Following the cancellation of the official opening weekend six days ago, the Milwaukee baseball team begins the 2021 season this weekend when it travels to Lexington, Ky., to play three games against the Kentucky Wildcats.

The season opener, MKE's first competitive game against outside competition since March 8, 2020 (over 350 days ago), will take place Friday with a 3 p.m. CST start. Saturday and Sunday will both have a first pitch of 12 p.m. CST, with all games in the series available through ESPN+ on the SEC Network. Live statistics will also be available, with all links posted to the Milwaukee website.

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 6-24 in such contests at the Division I level after dropping a tight 3-2 decision to Illinois to open 2020. But, the team did post an impressive 10-0 victory over Maine to open the slate in 2015 and also topped Marshall, 5-3, to open the 2019 campaign. The Kentucky contest will be Scott Doffek's 15th opener as head coach.

The 2021 campaign marks the 57th season of baseball at MKE. It is also the 51st season of varsity play (the program was played at the club level from 1982-1986) and the 31st in the Panthers NCAA Division I era.

LOOKING AT THE OPPONENTS
Kentucky returns starters at all but one position this season, bolstering an offense that already was one of the most potent in Division I last season. The team finished 11-6, which included wins in each of the final six. The team opens 2021 with 18 straight games at home and also was forced to cancel its season-opening series last week. In the shortened 2020 campaign, UK ranked in the nation's top 30 in nine major offensive statistical categories, including top 20 in hit by pitch (7th), home runs (10th), runs scored (17th), slugging percentage (18th) and scoring (20th).

Kentucky opened its season at home for the first time since 1983 Wednesday with a 5-1 victory over Miami (Ohio), cracking three home runs in the first inning to jumpstart the win. Ryan Hagenow earned his first collegiate win in his debut, tossing 4.0 innings of one-hit, scoreless baseball. The decision extends the team win streak to seven in a row dating back to 2020.

T.J. Collett was voted First-Team Preseason All-Southeastern Conference and was also named First-Team Preseason All-America by Perfect Game. John Rhodes and Austin Schultz were also each named Preseason First-Team All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

SERIES HISTORY
The two teams have played just one other series all-time, with the Wildcats taking all three when it was ranked No. 21 in March of 2007.

BACK FOR MORE
A group of core seniors will be back for their final go-around as a Panther following the shutdown of the 2020 season. Joe Vyskocil, Mike Ferri and George Swedie are all back on the diamond to finish up their MKE careers this spring. The program went through an unprecedented stretch last year, playing just 15 games before the season was shut down March 13 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CLOSING IN ON A GRAND MILESTONE
The Panthers start the season with 982 all-time victories in program history and will join a small list of teams in the department once they cross the 1,000 win plateau. MKE men's basketball was the first and opened the 2020-21 school year with 1,376 wins. Women's volleyball was next and upped its total to 1,092 after a successful fall campaign in 2019.

"GREEN" PANTHERS
The Milwaukee roster is light on experience and will be looking to grow as the season progresses. In fact, if you look at career numbers, it truly sheds light on the situation for the Panthers this spring. Career games played for the team is led by Mike Ferri, who had appeared in 151 college games at the NCAA Division I level coming into play in 2021. He is one of just three on the roster over 100, joined by Joe Vyskocil (131) and Mitchell Buban (117). The biggest at bat total is Ferri's 523. On the mound, most games pitched belongs to George Swedie with 55. Next up is Jack Mahoney with 30. Most innings? That's Mike Edwards, who is the only Panther to have enough seniority to have pitched in at least 100 innings (115.0).

CAREER GAMES PLAYED LEADERS (all #'s coming into 2021)
Mike Ferri 151 | Joe Vyskocil 131 | Mitchell Buban 117
CAREER HITS
Mike Ferri 136 | Joe Vyskocil 108 | Mitchell Buban 101
CAREER AT BATS
Mike Ferri 523 | Mitchell Buban 405 | Joe Vyskocil 385
*Only three players over 200 at bats
CAREER INNINGS PITCHED
Mike Edwards 115.0 | George Swedie 69.2 | Jack Mahoney 67.2
*Only three pitchers over 60 innings pitched

TAKING ON THE BIG TIME
Milwaukee has played numerous ranked foes over the years and added Wake Forest to the list last season, which came in ranked as high as No. 17 in the national polls. Prior to the big 8-6 victory over the Demon Deacons on Feb. 15, Milwaukee had last knocked off a ranked squad when it topped No. 25 Texas Tech in February of 2016. It was during the 1999 postseason that the team made the biggest splash against a ranked opponent, defeating then-No. 1 Rice at the NCAA Regionals for the program's first-ever victory over a ranked team. Since that time, the Panthers have recorded seven victories against ranked opponents.

Milwaukee Wins vs. Ranked Opponents Since 1999
2020: Feb. 15: W, 8-6 at #17/18 Wake Forest
2016: Feb. 19-21: L, 3-12; W, 10-3; L, 1-9; L, 0-12 at #25 Texas Tech
2015: April 8: W, 4-3 at #15 Iowa
2009: Feb. 27: W, 19-11 vs. #25 Michigan
2006: March 3-5: L 14-3; L 9-5; W 7-2 at #20 Missouri
2000: April 24-25: L 11-0; L 8-5; W 9-7 at #15 Nebraska
2000: March 29: W 14-3 at #21 Notre Dame
1999: May 28: W 8-4 vs. #1 Rice

CLASSIC COMEBACK
Milwaukee did not make that victory over #17/18 Wake Forest an easy one, falling behind by a score of 6-2 after plating the first two runs of the contest. With innings running late, Zach Nogalski started a two-out rally with an RBI-single in the seventh inning. Mitchell Buban made it 6-4 with a run-scoring triple and Joe Vyskocil followed with an opposite-field home run to make it a new game at 6-6. Matt Vanek played a huge role out of the bullpen, coming on in relief with the Panthers trailing, 6-2, in the fifth. He proceeded to throw three scoreless frames, getting out of a huge jam in the bottom of the seventh when Wake Forest had runners on first and third with one out. It was Nogalski and Buban again in the ninth, each singling in runs to push MKE ahead, 8-6. Patrick Tomfohrde then worked around some trouble, but closed it out in the ninth.

HOW MANY?
Last spring, Milwaukee was scheduled for 20 straight away from home to begin the year and the number was set at 19 this season. The record was established back in 2018 when the Panthers played 34 consecutive road games to open the slate (the home-opening date was 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). The team will travel a much more modest 4,000 miles over the course of the first few weeks of this season via plane or bus, visiting four different states (Missouri, Kentucky [2x], Ohio and Illinois) before playing its scheduled home opener March 26 against Purdue Fort Wayne.

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

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

MONEY MAHONEY
In the series opener against Miami last March, Jack Mahoney spun a gem, recording a career-high seven strikeouts over six shutout innings. The junior ended up leading Milwaukee in innings pitched (18.2) and strikeouts (22) in 2020.

THE TIME HAS FINALLY ARRIVED
The Panthers have waited ... and waited ... and waited to get into their new stadium and will make Franklin Field their home in 2021 and beyond. Following missed opportunities due first to construction delays and then to a global pandemic, the Milwaukee baseball team will officially cut the ribbon on March 26 against Purdue Fort Wayne following 27 seasons of calling Henry Aaron Field home. Franklin Field opened in the summer of 2019, seats 4,000 fans and is also home to the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. It is 330 feet down the lines and 408 to center field.

PRESEASON POLL
Milwaukee was picked to finish fourth in the 2021 Horizon League preseason baseball poll. Wright State picked up all seven first place votes, earning 49 total poll points as the Raiders were picked first. UIC, the 2019 Horizon League Tournament Champion, earned 38 poll points as they were predicted second.
 
Youngstown State (34 poll points) was picked third while the Panthers earned 31 poll points for fourth. Purdue Fort Wayne (17), Oakland (14), and Northern Kentucky (13) rounded out the preseason poll.
 
2021 Horizon League Baseball Preseason Poll
1. Wright State – 49 (7 first-place votes)
2. UIC – 38
3. Youngstown State – 34
4. Milwaukee – 31
5. Purdue Fort Wayne – 17
6. Oakland – 14
7. Northern Kentucky - 13

FAMILIAR NAMES ON AN IMPRESSIVE LIST
The NCAA.com website put out a press release last season at the end of January with a list of "The top 150 hitters in college baseball, according to D1Baseball analytics". The list was compiled using statistical analysis, focused on three major areas: Plate Discipline, Hit Ability, and Game Power. The players were then graded from 1-100.

A pair of Panthers appeared on the list, with Jack Thelen leading the way at No. 123 (overall grade of 81.1). He was joined by Joe Vyskocil, who checked in a few spots later at No. 129 (81.0). Milwaukee and Wright State (2 players) were the only Horizon League schools on the list.

IT'S MILLER TIME
Through a marketing agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Panthers had played at Miller Park every season since 2002 (their scheduled game in 2020 was missed after the season was cancelled). The team has posted a record of 18-11 in games at the major league park, following a convincing 13-1 victory over Oakland in 2019.

THE BOYS OF (NOT QUITE) SUMMER
The Milwaukee Athletic department announced that it will broadcast select home baseball games this spring on ESPN+. Additionally, all 20 of the Panthers home games will feature either live audio or video for the first time. Milwaukee has never had the ability to broadcast baseball games on ESPN+, but with the move to Franklin Field for the 2021 season, that is now possible. Matt Menzl and Scott Warras will split all broadcasts for the Panthers.
 
ESPN+, which will host the Horizon League baseball championships, offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content, and original programing not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $5.99 a month (or $59.99 per year) and cancel at any time. Launched in April of 2018, ESPN+ is an integrated part of a completely redesigned ESPN App.

ON TAP
The Panthers next road trip takes them to Ohio University for a four-game series with the Bobcats. The opener is set for Friday at 3 p.m.