MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee heads to Evansville, Indiana for a weekend set against the host Evansville Purple Aces at Braun Stadium for a three-game series. This weekend will be the first meeting between the two sides since the 2017 baseball season.
 
First pitch on Friday is set for 3:00 p.m., Saturday's game will begin at 2:00 p.m., and Sunday's finale is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start.
 
Live stats of all three games will be available and found at the links on MKEPanthers.com. 
 
THE MATCHUPS & GAME LINKS
February 27-March 1 | Milwaukee at Evansville | Braun Stadium | Evansville, Ind.
Friday at 3:00 p.m. | Saturday at 2:00 p.m. | Sunday at 1:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Follow Along (on X)
 
LEADING OFF
» This past weekend, Milwaukee went 1-3 in Durham, N.C., taking on the Duke Blue Devils. The Panthers won the second game of Saturday's doubleheader by a 9-6 score.
» This weekend, the Panthers head back on the road for their next three games in Indiana, taking on Evansville for the first time since 2017.
» This past week in North Carolina, Dylan O'Connell led the Panthers with six hits including a pair of doubles and a home run for a .500 average. Ryan Lemm went 3-for-7 with a pair of RBIs, while John Hadley VI was tied with O'Connell with four RBIs, coming on a grand slam in the second game of the four-game series.
» Tyler Hrin put together an impressive first start with the Panthers as he pitched five innings and struck out six. Riley Peterson struck out seven batters in his start on Sunday, while Aiden Fishnick threw three scoreless innings in relief for Milwaukee.
» Evansville is 1-6 to start the season, winning its series finale against Kentucky on Friday before falling to Vanderbilt in non-conference play on Tuesday afternoon.
» Evansville native Aaron Nehls entered the week leading the team with four RBIs, while Drew McConnell of Missouri is second on the team with three. The Purple Aces are 6-for-6 as a team in stolen bases including a 3-for-3 start to the season for Reagan Reeder.
» On the mound, Milwaukee is expected to face Kenton Deverman and Max Hansmann, the duo have combined for 19 innings and 22 strikeouts.
» This will be the first meeting between the Panthers and Purple Aces since the 2017 season, when the two sides split a four-game series. Evansville is 8-4 all-time against the Panthers, with all 12 previous meetings coming in Southern Indiana.
» This will be just the second meeting against Evansville in the month of February, the only other time took place on Feb. 24, 2006, a 6-5 win for the Purple Aces in 10 innings.
 
QUICK LOOK AT EVANSVILLE
Evansville enters play this weekend with a 1-6 record but have played their last four against SEC opponents including a 1-2 record versus Kentucky over the weekend, and a midweek loss to Vanderbilt on Tuesday evening.

The Purple Aces play in the Missouri Valley Conference, where they only rank the top five in its preseason poll in the eight-team league. Last year, Evansville finished ninth out of 10 teams and were five games better than last-place Valparaiso.

Five Purple Aces were selected to the MVC Preseason Watch list including pitchers Kenton Deverman and Max Hansmann, in addition to infielder Reagan Reeder and outfielders Charlie Longmeier and Harrison Taubert.

EVANSVILE – PLAYERS TO WATCH
Spike Magill – C – .308 AVG, .834 OPS, 4 H, 1 RBI, .308 SLG%, .526 OB%
Aaron Nehls – DH – .263 AVG, .566 OPS, 5 H, 1 2B, 4 RBIs, .316 SLG%, .250 OB%
Drew McConnell – SS – .217 AVG, .669 OPS, 5 H, 3 2Bs, 3 RBIs, .348 SLG%, .321 OB%
Harrison Taubert – RF – .231 AVG, 1.104 OPS, 3 H, 2 HRs, 3 RBIs, .692 SLG%, .412 OB%

EVANSVILLE – PITCHERS TO WATCH
Owen Byberg – RHP – 0-0, 9 IP, 2.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 6 K, .219 B/AVG
Max Hansmann – RHP – 0-0, 11 IP, 2.45 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 12 K, .279 B/AVG
Kenton Deverman – LHP – 0-2, 8 IP, 9.00 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 10 K, .333 B/AVG
Tanner Graham – RHP – 0-0, 6.1 IP, 2.84 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 4 K, .240 B/AVG

UP NEXT
Milwaukee has a quick turnaround to play a pair of midweek games on Tuesday and Wednesday at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis before a three-game set at Southeast Missouri State from Mar. 6-8.

LAST MEETING
Having last met in 2017, the teams played a four-game set in Evansville from March 3-5. The Panthers took the opening game in 13 innings by a 7-5 score, before Milwaukee dropped both ends of a doubleheader on the 4th, 2-0 and 6-4, before salvaging the final game of the series by an 8-2 margin.

Milwaukee is 4-8 in games played against Evansville, with all 12 meetings taking place in Evansville, Indiana.

