As the schedule creeps up on mid-March, the road takes the Milwaukee baseball team to Indiana and Ohio next. Up first is a midweek game against Purdue on Tuesday before opening Horizon League play with a three-game set at Wright State on the weekend.

There will again be plenty of options to follow along with the Panthers. Tuesday against the Boilermakers will have a broadcast on BTN Plus, available on the BTN To Go app (with a cable subscription), the online format of the Big Ten Network. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. CST from Alexander Field in a matchup that is also the home opener for Purdue. Live statistics and live audio will also be provided. All links are on the Milwaukee website.

Then, on the weekend, each contest of the series with the Raiders will feature live statistics, while Friday and Saturday will also feature ESPN3 broadcasts. Game time Friday is scheduled for 2 p.m. CST from Nischwitz Stadium. Start times for Saturday (1 p.m. CST) and Sunday (11 a.m. CST) are both matinees.

The 2019 campaign marks the 55th season of baseball at MKE. It is also the 49th season of varsity play (the program was played at the club level from 1982-1986) and the 29th in the Panthers NCAA Division I era.

LOOKING AT THE OPPONENTS
Purdue was selected sixth in the preseason Big Ten coaches' poll, sharing that spot with Nebraska. The Boilermakers (38-21, 17-6 in 2018) finished second in the final standings last year and were also the runner-up at the Big Ten Tournament. Skyler Hunter, Ben Nisle and Zac Fascia were tabbed for the Big Ten's preseason honors list.

The team has opened 2019 at 3-10 overall, taking two of three from NJIT over the weekend after scrambling to line up games once its series at Creighton was cancelled due to snow. Fascia (.341/9 RBI) and Nisle (.313/8 RBI) are team leaders on offense and the only two at .300 or better at this point of the campaign. The pitching staff carries a 5.86 ERA.

Wright State continues to maintain a level of excellence, claiming the 2018 Horizon League regular-season and tournament titles on its way to the NCAA Tournament - its sixth appearance since 2006. The Raiders went 39-17 overall (22-6 in league play) a year ago and were pegged for first in the preseason coaches' poll. The squad is off to a 7-4 start to 2019, claiming wins over nationally-ranked Mississippi (#10), Oklahoma State (#19) and East Carolina (#9) - which gives WSU victories over 11 ranked programs in the past four-plus seasons. Established veterans Seth Gray (.410/16 hits/15 RBI) and Peyton Burdick (.378/16 R/3 HR/13 RBI) lead the way for the offense. The team plays Cincinnati and Toledo before the MKE series opens Friday.

SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday will be the first-ever on the baseball diamond for the two programs, with Purdue marking the 10th member of the Big Ten for the Panthers (also Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Wisconsin) all-time.

Wright State leads the series 65-55, and have been very good of late against Milwaukee. The Raiders were 3-1 in the 2018 meetings and have won nine of the last 11 matchups overall.

THE WEEK THAT WAS
Milwaukee had to battle the elements in Utah, dealing with snow, rain and game-time temperatures in the low-30's. The Panthers did drop all three contests, including a tough 5-3 near-comeback in the finale. Three players hit very well, with Tyler Bordner (.600/6-for-10/3 RBI) leading the charge. Trevor Schwecke (.417/5-for-12/5 RBI) broke out and Devin Rybacki (.417/5-for-12) was right along with him.

LEAGUE PREMIERES
Milwaukee is 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 in 2018.

AN OPENING STATEMENT
The Panthers made the trip to the D9 Sunshine State Classic an impressive one, topping Marshall, Big East foe Villanova and ACC opponent Pittsburgh. It marked just the second 3-0 start in program history since becoming an NCAA Division I program in the 1990 season. The other came against Maine (all three games) to open the 2015 campaign, so the Panthers hope it's a good sign - the team won a school-record 39 times that year. The only other time MKE even began 2-0 was in 1995 when the Panthers topped Youngstown State (16-6) and Bowling Green (6-5). Despite dropping the series at Arizona, the 6-3 start through nine games was the best since the same mark in 1995, a year in which the team posted a 7-3 ledger through 10 games (for best start through 10).

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 openers. It is now 6-23 in such contests at the Division I level. The 2019 version marked Scott Doffek's 13th opener as head coach.

I'D SAY IT'S WHITE HOT
Sophomore Mitchell Buban has made it look easy so far in 2019, collecting at least one hit in 11 of 12 games (he's hitting .340) while also driving in 13 runs to rank second in the Horizon League in the category. More impressively, that already eclipses his season-RBI total from 2018. A year ago, Buban recorded multi-RBI performances three times in 46 games. This season? He has already knocked in two or more in a game (with a career-high of three coming against both Pittsburgh Feb. 17 and Arizona March 2) on FIVE separate occasions through the first nine contests of the spring.

