LEADING OFF
» The Panthers took both games of a rain-shortened series against Purdue Fort Wayne in Indiana this past weekend, winning the series opener 7-1 before taking the second game by a 6-1 score.
» Milwaukee had arguably its two best pitching performances of the season in the doubleheader sweep as Gavin Theis threw seven innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts. Aric Ehmke followed with a 7 1/3 shutout innings with seven strikeouts, both highs in his Panther career.
» Milwaukee was originally slated to host Iowa on Tuesday but will instead travel to Iowa City due to forecasted weather. Iowa holds a 14-10 lead in all-time matchups, including wins in the last seven.
» Iowa enters this week having taken two of three from Northwestern in Evanston. The Hawkeyes boast a 20-10 overall mark, and are 12-3 in Big Ten play, which included a 10-game conference winning streak that was snapped in a 5-4 loss to the Wildcats on Sunday afternoon.
» The Panthers and Hawkeyes met last season at Duane Banks Field with Iowa winning, 12-6. Of Milwaukee's 11 hits in last season's meetings six hits came from players on the current roster.
» Later this week, Milwaukee will look to snap its lengthy skid against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, who have won the last eight matchups to even the all-time Division I series at 30-30. Last year, the Grizzlies outscored the Panthers 16-9 at Franklin Field and 29-14 overall in their six meetings.
» Oakland salvaged the final game of a three-game series at home against Youngstown State this past weekend in a 15-5 victory. Matthew McGann and Sam Griffith had three RBIs apiece in the 10-run win, while five Oakland pitchers combined to strikeout 11 Penguins in the victory. Overall, the Grizzlies are 8-25 with a 3-9 mark in Horizon League games.

LOOKING AT IOWA
After securing just 14 wins in Big Ten play in 2024, the Hawkeyes are well on their way to surpassing that total in 2025 with 12 wins against three loses in Big Ten Action. Overall, the Hawkeyes have 20 wins in 30 tries this season, including an 8-1 record in home games at Duane Banks Field.

Iowa has won six of its last seven and 13 of its last 15 games dating back to mid-March and look to ride that momentum into Tuesday's game against Milwaukee. In 38 seasons as a collegiate coach, Rick Heller has won more games at Iowa (371) than any of his previous three stops in his 11 years in Iowa City, with a .624 winning percentage in 595 games coached.

Heller's team has been pitching exceptionally well this season with the 12th best earned run average as a team entering play this week at 3.73, while the team has also allowed the eighth fewest hits per nine innings at 7.13 in 2025. The Panthers are expecting to see an assortment of Hawkeye pitchers on Tuesday as Iowa has not used fewer than seven pitchers during its five mid-week contests thus far on the season.

At the plate, Iowa features the 21st most potent offense in the nation at 9.0 runs per game this season scoring 270 over their first 30 games. Six players have at least 20 RBIs already this season led by Reese Moore's 33 while Miles Risley is second on the team with 31. Gable Mitchell has a team-best 46 hits and a .365 average and is tied with Ben Wilmes for the team lead with 31 runs score each. Moore leads the team in extra-base hits with 17, including a team-best nine home runs.

Milwaukee will look to snap a seven-game skid against the Hawkeyes, having last won exactly 10 years ago from this year's meeting on April 8, 2015, a 4-3 victory for the Panthers.

LOOKING AT OAKLAND
The Golden Grizzlies have had their success against the Panthers over the past few seasons, entering play this weekend on an eight-game winning streak against Milwaukee and in 10 of the last 11 meetings. This year under first-year head coach Brian Nelson, who has been with the program since 2021, the Golden Grizzlies are 8-25 overall and are 3-9 in Horizon League games.

Oakland has lost five of its last six games entering play this week, which will see the team stop at Michigan on Wednesday before making their way to Wisconsin. The Grizzlies were swept by Purdue Fort Wayne in Indiana two weekends ago before dropping the first two to Youngstown State at home on Friday. Oakland was able to salvage the third game of the set on Sunday in a 15-5 victory in seven innings.

Oakland is fourth in the league in batting average and fifth in the Horizon in walks, but when the Grizzlies get on base they love to run. The team has the ninth most stolen bases in all of Division I and have the 14th most steals per game at 2.55. Trent Rice has 19 steals in 23 attempts, with John Lauinger swiping 17 bags in 20 steal attempts. Matthew McGann lead the team with five home runs and 28 RBIs, while Brandon Nigh is wrapping up his strong Oakland career with 23 RBIs with a team-best 14 doubles and nine stolen bases.

