MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee baseball team is set to open its 32nd season of NCAA Division I competition this week with a trip to Huntsville, Alabama to take on Alabama A&M in a three game series.
The official season opener is set for 1:00 pm on Friday, February 18. The Panthers will then see the Bulldogs at 1:00 pm on Saturday and wrap up the series on Sunday at 11:00 am.
As a northern team without any outdoor practice, it is no surprise that Milwaukee does not fare too well in season openers. The Panthers are just 6-25 in the Division I era after falling to Kentucky in last year's opener. MKE last won its first game of the season in 2019, a 5-3 decision over Marshall. That season, Milwaukee began the year 3-0 with wins over the Herd, Villanova, and Pittsburgh. Prior to that, Milwaukee opened with three straight wins over Maine in 2015.
SERIES HISTORY
This weekend marks the first all-time matchup between Milwaukee and Alabama A&M.
The Panthers have a 11-5 overall record against teams from the state of Alabama including a 5-1 record against Samford and a 3-2 mark against University of Alabama at Birmingham.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Alabama A&M finished 9-20 including a 9-13 mark in Southwestern Athletic Conference play.
Teddy Bridges returns for his senior year after leading the team with a .308 average, 32 hits, seven doubles, and tying the club lead with a pair of home runs and 14 RBI. Bridges was recently named to the 2022 HBCU Baseball Preseason Elites Projected Player of the Year list, which is comprised of 52 players from Historically Black College and Universities for the upcoming season.
2022 RECAP
Milwaukee closed the regular season 22-33 but made a solid run in the Horizon League Tournament, ultimately finishing runner-up for the second consecutive tourney. After falling to top-seeded Wright State in the opener, MKE earned wins over Youngstown State and UIC to reach the title game. The Raiders won the crown and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
MKE also was Horizon League Tournament runner-up in 2019 and 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19.
The Panthers have finished fourth or better in the Horizon League standings in 12 of the last 13 full seasons.
LOOKING AT THE LEAGUE
The 2022 Horizon League Preseason Baseball Coaches' poll was released on Thursday and with 30 poll points, the Panthers were predicted to finish third. MKE trailed defending regular season and tournament champions Wright State (42) and UIC (34).
Youngstown State was selected fourth in the preseason poll with 24 poll points while Northern Kentucky (15), Oakland (13), and Purdue Fort Wayne (9) rounded out the poll.
D1 BASEBALL TOP PROSPECTS
In D1Baseball.com's Horizon League preview,a trio of Panthers' pitchers were recognized as top prospects.
AJ Blubaugh was listed as a top prospect for 2022 while
Riley Frey made the list for 20212 and newcomer
Logan Schulfer was named an impact freshman. The nationally recognized publication also predicted Frey as Horizon League Pitcher of the Year.
YOUNG GUNS EARN ALL-LEAGUE HONORS
AJ Blubaugh was named Horizon League Reliever of the Year and freshmen
Riley Frey and
James Severson also earned recognition a season ago.
One of the most dominant pitchers in the Horizon League, Blubaugh finished the regular season with a 1.96 earned run average and seven saves in 17 appearances. He struck out 30 in 23.0 total innings, an average of 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings, and held opposing batters to a .165 average at the plate.
Frey had one of the best freshman campaigns for the Panthers in recent program history as he finished top 10 in the Horizon League in earned run average (6th, 3.37), innings pitched (4th, 74.2), and strikeouts (8th, 63) on his way to All-League Second Team and All-Freshman Team honors.
Severson joined Frey on the All-Freshman Team totaling 24 strikeouts in 20.0 total innings with a 3.60 earned run average. Outside of one extended relief outing and one tough spot against UIC, Severson allowed just two earned runs in his 10 other outings scattering nine hits in those appearances.
A GRAND MILESTONE
Last season, the Panthers picked up their 1,000th victory as a program to become just the third team in Milwaukee history to accomplish that feat. The MKE men's basketball team was the first with over 1,400 victories while volleyball has over 1,100 victories under its belt.
PLENTY TO LEARN
The 2022 Panthers are relatively light on experience with just two position players having appeared in over 100 games and two pitchers with at least 100 innings logged.
Mitchell Buban has been a mainstay in Milwaukee's lineup since 2018, having started 169 of 172 possible contests. With consistency this season, Buban could crack the top five in games played. Sam Koenig (2011-15) is fifth with 207 games played while Luke Meeteer (2012-16) and Doug Dokoning (2008-11) own the program record with 222 games played.
Zach Nogalski is the other Milwaukee starter with a load of experience, having played in 122 contests.
