MILWAUKEE – After a four-game trip to Michigan, the Milwaukee baseball team returns home to Franklin Field for a seven-game homestand beginning with Northern Kentucky on Thursday afternoon.
 
Thursday's opener begins at 3:00 p.m., Friday's game starts at 2:00 p.m., while Saturday's finale will be set for 1:00 p.m.
 
The weekend series with be available on both ESPN+ as well as audio stream, with Scott Warras on the call for all the action. ESPN+ links as well as the simulcast audio streams, will be available on the Varsity Network App (App Store / Google Play), and at MKEPanthers.com/Watch. Links for live stats of all the games are also available at MKEPanthers.com.

THE MATCHUPS & GAME LINKS
April 16-18 | Northern Kentucky at Milwaukee | Franklin Field | Franklin, Wis.
Thursday at 3:00 p.m. | Friday at 2:00 p.m. | Saturday at 1:00 p.m. | ESPN+ / Audio Stream / Live Stats | Follow Along (on X)
 
LEADING OFF
» After a 3-1 trip to Michigan, with a 2-1 series win over Oakland and a non-conference victory over Central Michigan on Mon-day, Milwaukee returns home to Franklin Field for a seven-game homestand beginning with three games this weekend against Northern Kentucky.
» The series against the Norse will begin the second half of Horizon League play, as Milwaukee went 5-7 the first time through, including three road series. The second half of conference action will see series against Northern Kentucky, Wright State, and Oakland at home.
» The Panthers took 2-of-3 from the Norse in Highland Heights, Ky. to begin league play from March 13-15. Milwaukee took the opener 16-9, dropped the middle game 14-1, and bounced back with a dramatic 14-inning win by a 16-10 score to clinch the series.
» During the series in Kentucky, Milwaukee outslugged the host Norse with seven home runs to just one hit by NKU. John Hadley VI and Joey Spence both had two home runs, while Dylan O'Connell, Grant Ross, and Bradyn Horn all connected on home runs.
» Gavin Theis led Milwaukee's staff against the Norse with six strikeouts over nine innings. Camden Kuhnke had two relief outings and struck out four over 3 2/3 innings.
» Meanwhile, Northern Kentucky was led in the series by Marcus Harrison, who hit .500 on the series against Milwaukee with seven hits in 14 at bats and led the Norse with eight RBIs. As a team, NKU hit .333 and scored 33 runs.
» EJ Miramontes struck out six batters over seven innings of work to earn the win in the middle game of. The series. Gabe Stout struck out five batters, over 3 2/3 innings and held the Panthers to just one hit in his one outing.
» Northern Kentucky was on its Horizon League bye this past weekend and hosted UNC Greensboro at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex, the Norse took two of three from UNCG and defeated Ohio on Tuesday afternoon in non-conference play.
» Milwaukee is 34-27 in all-time meetings with Northern Kentucky, including a 6-4 record in their last 10 meetings. When playing at Franklin Field the Panthers are 8-8 against NKU, and are 17-10 in all home games versus the Norse.

QUICK LOOK AT NORTHERN KENTUCKY
At 6-6 through the first round of Horizon League play, Northern Kentucky sits in second place and are just ahead of both Oakland and Milwaukee, who are both at 5-7. The Norse were tabbed third in the Horizon League preseason poll, just behind Milwaukee.

Northern Kentucky has not won a Horizon League game since sweeping Youngstown State at home on Mar. 29, the Norse were swept at Wright State the following weekend and had a bye in the league slate this past weekend. Thus far, NKU has been swept by Wright State, dropped 2-of-3 from Milwaukee, took 2-of-3 at Oakland, and swept the Penguins of YSU.

Through games on Apr. 14, Northern Kentucky leads the Horizon League in walks (181), doubles (60), home runs (35), on-base percentage (.382), runs scored (248), and scoring (7.1 runs/game). Where the Norse struggle is on the mound, allowing the fourth-most hits allowed per nine innings at 11.13, ranked 263rd in the nation, as well as strikeout-to-walk ratio where they are fourth in the league at 1.16 (K/B), and strikeouts per nine innings (6.9), both in the 270s of 304 Division I teams.

The pitching staff also has the fourth-ranked WHIP in the Horizon League at 1.90 and are last in the league in walks allowed per nine innings at 6.01.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY – PLAYERS TO WATCH
Marcus Harrison – .319 AVG, .848 OPS, 37 H, 6 2B, 1 HR, 23 RBIs, .397 SLG%, .451 OB%
Jake Paulick – .310 AVG, 1.036 OPS, 36 H, 6 2B, 8 HR, 30 RBIs, .569 SLG%, .467 OB%
Pierce Bauerle – .298 AVG, .831 OPS, 33 R, 39 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 27 RBIs, .412 SLG%, .419 OB%

NORTHERN KENTUCKY – PITCHERS TO WATCH
Tennis Lange – 1-2, 23 IP, 7.83 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 21 K, .229 B/AVG
EJ Miramontes – 2-3, 42 IP, 6.21 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 37 K, .275 B/AVG
Ryan Gill – 1-1, 22 IP, 4.91 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 8 K, .262 B/AVG

UP NEXT
Milwaukee plays four home games next week beginning with non-conference St. Thomas on April 21, before welcoming Wright State to Franklin Field for a three-game series from April 24-26.

