some impressive accomplishments in his three season with the Panthers. He was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 68th pick on Day 1 of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft (selection officially came in the Competitive Balance Round B, which immediately followed the second round). The pick was the highest-ever for a Panther, becoming just the second player in Horizon League history to be selected within the top two rounds of the draft. He enjoyed an impressive junior campaign, named a Second-Team All-American by D1Baseball and Third-Team All-American by Baseball America. Varsho led the Horizon League in batting average (.362), slugging percentage (.643), on-base percentage (.490), triples (6) and walks (46), while also finishing fourth in total bases (128), fifth in hits (72), sixth with a team-high 11 home runs and seventh in runs scored (47). He went on to bat .311 in the 2017 season with Class A Hillsboro Hops, posting a .368 OBP with 7 HR and 39 RBI in 50 games, totaling 26 extra-base hits while scoring 36 runs. He was listed as the Diamondbacks No. 5 Prospect by Baseball America in the offseason, along with the publication projecting him to be the starting catcher for the MLB team by the 2021 campaign.

Varsho became the first UWM baseball player to be named a Preseason All-American (by Collegiate Baseball) and went on to become a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award. He was also named to the 2017 Horizon League Baseball All-Academic Team and was a Second-Team All-Horizon League honoree in 2017. Varsho finished his career with 199 hits, coming up just one hit short of becoming the first UWM junior to reach the 200-hit level

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 happens, they played 29 straight road games to open 2018.

The Panthers traveled just over 15,000 miles over the course of the first eight weeks of this season via plane or bus, visiting eight different states (Florida twice, Washington, Minnesota, Alabama, Illinois, Ohio twice, Kentucky and Michigan) before playing their home opener April 13 against UIC. To put that in perspective, that would be equivalent to circling the bases 205,333 times.

PRESEASON POLL
Milwaukee was picked to finish third in the 2018 Horizon League preseason baseball poll, released in early February.

Last season's tournament and regular-season runner-up, Wright State, was unanimously selected as the 2018 conference favorite as determined by the annual preseason coaches' poll. Tournament and regular-season champion UIC was tabbed second, followed by Milwaukee, Northern Kentucky, Oakland, and Youngstown State.
 
2018 Horizon League Baseball Preseason Poll
1. Wright State (6 first-place votes) 36
2. UIC 29
3. Milwaukee 20
4. Northern Kentucky 19
5. Oakland 14
6. Youngstown State 8

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 defeat of Oakland last season. The team returns in 2018 on May 12 against Wright State.

ON TAP
The Panthers get a very busy week underway Tuesday with a day trip down to Evanston, Ill., to take on Northwestern at 3:30 p.m. Following that, it will be baseball at Henry Aaron Field every day from Wednesday through Sunday - making it six games in six days overall.