With the third-best ERA in the league, Oakland is just ahead of Milwaukee in terms of team ERA overall this season (Oakland: 7.56; Milwaukee 8.39) but trail the Panthers in team ERA in league games in 2025 (Milwaukee: 7.16; Oakland: 7.23). Hunter Pidek has tossed 39 1/3 innings this season and is 0-3 with a 6.86 ERA with 31 strikeouts, Grant Garman is the team leader with 40 strikeouts over a team-best 41 innings while posting a 5.49 ERA. The Panthers are expected to see Pidek, Garman, and likely Daniel Duley, who got the start in the series finale against Youngstown State on Sunday but did not factor into the decision.

UP NEXT
Milwaukee will next host the UIC Flames in a non-conference tilt on Tuesday afternoon against UIC, the former Horizon League foes have met 161 times in Division I history. After the non-league tilt versus UIC, the Panthers will host Youngstown State for a three-game league series from Thursday through Saturday, April 18-20.

SPREADING THE LOVE IN LEAGUE PLAY
Through the first 11 games of Horizon League play Milwaukee has leaders scattered throughout its offensive unit. Tyler Bickers, Gabe Roessler, and Tate Schmidt share the team lead with 12 runs scored, while Bickers leads the team with 21 hits and a .475 batting average, Charlie Marion leads Milwaukee with six doubles. Marion, Justin Hausser, and Caden Headlee each lead the team with one triple apiece, while Roessler leads the Panthers with five Horizon League home runs.

Three players have at least 11 RBIs, led by Roessler's 13, followed by 12 from Marion and 11 by Bickers. Thomas Otto has nine RBIs in Horizon League play while Teige Lethert has added eight RBIs.

DROPPING IT LOW IN THE HORIZON
Milwaukee's team ERA overall this season is 8.39, while the team has pitched better in Horizon League games with a lower combined team earned run average at 7.16.

Gavin Theis leads the staff with a 3.04 ERA with just eight earned runs over 23 2/3 innings, while Eamonn Mulhern has been Milwaukee's most effective relieve in Horizon League games with a 3.18 ERA. Aric Ehmke (5.29 ERA), Logan Snow (3.60 ERA), Riley Peterson (4.91) and Keagon Kaufmann (6.75 ERA).

FIVE-FOR-FIVE
In Milwaukee's win over Northern Kentucky on Mar. 29, Tyler Bickers was 5-for-5 in his at bats becoming the 23rd Panther in program history to have at least five hits in a game. This is the second-straight season that Milwaukee has had a five-hit performance by a student-athlete, making it back-to-back seasons since the 2012 and 2013 campaigns that a Panther has had five hits in a game i

HOME RUN PACE
With 33 combined home runs through the team's first 29 games, Milwaukee is currently on pace to finish the season with 67 home runs this year. The program mark for homers in a season is 77 set in 1999, while 67 would put this year's team third on the single-season mark.

DOUBLE-DIGIT HOMERS?
Charlie Marion (6) and Gabe Roessler (8) are currently on pace to eclipse double-digit home runs this season, the duo would be the first pair of Panthers to have at least 10 home runs since the 2006 campaign when Joe Nowikcki and Ross McCoy each had 11 round trippers that year.

ON BASE STREAKS
Caden Headlee has the longest active on-base streak off any Panther this season thus far, reaching base in 24 consecutive games, which includes hits in 20 of those contests.

Last season Gabe Roessler had a team-best 28-game on-base streak. Other streaks of at least 25 games over the last 20 seasons include Trevor Schwecke (26 games) in 2019, Daulton Varsho (41) in 2017, Luke Meeteer (25) in 2016, Sam Koenig (26) and Mitch Ghelfi (25) in 2015, Ryan Solberg (37) in 2014, Doug Dekoning (25) in 2011, Cole Kraft (28) in 2009, Jesse Hart (28) and Nick Wichser (25) in 2008, and Rob Brockel (34), Kyle Silver (29), and Nick Wichser (28) in 2007, Mike Goetz has the longest streak in that span with a 57-game on-base streak in 2006.

HIGH WATER STRIKEOUT MARK
With his eight strikeouts against Wright State on Mar. 21, Gavin Theis set the mark for most strikeouts in a single outing this season over six innings of work. Logan Schulfer previously held the mark with seven strikeouts twice this season, Aric Ehmke also had eight against Purdue Fort Wayne on April 4.

In 2024, Adrian Montilva had 10 strikeouts against Purdue Fort Wayne, while Riley Frey had 10 against Wright State in 2023 and accomplished the number twice in 2022. Jack Mahoney was the last Panther pitcher to have more than 10 in a game with 11 against Oakland on May 1, 2021.

A PAIR OF FIVES
In the middle game of Milwaukee's road series at Youngstown State on Mar. 14 both Q Phillips and Gabe Roessler had five RBIs apiece in the lopsided 15-7 victory.

Last Four Occurrences
Mar. 14, 2025, at Youngstown State – Q Phillips (5) & Gabe Roessler (5)
Apr. 15, 2022, at Youngstown State – Nate DeYoung (7) & Connor Goodman (6)
Apr. 28, 2015, vs. Edgewood – Nick Unes (6) & Sam Koenig (5)
Apr. 12, 2006, at Chicago State – Ross McCoy (8) & Zak Rivera (5)

THREE STEALS IN A GAME
Gabe Roessler stole three bases in Saturday's series finale at Youngstown State on Mar. 15, he became the first Panther to swipe three bags in a game since he accomplished the same feat on May 5 last season against Purdue Fort Wayne. Milwaukee has now had 19 instances of a player stealing at least three bases in a game in program history, with the program record of four reached twice.

HIT BY PITCH
Six hit batters in a game by Milwaukee pitching was the program record for the Panthers entering play in 2025, last done on Feb. 22, 2008. This season the Panthers have hit seven batters twice in a game, during the nine-inning contest at Purdue on Mar. 18, before doing it again in the seven-inning affair two games later against Wright State on Mar. 21.

HOME COOKING
Over the last 20 seasons (2005-24), Milwaukee has taken the term 'home field advantage' to a new level, boasting winning seasons at home in all but two season (8-14 in 2022, 0-0 in 2020). The Panthers went unbeaten at home in 2013 (13-0), while the team has recorded back-to-back 12-7 marks in home games in both 2023 and 2024.

IN EXTRA INNINGS
This season, Milwaukee is 0-1 in extra-inning games, the Panthers hold a record of 16-17-1 in games needing extra frames dating back to the 2015 campaign.

TOP PROSPECT
D1Baseball announced its Top Prospects list for the 2025 season with Milwaukee right-handed pitcher Logan Schulfer named the third prospect on the list representing the Horizon League.

RETURNING TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Among Milwaukee's transfers into the program is pitcher Logan Schulfer, who began his career with the Panthers in 2022 before transferring to Ball State for two seasons (2023-24).

Schulfer is one of just four active players in Division I to return to a school where they had previously played at the Division I level. Outfielder/Pitcher Malachi Lott returned to Houston, infielder Tristan Moore returned to New Orleans, and infielder Chandler Riley returned to Charlotte.

NEWLY ANNOUNCED ON THE HORIZON
The Horizon League announced the addition of Northern Illinois as the 12th full-time member. The Huskies will bring 14 sports to the league, including baseball beginning in 2026-27. Milwaukee will play Northern Illinois at home during non-conference play this season on Apr. 29. The Panthers are 35-29 in all-time meetings with the Huskies, including last season's 6-5 win.

ANOTHER DRAFTEE
For the third consecutive season the Milwaukee baseball program had a player selected in the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft in June. Owen Rice was selected in the 20th round of the 2024 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, following the selections of Riley Frey in the 19th round of the 2023 draft by the Atlanta Braves, and the pick of AJ Blubaugh by the Houston Astros in the seventh round in 2023.

Milwaukee has had 26 all-time draftees with five of the last six draftees being pitchers. Five players are actively playing in either the Majors or Minor Leagues, including Milwaukee's first ever Major Leaguer in Daulton Varsho of the Toronto Blue Jays. Austin Schulfer signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies entering the 2025 season, while Blubaugh (Houston), Frey (Atlanta), and Rice (St. Louis) are with minor league teams in their respective organizations.

CHECK THAT DIAL
This season, Milwaukee has made the move to one of the leading audio providers in all of college sports with their audio streams now available online directly through the team's home website MKEPanthers.com, as well as on The Varsity Network. Fans can download 'Varsity Network' in the App Store on iOS devices and Google Play and search "Milwaukee" to find the live audio stream of Panther baseball games.