The Milwaukee baseball team is entering the home stretch of the 2018 season by embarking on a week with one of the highlights on the schedule every year. Following a midweek game against Chicago State Wednesday, the Panthers host Wright State in a weekend Horizon League series. The three games are highlighted by a Saturday evening contest at Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Horizon League contest is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. that day. For just the third time while playing at Miller Park, the Brewers will not be playing before MKE that day, so start times will not be subject to change, as have been in the past. Parking lots and gates open at 2:30 p.m. and admission for the game and parking are both free. Concession stands will be available until late in the contest as well.
 
Through a marketing agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Panthers have played at Miller Park every season since 2002. MKE has gone 17-10 in the games at the Major League Baseball park.
 
Also a reminder to join the team for the first "Milwaukee Athletics Tailgate" prior to the start of the game, celebrating student-athlete success with festivities surrounding the inaugural "Black & Gold Scholarship Fundraiser".
 
The tailgate will take place at Miller Park inside the first base concourse prior to the contest, kicking off at 3 p.m. Events scheduled include the opportunity to meet members of the coaching staffs of all sports, a silent auction, as well as the scholarship raffle drawing for the chance to win a custom-painted Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Game times include 3 p.m. first pitches on Wednesday and Friday, while Saturday is a 5 p.m. start and Sunday concludes the WSU series at 12 p.m. Every game this week will have live statistics available.  Weather permitting, each contest will again have an audio broadcast available with Jared Cohen on the call. All links are available on the Milwaukee website.

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 9-36. Most recently, the squad was swept at Air Force on the weekend. They will also play at Eastern Illinois Tuesday before making the trek to the Hank. Sixth-year head coach Steve Joslyn's offense is led by Tyler Lowe (.368/7 HR/33 RBI), Matt Pacielle (.329/20 RBI) and Zach Thomas (.273). The staff ERA checks in at 7.98 at this point.

WSU has won seven of eight games to enter play this week at 31-14 overall, including a first-place 18-6 ledger in Horizon League play. The team takes on No. 29 Louisville Tuesday. Gabe Snyder (.350/14 HR/59 RBI) is having a monster season as one of two players to start the week at a team-best .350 at the plate. Peyton Burdick is also at .350 and has added 6 HR and 47 RBI. Zane Harris is right behind at .348, as WSU has six regulars at .302 or better. Wright State was picked first in the league preseason poll, getting all 6 first-place votes. It started the season with votes in the Top-25 rankings (Collegiate Baseball) for the first time in program history.

A year ago, the Raiders went 38-21 under first-year head coach Jeff Mercer. They also posted a 21-9 Horizon League record and return four of their five all-league honorees, including Weiss. Weiss was named the Freshman of the Year and First-Team after going 8-1 with a 2.13 ERA. First-Team member Matt Morrow also returns after batting .333 in 59 games with 51 runs and 38 RBI.

SERIES HISTORIES
The Panthers have put together their best winning percentage against an opponent against Chicago State, posting an impressive .803 mark (49-12) over the years against the Cougars. Milwaukee has also won seven in a row in the series (12-5 earlier this spring) and is 13-1 in the past 14 and 18-2 over the past 20 meetings in the series.

Milwaukee is now 55-64 against Wright State all-time following a 1-of-3 trip to Ohio in 2018 and a 1-4 mark last season. Overall, the Raiders have won 23 of the past 30 in the series, which follows a dominant stretch in 2012-13 where the Panthers won eight of 10. It has been a tough stretch of close calls for the Panthers in that span, dropping 10 one-run decisions.

LAST WEEK
Milwaukee went 3-2, including taking two of three from Northern Kentucky on the weekend. The offense clicked at a .292 pace overall, led by a nice showing from Trevor Schwecke (.500/9-18), Colin Kreiter (.438/7-16) and Matt Quartel (.389/7-18). Austin Schulfer (7.0 IP/0 BB/6K) and Alex McIntosh (4.0 IP/6 K) put up 0.00 ERA's in picking up victories.