Mike Edwards (175.1 innings pitched) and
Jack Mahoney (140.1) are the Panthers' most experienced on the hill but beyond this group of four, Doffek's roster has plenty of room to learn. In total, 24 of 39 Panthers on the roster are considered underclassmen.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Panthers are no strangers to beginning the season on the road, opening with 21 consecutive contests away from Milwaukee. It marks the most road games to open a season since 2018 when the Panthers played a program record 34 consecutive road games to being the year.
Milwaukee is scheduled to open the home schedule on Wednesday, March 30 against MSOE.
TAKING ON TOP COMPETITION
The Panthers are no strangers to top competition and this year is no different as Milwaukee is scheduled to take on Arizona, who was pegged No. 15 on the USA TODAY baseball coaches poll. The Wildcats finished 45-18 in 2021 reaching the College World Series before falling to Vanderbilt and Stanford to end their season.
Milwaukee has posted a handful of wins over ranked opponents including topping No. 17/18 Wake Forest in 2020. The Panthers' first and biggest ranked win came in 1999 when MKE knocked off then-No. 1 Rice in the NCAA Regionals. In total, Milwaukee has recorded eight wins against ranked opponents.
- February 15, 2020: W, 8-6 at #17/18 Wake Forest
- February 20, 2016: W, 10-3 at #25 Texas Tech
- April 8, 2015: W, 4-3 at #15 Iowa
- February 27, 2009: W, 19-11 vs. #25 Michigan
- March 5, 2006: W 7-2 at #20 Missouri
- April 25, 2000: W 9-7 at #15 Nebraska
- March 29, 2000: W 14-3 at #21 Notre Dame
- May 28, 1999: W 8-4 vs. #1 Rice
MONEY MAHONEY
Jack Mahoney had a solid year a season ago, leading the team and ranking fifth in the Horizon League with a career-high 86 strikeouts.
That number also ranked sixth all-time in program history.
The senior notched at least five strikeouts in 11 outings including a career-high 11 against Oakland on May 1.
For his career, Mahoney has 158 strikeouts in 140.1 innings pitched, a strikeout per nine inning ratio of 10.1 which currently ranks second all-time in Milwaukee history, trailing only Jason Crawford who posted 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings from 1999-2001.
NO SMALL FREY
Riley Frey put together one of the more memorable freshman campaigns in recent Panthers' history as he was named to the All-League Second Team and All-Freshman Team.
Frey earned 14 starts in his first season for the black and gold and struck out 67 batters, both of which rank first all-time for a freshman in program history.
Frey led Milwaukee starters and ranked fifth in the Horizon League with a 3.60 ERA.
The Oshkosh, Wis. native pitched three complete games and recorded eight outings of at least five innings pitched with two or fewer earned runs allowed.
ANY WAY ON
Last year,
Mitchell Buban ranked second on the team with a .380 on base percentage. The senior finished the season with 50 hits and 14 walks while reaching 18 times via hit by pitch.
That number tied for fourth all-time for a single season in program history.
Buban currently ranks second in program history with 43 hit by pitch for his career, trailing Clay Schwartz (1994-97) who recorded 68 which was a NCAA record upon his graduation.
BANKING ON BLUBAUGH
It was a year to remember for freshman AJ Blubuagh, who was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-League thanks to an impressive season out of the bullpen.
Blubaugh earned two wins in relief and struck out 37 batters in 27.1 innings, locking in a 2.63 ERA in 19 appearances. He held opponents to a batting average of .188 and led the Horizon League with eight saves.
During the season, Blubaugh had an impressive run from March 26 to April 10 where he allowed just one earned run across nine appearances, pitching 13.0 innings total.
At the Horizon League Tournament, Blubaugh picked up the save against Youngstown State when he struck out three straight batters after the Penguins loaded the bases.
CATCH ALL THE ACTION
The Milwaukee Athletic department announced that it will broadcast 13 select home baseball games this spring on ESPN+. Additionally, all 22 of the Panthers home games will feature either live audio or video.
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 $6.99 a month (or $69.99 per year) and cancel at any time. Launched in April of 2018, ESPN+ is an integrated part of a completely redesigned ESPN App.
For road games, visit MKEPanthers.com for live coverage links.
WHAT'S ON DECK
Milwaukee next heads to Tucson for a four-game series against Arizona beginning on Thursday, February 24. The Panthers' first home game is set for March 30 against Concordia Wisconsin at 3:00 pm. All updates and live coverage links can be found on MKEPanthers.com.
