MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee baseball team picked up its second straight series win over the weekend and now return home to open a 16-game homestand beginning on Friday, April 9.
 
The Panthers will host Youngstown State at 3:00 pm on Friday followed by a noon Saturday doubleheader. The series will wrap up on Sunday, April 11 with a 12:00 pm first pitch.
 
Fans can purchase single game tickets online for only $7 on MKEPanthers.com. General admission tickets can be bought in pods of two to four tickets and seating will be physically distanced.
 
All four games of the series will feature live stats and a live broadcast with Scott Warras on the call. All links are available on MKEPanthers.com.
 
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 OPPONENT
Youngstown State earned it third straight series win over the weekend and is one of the hottest teams in the Horizon League. The Penguins have won six of their last eight games including taking three of four against Wright State on March 26-28.
 
As a team, Youngstown State is sixth in the Horizon League with a 6.34 earned run average, but the Penguins have turned in some solid individual performances, earning three league Pitcher of the Week honors.
 
Collin Floyd and Jon Snyder are a solid 1-2 punch for YSU with Floyd ranking second in the league with a 2.17 ERA and first with 53 strikeouts. The senior is 3-1 with a 0.61 ERA in Horizon League action. Snyder carries a 4.13 ERA and has struck out 42 batters in 32.2 innings pitched.
 
Offensively, the Penguins rank second behind Wright State with a .279 batting average. YSU is averaging nearly 10 runs per game over its last 10 games including putting up 29 combined in the last two victories over UIC.
 
Shortstop Phillip Glasser paces the way with a .360 average. He ranks top 10 in the league in slugging percentage (7th, .539), on base percentage (6th, .459), hits (2nd, 32), doubles (4th, 6), and triples (2nd, 2).
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers have dominated the matchup against Youngstown State recently and own a 62-34 overall advantage in the all-time series. Milwaukee has won 11 of the last 12 contests against the Penguins, dating back to 2018. The Panthers also own a 30-9 record on their home field against YSU.
 
WRAPPING UP THE WEEKEND
Milwaukee earned the series win in Michigan, taking three of four from Oakland last weekend. The Panthers plated 42 runs in the four games, hitting .346 as a team.
 
Luke Seidel led the way with 10 hits in 18 at bats (.556). The sophomore drove in seven and scored four more. Conner Goodman also impressed, going 4-for-7 with a pair of home runs and five RBI in two starts.
 
The Panthers earned a sweep on Friday, using a pair of big innings to seal victories. Milwaukee scored 10 in the second inning of game one on its way to a 15-2 win. In game two, MKE plated four in the sixth inning to pull in front and the bullpen took care of the rest. On Saturday, the Golden Grizzlies earned an 8-5 victory in game one. In the night cap, Lucas Cline hit a bases-clearing double in the eighth inning to help the Panthers secure the series.
 
GOODMAN GOING YARD
Conner Goodman helped the Panthers put an exclamation mark on the series in Michigan as he finished 4-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI in Milwaukee's 14-13 win on Saturday.
 
It marked the first two home runs of Goodman's career. He tied the game 2-2 with a solo shot in the second inning and then hammered a two-run homer in the third to put MKE on top 8-5. It marks the first time since May 24, 2019 that a Panther hit two home runs in a game and 64th time in program history a Milwaukee player had multiple longballs.
 
The redshirt sophomore has appeared in nine games this year and made the most of those appearances with a slash line of .421/.737/1.158 along with seven runs scored and five driven in.
 
CLOSING OUT STRONG
Something about the final game of the series gets the Panthers' bats going. Milwaukee is 4-0 in Horizon League series finale's so far this year with at least 10 runs in three of the four games.
 
The Panthers topped UIC 5-4, Northern Kentucky 19-2, Purdue Fort Wayne 15-2, and most recently, won 14-13 at Oakland.
 
Milwaukee is hitting .364 with 18 extra-base hits in those four victories.
 
STACKIN' STREAKS
Milwaukee is beginning to find its groove offensively thanks to a handful of players continuing to find a way on.
 
Jack Kraus is riding a nine-game hitting streak, going 11-for-27 (.407) with eight RBI during that stretch. The junior owns a .610 on base percentage during the streak drawing eight walks and six HBP.
 
Marcus Cline has reached base safely in each of those nine games. The freshman is hitting .361 with 10 runs scored, 10 RBI, five walks, and a pair of stolen bases.
 
Luke Siedel has four consecutive multi-hit games and is on a six-game hitting streak. The sophomore has been raking during that stretch with a .444 batting average, three extra-base hits, seven RBI, and five runs scored.
 
Jack Cavanaugh has reached in each of the last eight games and is now hitting .304 on the year in 19 games. In the eight-game stretch, Cavanaugh is hitting .417 with two doubles, a triple, seven RBI, and five runs scored.
 
NO SMALL FREY
Riley Frey continued his strong freshman campaign for Milwaukee as he picked up his first collegiate victory in the series opener against Oakland. Frey tossed 5.0 innings against the Golden Grizzlies and allowed just three hits and two earned runs while striking out eight.
 
Frey leads the team with 30.1 innings pitched and has struck out 29 in his six appearances. The freshman ranks fourth with league with a 2.97 ERA, second with 10 earned runs allowed, and is tied for third with 25 hits allowed.
 
SENSATIONAL SOPHOMORE
Luke Seidel racked up 10 hits in the Oakland series with a pair of 3-for-4 performances. The sophomore drove in seven and scored four more against the Golden Grizzlies, finishing the series with a .556/.579/.833 slash line.
 
Seidel has started 18 games for Milwaukee and leads the team and ranks fourth in the Horizon League with a .377 batting average. Additionally, Seidel is sixth in slugging percentage (.594), and tied for first in doubles (7). 
 
BANKING ON BLUBAUGH
AJ Blubaugh picked up a pair of saves in the Oakland series and now leads the team and is tied for third in the Horizon League with three saves this season.
 
Blubaugh has racked up 13 strikeouts in nine innings pitched, allowing just three hits and two earned runs.
 
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 from 2020. The junior is hitting a .357 with 12 RBI and 16 runs scored in 16 games. Nogalski has a hit in 12 of the 16 games he's appeared in and has recorded six multi-hit games.
 
SOLID START FOR SZAJKOVICS
Freshman Dylan Szajkovics recorded his first collegiate start on March 27 and had his best outing of the season thus far. Szakjovics tossed four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out five in a 5-2 victory.
 
MOWING DOWN THE MASTODONS
The Panthers bullpen was brilliant in the series sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne, helping Milwaukee lock down wins. In those four games as a whole, the MKE bullpen totaled 17.1 innings pitched, scattering seven hits, and just three earned runs with 19 strikeouts.
 
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).
 
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 officially cut the ribbon on March 26 against Purdue Fort Wayne and did not disappoint, sweeping the Mastodons in a four-game series.
 
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
The Panthers take a break from Horizon League action on April 16-18 as they host Illinois State at Franklin Field. UIC and Oakland then visit MKE to close out the homestand.