FOR KREI-YING OUT LOUD
Newcomer Colin Kreiter has put together an impressive MKE debut season, currently third on the team in batting (.294) while knocking in 18 runs. He has put together the longest hitting streak of any Panther this season (11 games from March 4-23 where he raised his average from .263 to .313). He starts the week with the longest current hitting streak as well, sitting at six games (.421/8-for-19).

RECORD HOMESTAND
At 13 straight games, the Panthers are in the midst of tying the program record for most consecutive home contests. Since the 1991 season, there have been a pair of other 13-game homestands, taking place during the 2007 campaign (April 28 to May 9) and 2016 (April 24 to May 11).

ROCKET RYBACKI
Devin Rybacki has been a man on a mission since March 14, essentially doubling-up his batting average on the season in the past 20 contests (he has missed some to injury). He has hit safely in 17 of those, going 29-for-74 (.392) to raise his average almost 200 points to its current team-leading .333 - also good for fifth in the conference. He also added his first MKE home run against NKU May 4.

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. He was back at it again April 23, earning league honors for a second time after throwing a complete-game shutout against YSU April 21, striking out 9 while allowing just two hits. That big game wasn't Schulfer's first crack at the K 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 227 punchouts, currently in third place all-time on the career K list.

1. Brian Keller (2013-16): 239 K's
2. Quintin Oldenburg (1998-2002): 238
3. Schulfer (2015-present): 227
4. Chad Sadowski (1997-2000): 213

HOW MANY?!?
Milwaukee played 34 games in a row on the road to open the 2018 season (prior to its home opener April 26), becoming the final NCAA Division I team to accomplish the "feat" (North Dakota State was also in the running for the title, but did play April 25). Needless to say, it's been a rough spring and all bets are off, as the 2018 campaign can now officially go down as the "toughest" in regards to both the total amount of road games played prior and the latest date for a home opener in program history.

2018: 34 regular-season games on road prior to first home game
2016: 31
2008: 30
2017: 29
2013: 29
2001: 26

2018: April 26 marks latest home opener
2013: April 24
2016: April 20
2008: April 15
2017: April 13

DANDY DEBUT
Mike Edwards certainly didn't show his youth against Chicago State April 10, pitching well in picking up the victory in his first collegiate start. He shook off the three hits and two runs he allowed to the Cougars in the first inning with five more impressive frames, not allowing another base hit the rest of the way - retiring 14 of the final 15 batters he faced (one drew a walk). He ended the day with the "W", 6.0 innings of work, that one walk allowed and three K's.

MOWING THEM DOWN
Paced by the 15K-effort of starter Austin Schulfer, the Milwaukee pitching staff tied another school record against Northern Kentucky April 6. 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
A season after earning Second-Team All-Horizon League honors and a selection to the All-Freshman Team, Trevor Schwecke has picked up right where he left off in 2018 - and then some. His numbers are moving past the bar he set as a freshman, starting the week at .308 while topping last season already in runs with 36 (was 19), hits with 52 (33), home runs with 3 (0) and RBI with 29 (13).

Classmate Mike Ferri has played his way into being a regular starter in 2018 and has also topped most marks from his freshman season. In 37 appearances, Ferri has already set collegiate-bests in hits with 39 (was 20), doubles with 8 (3), runs with 14 (10), home runs with 1 (0) and stolen bases with 8 (4). He will also move past his RBI total soon as well. His .289 average sits fourth for the Panthers.

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.

Just after 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.
 
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 entered the 2018 season at 309 victories.

1. Augustine (1996-2006): 347
2. Doffek (2007-present): 328
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 34 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 26 against MSOE. 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 homestand continues with the final four games of the regular season up next. The final midweek contest will be against Northern Illinois Tuesday, set for a 3 p.m. first pitch. Then, the Panthers close out the slate with Oakland on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The final game of the season is "Senior Day".