GETTING OFFENSIVE
Milwaukee currently leads the Horizon League with its .275 batting average as a team. One look at the individual leaders shows a big chunk of Panthers on the Top 10 list as well. Tyler Border enjoyed his first 4-hit day as a Panther at BYU March 7 and is now atop the leaderboard with his .415 average and second with 17 hits. Devin Rybacki is third (.367) with a league-high 18 hits and 14 runs scored, and has hit safely in 11 consecutive games heading into play this week. Not done there, Mitchell Buban (.340) is sixth and Joe Vyskocil (.333) seventh.

KEEP 'EM COMING
Scott Doffek joined some rare company in 2017 when the Panthers topped Youngstown State in late April, 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 2019 season at 335 victories.

1. Augustine (1996-2006): 347
2. Doffek (2007-present): 341
3. Jim Burian (1982-1990): 143
4. Bill Ritter (1957-1970): 122

HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY!
Senior Jake Sommers recorded two saves in the series against Jackson State, but the unique part of it was that they both came on the same day, pitching a final shutdown inning in both the 3-1 and 2-0 victories Feb. 24. That marks a first for an MKE reliever since Craig Meier achieved the feat April 28, 2009 against Northern Illinois. It's also just the second time in the past 15 years it's been done, with Rob Brockel also picking up saves against Youngstown State and UIC in back-to-back games of the Horizon League Tournament back in May of 2005.

WHO NEEDS SPRING WHEN WINTER LOOKS LIKE THIS?
Nick Winter made quite the 2019 debut against Jackson State Feb. 24. The Panthers were resuming a ballgame from the prior day, leading 3-1 in the third inning. Winter took to the mound and responded with six straight outs - needing just 28 pitches to get through the appearance. He put up an impressive four K's - including the side in the fourth - getting two looking and two swinging.

RING 'EM UP
Jared Reklaitis struck out 9 batters in the season opener against Marshall, picking up the win with 7.0 innings of work. The nine K's is the most-ever for a starter in a season opener since MKE began NCAA DI play.

Reklaitis just missed the earliest date for a 10-K outing as well. If he would have rung up one more, he would have set the record by a wide margin - the current earliest date for 10-or-more K's is March 5, when Brian Keller had 10 against Arkansas State in 2016.

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 was a rough spring and all bets were off, as the 2018 campaign officially went 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 marked latest home opener
2013: April 24
2016: April 20
2008: April 15
2017: April 13

The trek in 2019 is scheduled for "just" 22 games. The Panthers will, however, still travel almost 13,000 miles over the course of the first six-plus weeks of this season via plane or bus, visiting seven different states (Florida, Mississippi, Arizona, Utah, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky) before playing their scheduled home opener April 29 against UIC.

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 Trevor Schwecke as the No. 4 entry on BA's "Top Prospect List" in the conference.

The Perfect Game website also lists Milwaukee No. 3, and it's Schwecke again as a member of their Preseason All-Conference Team, where he is described by the site as a "good overall athlete with speed". He is joined on the squad by Tyler Bordner ("offensive-minded catcher with pop") and Jared Reklaitis ("FB/SL 1-2 punch leads to K's").

PRESEASON POLL
Milwaukee was picked to finish third in the 2019 Horizon League preseason baseball poll, just two points out of the runner-up spot.

The 2018 regular season and tournament champions Wright State gained the most votes and all six first-place votes for the top spot with 36 total points. 2017's tournament and regular season champion UIC was tabbed second, followed by Milwaukee, Youngstown State, Oakland and Northern Kentucky.
 
2019 Horizon League Baseball Preseason Poll
1. Wright State (6 first-place votes) 36
2. UIC 28
3. Milwaukee 26
4. Youngstown State 15
5. Oakland 12
6. Northern Kentucky 9

ROCKET RYBACKI
Devin Rybacki enjoyed a breakthrough season a year ago after returning from injury in mid-March, ending the campaign with a team-best .336 average to earn Horizon League Second-Team All-League honors. He hit safely in 26 of the final 31 games of the season, raising his average over 200 points while batting .373 (44-for-118) in the stretch. He ended the year fifth in conference in batting average, while also hitting at a .384 clip in Horizon League play. He also added his first MKE home run against Northern Kentucky May 4.

IT'S SPELLED REKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKLAITIS
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, including the fourth inning where he struck out the side following a leadoff triple. He was just getting started.

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 last season and just the 33rd in program history. He claimed his third win of the season at Northern Kentucky April 8.

He closed the season with the biggest gem of them all, earning a spot on the Horizon League All-Tournament Team and a spot on Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week for his performance against Youngstown State during the Horizon League Tournament May 24. Reklaitis tied the school record and set a tournament record when he struck out 15 batters in a complete-game effort with his team facing elimination, allowing one unearned run

FOR KREI-YING OUT LOUD
Newcomer Colin Kreiter put together an impressive MKE debut season a year ago, finishing second on the team in batting (.320) while knocking in 31 runs. He put together the longest hitting streak of any Panther last season (11 games from March 4-23 where he raised his average from .263 to .313). He also had a 10-game hitting streak come to an end May 17 that saw him bat a sizzling .441 (15-for-34) that took him up to seventh in the Horizon League in batting. He also ranked second in HBP, fifth in triples, seventh in hits and 10th in doubles in the conference.

