MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee baseball team will finally make its debut at new home Franklin Field this weekend, hosting Purdue Fort Wayne in a four-game series beginning on Friday, March 26 at 1:00 pm. The two teams will meet on Saturday for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 pm and finish on Sunday with a 12:00 pm start.
 
The Panthers will have a limited number of tickets available for purchase to this weekend's series. In accordance with the city and the University, masks are required for entry and should be worn at all times at the ballpark. The City of Franklin also does not allow tailgating.
 
If fans have any symptoms of COVID-19 or a temperature of 100.4 or greater, they should not come to the game.
 
All four games of the PFW series will feature live stats and live audio with Scott Warras on the broadcast. All links for can be found on MKEPanthers.com. Additionally, digital game programs can be found HERE. 
 
LOOKING AT THE OPPONENTS
After dropping the series opener against Oakland on March 19, Purdue Fort Wayne rallied to win the next three and improved to 4-4 in Horizon League action. The Mastodons also won a non-conference series against Butler and sit 7-8 overall.
 
With three wins last weekend, second-year head coach Doug is just three wins away from 500 for his career. Schreiber spent 18 seasons at Purdue University.
 
Led by Jacob Meyer, who leads the Horizon League with a 1.61 earned run average, Purdue Fort Wayne ranks second in the league with a 4.67 team ERA.
 
Offensively, Jack Lang has 17 hits in 15 starts for the Mastodons, driving in nine runs and scoring seven more. Lang also has nine stolen bases, leading PFW, who ranks 27th in the nation with 26 swipes.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee owns a 5-3 all-time advantage over Purdue Fort Wayne, dating back to 2005. This will be the first meeting as Horizon League opponents for the two teams. Highlighting the series is the first meeting between PFW and MKE, a 26-21 slugfest victory for the Panthers. Milwaukee set single-game school records for home runs (9), RBI (26), and combined runs (47), all of which still stand today.
 
WRAPPING UP THE WEEKEND
The Panthers offense was under wraps until the final game of last weekend's series as Milwaukee exploded for 19 runs on 16 hits in a 19-2 route of the Norse. Milwaukee had just 11 total hits in the three games prior. The 19 runs mark the most for Milwaukee since scoring 22 on April 13, 2019.
 
Marcus Cline and Zach Nogalski each had three hits for the Panthers while Mitchell Buban, Quinton Morris, and Joe Vyskocil had two apiece. Morris and Vyskocil put an exclamation point on the scoring as each ripped a three-run homer late in the game.
 
The bullpen was solid in the win, combining for seven strikeouts and allowing just three hits in the final seven innings. Matt McCarty scattered two hits in 4.0 innings to earn his first win of 2021.
 
GOOD TO BE BACK
After missing the non-conference schedule, Zach Nogalski returned to the lineup for Horizon League play and has picked up right where he left off in 2020. The junior is hitting .357 with five RBI and six runs scored in eight games. He led the team in Highland Heights, finishing with five hits and five runs scored. 
 
BREAKING OUT THE BATS
The offense finally got going in Sunday's win over NKU as nine different players recorded a hit for Milwaukee. As a team, the Panthers totaled 16 hits, the most since tallying 18 in a 15-2 win over Northern Kentucky on April 26, 2019. The 19 runs are the most since Milwaukee tagged Youngstown State for 22 on April 13, 2019.
 
PINCH-HIT POWER
Quinton Morris entered Sunday's game as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and laced his first collegiate home run, a three-run shot. Morris added a single in the ninth inning for the first multi-hit game of his career.
 
MCCARTY MAGIC
Matt McCarty entered Sunday's game in the third inning and earned his first win this season behind four clean innings. McCarty allowed just two hits, one walk, and struck out four in the outing. The redshirt junior now has one win, one save, and a 2.35 earned run average this season.
 
GLAD HE'S ON OUR "SEID"
Newcomer Luke Seidel is making a great first impression, currently leading the team among qualified hitters with a .333 batting average. He also paces the Panthers in runs (7), hits (14), doubles (5), slugging (.571), and steals (4).
 
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 numbers 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
 
HOW MANY?
Last spring, Milwaukee played all 15 games away from home and the year prior, the Panthers opened with 16 outside of Milwaukee. 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).
 
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
 
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.
 
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 24 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. Scott Warras will handle 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
Milwaukee will hit the road for a four-game series against Oakland beginning on April 1 before returning home. The Panthers are scheduled to host 16 straight home games from April 9 to May 2.