ON THESE DATES
April 16 – 10-11 Record; Streak: Lost 1; Last Win: 2021 vs. Illinois State (2-1)
April 17 – 15-12 Record; Streak: Won 5; Last Win: 2025 vs. Youngstown State (11-6)
April 18 – 14-8 Record; Streak: Lost 1; Last Win: 2023 vs. Illinois State (4-2)

SHUTOUT WIN
On Apr. 12, the Panthers recorded their first shutout win of the season with 12-0 seven-inning victory at Oakland. It was the team's first shutout win since their previous series finale at Oakland, when Milwaukee finished the regular season with an 11-0 victory over the Golden Grizzlies on May 17, 2025.

A RARE MONDAY
Monday's win at Central Michigan was the team's first game on a Monday since the 2023 season, when the Panthers defeated Division III Carroll on Apr. 10, at Franklin Field.

The Panthers played a neutral site matchup against Eastern Michigan in Winter Haven, Fla. in 2017 and won, 15-4. While the last time Milwaukee played a true road game on a Monday was on Mar. 4, 2013, splitting a doubleheader at Evansville with a 5-4 win in the opener before falling 7-3 in game two.

KIBLER SLAMS
With a grand slam in Monday's win over Central Michigan, Dominic Kibler now has two grand slams this season after hitting one against Butler on Mar. 28. He is the first Panther with multiple grand slams in a single season since Carson Hansen in 2024, when he had slams against Northern Kentucky at home on both Apr. 26, and in game two of a doubleheader on Apr. 27.

CLEAN UP THE DEFENSE
Milwaukee has a .052 fielding percentage as a team and are ranked 287th of 304 Division I baseball teams in 2026 entering play this week.

NO. 2 IS NUMBER ONE
Milwaukee's #2 Dylan O'Connell is ranked tops in the Horizon League in several offensive categories including slugging percentage (.625), stolen bases (21), and stolen bases per game (0.68). O'Connell is also fourth in the Horizon League in batting average at .323.

GOING STREAKING
Milwaukee has had four players with an on-base streak of at least 10 games this season including an active 18-game streak by Grant Ross and 10-game streak by Bradyn Horn.

Dylan O'Connell has the longest streak of the season at 22, while Dominic Kibler also had a 13-game on-base streak earlier this season.

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 (2023-25).

In 2026, Milwaukee is 2-4 in home games with 11 games remaining on the home slate.

EXTRA-BASE HITS
Milwaukee has recorded at least one extra-base hit in all but two games this season to lead all Horizon League programs. The exceptions were March 10 at Purdue and March 14 at Northern Kentucky.

Through games played on April 6, Oakland and Northern Kentucky have been held without an extra-base hit on three occasions, followed by Youngstown State and Wright State (four each).

BASE ON BALLS
Entering the week, Dominic Kibler has drawn 26 walks, and Grant Ross has drawn 25, and are among the Horizon League leaders. Last season, Tyler Bickers and Caden Headlee tied the single-season program record (46), previously set by Daulton Varsho in 2017.

COMEBACK WIN
Milwaukee erased an 8-0 first-inning deficit against Northern Kentucky on March 15, making it the second-largest comeback in the last 20 seasons (since 2007).

The largest came on April 15, 2015, when the Panthers trailed Chicago State 10-1 before outscoring the Cougars 14-1 the rest of the way, including an 11-run seventh inning, to win 15-11.

HIT BY A PITCHER
Sotaro Ishida recorded a double against Northern Kentucky on March 15, becoming the first pitcher to collect a hit in a game since Camden Kuhnke did so at Wright State on March 17, 2024.

SIX RBIs IN A GAME
On March 15, Dylan O'Connell recorded six RBIs against Northern Kentucky.

Last season, Tyler Bickers and Thomas Otto each had six-RBI games. The last seven-RBI performance came from Nate DeYoung in 2022. The program record is eight RBIs, achieved by Ross McCoy (2006) and Todd Ludwig (1999).

MULTI-HOME RUN GAME
Milwaukee had back-to-back weekends with a player recording a multi-home run game, Joey Spence (March 13 at Northern Kentucky) and Charlie Marion (March 22 at Wright State).

Spence became the 72nd player in program history to accomplish the feat, with Marion becoming the 73rd.

The last player with multiple multi-homer games in a season was Nate DeYoung in 2022.

LONGEST GAMES SINCE 2004 (BY INNING)
Since 2004, Milwaukee has played seven games of 13+ innings of play and is 5-2 in those contests:
• March 20, 2016 at Illinois State – Win, 4-1 (18 Innings)
• March 15, 2026 at Northern Kentucky – Win, 16-10 (14 Innings)
• May 22, 2010 vs. Youngstown State – Win, 8-7 (14 Innings)
• May 21, 2008 vs. Cleveland State – Win, 10-7 (14 Innings, Horizon League Tournament)
• March 3, 2017 at Evansville – Win, 7-5 (13 Innings)
• May 16, 2024 vs. Wright State – