MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Milwaukee gets set for a four-game week beginning with Valparaiso on Wednesday before opening Horizon League play this weekend at UIC.
 
The Panthers take on the Beacons at 3:00 pm in Indiana and then face off with the Flames at Curtis Granderson Stadium. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 4:05 pm followed by a 2:05 pm start on Saturday and 1:05 first pitch on Sunday.
 
Live coverage links for this week can be found on MKEPanthers.com.
 
SCOUTING THE BEACONS
Valparaiso got off to a hot start to the season, winning five of its first eight games including two games over Alabama A&M, but the Beacons have since lost five of seven and sit at 7-9 overall. Most recently. Valpo split a four-game series with Murray State.
 
Valparaiso was pegged to finish eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
Kaleb Hannahs leads the way offensively, hitting .383 with 10 RBI and 17 runs scored. Nathan Chasey and Griffin McCluskey have been solid out of the bullpen for the Beacons, each with a sub-2.0 ERA. Chasey has totaled 10 strikeouts in 8.2 innings pitched.
 
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC opened Horizon League play with a split against Northern Kentucky last weekend, earning a 4-3 walkoff victory on Sunday night.
 
The Flames sit at 5-10 overall and take on Illinois State on Wednesday before the weekend series with Milwaukee.
 
UIC finished second in the Horizon League Preseason Poll. The Flames welcome back 2021 Freshman of the Year Cole Conn as well as 2021 All-Horizon League First Team honoree Bryan Rosario, second-team selection Joshua Figueroa and Ryan Nagelbach, who was a member of the All-Freshman Team last season. This marks the first year for head coach Sean McDermott after taking over for long-time head coach Mike Dee who retired following the 2021 season.
 
Rosario is leading the way offensively, hitting .345 with nine extra-base hits and 10 RBI. UIC's ace, Nate Peterson, has struck out 32 batters in 31.1 innings and owns a 4.60 ERA.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee and Valparaiso have had a storied history, meeting 70 times since 1993. The Panthers own a 38-32 overall record against the Beacons but have dropped five straight to Valpo dating back to 2016.
 
The Panthers and Flames have met over 150 times with UIC owning a 91-64 record against Milwaukee. MKE won the last matchup, a 14-11 triumph in the Horizon League Tournament a season ago.
 
ANOTHER WEEKEND, ANOTHER GEM
For the third straight weekend, the Panthers have a pitcher in line to be named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week.
 
This time, it was AJ Blubaugh who shined. The sophomore took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and finished throwing 7.0 scoreless innings in a 12-0 win over Penn State. Blubaugh struck out four and allowed just three hits in the victory.
 
Starters Riley Frey and Nick Gilhaus each have a weekly award under their belts following gems in consecutive weekends. Gilhaus impressed in a 2-0 win over BYU while Frey was solid as he led MKE to a victory over Dayton.
 
WHEREVER, WHENEVER
It doesn't matter where or when AJ Blubaugh enters the game, he's been lights out this season.
 
The 2021 Horizon League Relief Pitcher of the Year has appeared in four games this season with three starts under his belt. He's earned two victories and save this season striking out 20 batters in 20.1 innings.
 
Blubaugh opened the year with six scoreless innings at Alabama A&M. After striking out seven in six innings at Arizona, Blubaugh earned a four-out save at BYU. On Sunday, he added a scoreless, seven-inning outing against Penn State to his resume.
 
Blubaugh ranks second in the league in ERA (1.77) and is first in opposing batting average (.162). He's allowed a league-best 12 hits and has just four earned runs against him.
 
POWER IN THE 'PEN
The Panthers' bullpen did a nice job in the series at Penn State, allowing just three earned runs in 8.2 innings pitched.
 
On Saturday, Eliot Turnquist took over for Nick Gilhaus and kept Milwaukee in it, allowing just one hit across 4.0 scoreless innings. Turnquist struck out four and walked one in the outing.
 
In Sunday's win, Logan Schulfer and Andrew Neu closed things out for the Panthers. Schulfer struck out a pair in one scoreless innings while Neu needed just nine pitches to get out of the ninth.
 
GETTING COMFORTABLE
It was another solid weekend for transfer Aaron Chapman, who has settled into a starting role for Milwaukee. In the three games at Penn State, Chapman finished 6-for-12 with two runs scored and five RBI.
 
Chapman has at least one hit in 13 of 14 games this season and has reached base safely in all 14.
 
The sophomore leads the team and ranks third in the Horizon League with a .367 batting average. Chapman also is fifth in the league in RBI (13) and third in stolen bases (6).
 
THE FREYDAY STARTER
Riley Frey got comfortable as the Panthers' ace a year ago and has earned the right to be in that spot again this season.
 
The sophomore had another solid outing at Penn State, battling through 5.1 innings and allowing just two earned runs.
 
Through five starts, Frey leads the team and ranks fourth in the Horizon League in inning spitched (27.0) and strikeouts (26). 
 
Outside of one slipup at No. 11 Arizona, Frey owns a 3.0 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 24 innings.
 
PERFECT ON THE PATHS
Milwaukee added four more stolen bases in the win over Dayton to improve to 28-for-28 this season.
 
The Panthers stole all over the base paths in the season's opening series, going 17-for-17 in Alabama. In game three of the series, the Panthers were a perfect 11-for-11 in stolen bases. The 11 swipes set a new program record, topping the previous mark of 10 which was set against Butler on April 10, 2010.
 
Milwaukee currently leads the Horizon League and ranks 22nd in NCAA Division I with 2.00 stolen bases per game. The Panthers 28 total stolen bases puts them 61st in the nation.
 
Luke Seidel is tied for the league lead with eight stolen bases while Aaron Chapman (6 steals) and Mitchell Buban (5 steals) are tied for third.
 
NOVAK NUKES
Jake Novak made the most of his first start of the season on February 19, finishing 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs.
 
The sophomore got the scoring going in the fifth inning for MKE with a solo homer and added a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and another solo shot in the ninth.
 
The final home run was the eventual game-winner as Milwaukee hung on to top Alabama A&M 8-7.
 
Novak's two-homer game is the first by a Milwaukee player since Conner Goodman blasted two in a 14-13 win over Oakland last season on April 3.
 
He has recorded at least one hit in all four games since and leads qualified batters with a .389 average.
 
HORIZON LEAGUE HONOR
Mitchell Buban was pegged Horizon League Batter of the Week thanks to an impressive start to the year in Alabama. Buban finished the weekend 7-for-14 (.500) at the plate with a home run and five RBI. He reached base a total of 10 times, recording with a slash line of .500/.588/.714. The Kenosha, Wis. native also scored five runs and was a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen bases.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 finally gets to play on its home field, Franklin Field, beginning a stretch of nine straight at home. The Panthers welcome Concordia Wisconsin on Wednesday for a 3:00 pm matchup followed by a weekend series with Northern Kentucky beginning on April 1. All updates and live coverage links can be found on MKEPanthers.com.