ON THESE DATES
February 27 – 3-7 Record; Streak: Lost 3; Last Win: 2-0 at Jackson State (2019)
February 28 – 4-6 Record; Streak: Lost 3; Last Win: 3-2 at Grand Canyon (2015)
March 1 – 3-09 Record; Streak: Lost 3: Last Win: 3-0 at Minnesota (2023)

ROTATION RECAP
This past weekend at Duke, Milwaukee had two pitchers make their first starts of the season including Mason Weckler in the series opener. Weckler tossed four innings and allowed six earned runs and struck out two on 65 pitches.

Aric Ehmke was touched up for eight earned runs on 11 hits with just one strikeout over three innings. Tyler Hrin followed with a six-strikeout performance over five innings of work while allowing just one earned run.

The Panthers wrapped up the weekend with Riley Peterson, who struck out a career-best seven batters over four innings. The four frames were tied for the second-most in his career in a single outing.

SOPHOMORE POWER
Against No. 1/2 LSU, sophomores Bradyn Horn and Cade Palkowski each hit home runs. For Horn it was the first of his career, while for Palkowski he matches his freshman-year total with one.

John Hadley VI got in on the action against Duke on Feb. 21, connecting on the first home run of his career in the form of a grand slam to give Milwaukee a 6-0 first-inning lead against the Blue Devils.

FRESHMEN FIRSTS
Two freshmen for Milwaukee had their first career hits for the Panthers during the opening weekend against No. 1/2 LSU. Ryan Lemm had a two-run single in game three of the series, while Max Glusick had a pair of singles off the bench in the series finale.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Before its first home game on March 20 against Wright State, Milwaukee will travel a total of 7,840 miles, beginning on Feb. 13 against LSU and continuing through its season-opening 20-game road stretch.

The Panthers will begin the year with its longest of the road trip, as Franklin Field to Alex Box Stadium is 997 miles. The team's second trip, to Duke covers 871 miles. The "closest" trip for the Panthers during the 20-game stretch will be on March 10, when Milwaukee visits Purdue.

BACK IN THE BLACK & GOLD
Seventeen players are back with Milwaukee this season, including position players Connor Bozak, Tristan Ellis, John Hadley VI, Bradyn Horn, Camden Kuhnke, Charlie Marion, Cade Palkowski, and Tate Schmidt.

The returning pitchers include Tyler Andrews, Tristan Arnold, Aric Ehmke, Aiden Fishnick, Matthew Mueller, Riley Peterson, Gavin Theis, Alex Vander Loop, and Mason Weckler.

THROUGH THE PORTAL
The Panthers added 10 transfers for the 2026 season including position players Christian Holmes (UIC), Dominic Kibler (Kent State), Dylan O'Connell (Western Kentucky), Grant Ross (Illinois), and Joey Spence (Texas A&M Texarkana).

Pitchers joining the program include Justin Breitenstein (Southern Indiana), Tyler Hrin (Howard College), Sotaro Ishida (Cochise), Cullen Riel (Mineral Area), and Lucas Watson (Regis [Colo.]).

NEW TO THE CREW
Milwaukee welcomes seven true freshmen to the roster for the 2026 season, this year's incoming freshman class includes position players Max Glusick, Connor Harvie, Turner Kuhnke, Ryan Lemm, and Peter Visconti II, along with pitchers Riley Golden, and Braden Theis.

ALL-LEAGUE RETURNERS
Milwaukee returns two players that earned Horizon League honors last season Graduate student Gavin Theis was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Year and earned All-League First Team honors, while Tate Schmidt was selected to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team.

THE THEIS IS RIGHT
Gavin Theis was dominant for Milwaukee during Horizon League play in 2025. He recorded 53 strikeouts over 61 innings of work with a perfect 7-0 record. In Horizon League games started by Theis, the Panthers were 9-1 and 14-4 overall in games he started.

HOME RUNS IN A SEASON
Last season, Milwaukee hit 56 home runs, the third most in a season by a Panther squad since joining Division I in 1990-91. The program record is 77 home runs, set in 1999, while the second-most in a season was 74 in 2001.

HOME COOKING
Over the last 21 seasons (2005-25), Milwaukee has taken "home field advantage" to another level, posting winning home records in all but two seasons (8-14 in 2022; 0-0 in 2020).

The Panthers went unbeaten at home in 2013 (13-0) and have posted three straight 12-7 home records in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

IN EXTRA INNINGS
In 2025, Milwaukee was 1-3 in extra-inning games and holds a 17-19-1 record in extra-inning contests dating back to the 2015.

PRESEASON POLL
The Horizon League preseason poll projected the Panthers to finish second with 18 points. Wright State was tabbed as preseason favorite with 24 points and four first-place votes. Northern Kentucky, Youngstown State, and Oakland round out the five-team league.

ON THE HORIZON
Northern Illinois will join the Horizon League on July 1, 2026, and become a full-time baseball member beginning with the 2027 season.

The addition of NIU replaces Purdue Fort Wayne, which announced it was discontinuing baseball and softball following the conclusion of the 2025 season. The Horizon League will be at five full-time baseball members in 2026 before returning to six in 2027.