BACK-TO-BACK JACKS
Colin Kreiter had quite the day against Oakland May 18 last season. More specifically, he had quite the inning. In finishing 4-for-5 with 5 RBI and 3 runs scored, Kreiter accomplished something NEVER done before in school history. In the 11-run seventh inning, Kreiter became the first player to hit two home runs in the SAME inning in school history, recording the 60th multi-home run game all-time in the process. His 5 RBI in one inning were just one off the school record as well. Jesse Hart had 6 RBI in that 9th-inning outburst against Wright State in 2008, driving in two with a double before piling it on with a grand slam.

JUNIOR JAM
A pair of infielders put together solid sophomore seasons a year ago and look to make another jump this season. Trevor Schwecke repeated as a Second-Team All-Horizon League honoree after a spectacular campaign in which he reset career highs in every category. Schwecke batted .318 on the year as one of just two Panthers to start all 54 games, leading the team with 39 runs batted in (8th in Horizon League), 217 at bats (4th), 69 hits (4th), 43 runs scored (6th) and 19 stolen bases (4th). His batting average was eighth-best in the Horizon League and included a .343 clip with runners in scoring position.

Classmate Mike Ferri played his way into being a regular starter in 2018 and also topped most marks from his freshman season. At the end of the day, he set collegiate-bests in hits with 50 (was 20), doubles with 11 (3), runs with 19 (10), home runs with 3 (0), RBI with 15 (10) and stolen bases with 8 (4). His .299 average finished fourth on the team, which included a .319 clip in Horizon League play.

FAB FROSH
The Panthers got contributions from numerous freshman a season ago, with Zach Nogalski and Patrick Tomfohrde topping the list with Horizon League All-Freshman Team accolades. Nogalski earned his spot after batting .333 in 29 games (15 starts), hitting .352 off RHP. He recorded 21 hits and drove in 11 runs, while scoring 16 more and added a .400 OBP.

Tomfohrde posted a 3.13 ERA in a team-high 21 appearances out of the bullpen, going 2-2 overall, striking out 29 batters in 31.2 innings of work. He tied for 11th in conference with game total, posted a 2.70 ERA in Horizon League action and put his name in the freshmen record book: his ERA the fifth-best and appearance total third.

Mitchell Buban also quickly worked his way into the starting lineup as a freshman, finishing with 43 starts among his 46 games played. He batted .262 overall, recording 39 hits, scoring 26 runs and adding 11 RBI.

SOME WOULD CALL IT EPIC
The Panthers accomplished two impressive feats in their come-from-behind, 15-9 victory over Oakland May 18. First off, let's talk comeback. The team fell behind 5-0 before they even had the chance to bat and the deficit moved to 6-0 in the top of the second inning. Winning the contest gave Scott Doffek's team it's second-largest comeback under his watch.

TOP COMEBACKS IN SCOTT DOFFEK ERA
1. Trailed Chicago State, 10-1, fourth inning. Won 15-11 (4/15/15)
2. Trailed Oakland, 6-0, second inning, Won 15-9 (5/19/18)
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)

Now let's talk offense. Milwaukee sent 15 batters to the plate in a fun-filled 11-run seventh inning, recording five hits while walking three times and getting hit by a pitch four times. In fact, the team put up five consecutive runs at one point with the bases loaded without swinging the bat when they went walk/HBP/HBP/HBP/walk. Trevor Schwecke had a pair of doubles in the frame with the highlight being the power display from Colin Kreiter.

The 11 runs marked the first inning of 10-or-more since plating 10 against Edgewood in a 23-2 win April 28, 2015. The last time MKE got to 11? That was the ninth inning against Wright State in a 20-3 Horizon League Tournament victory over Wright State May 22, 2008. The school record for those wondering? That would be the 14 runs in the fifth against WSU on April 15, 2000 (a 17-2 win).

IF THEY BUILD IT ...
After more than two decades calling Henry Aaron Field home, the Milwaukee baseball program is planning to move to a new stadium at some point during the 2019 season (final date is TBA at this time due to construction being finished). 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 last year, 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 during the 2019 campaign. The Panthers have spent the past 25 seasons with Henry Aaron Field as their home park, putting together an impressive 275-116 (.703) 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.

IT'S MILLER TIME
Through a marketing agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Panthers have played at Miller Park every season since 2002. The team has now posted a record of 17-11 in games at the major league park, following a 4-3, 10-inning defeat by Wright State in 2018. Milwaukee welcomes Oakland for the event this season, set for May 11.

ON TAP
Horizon League action continues with a three-game series at Northern Kentucky. The opener is set for a first pitch of 2 p.m. CST Friday.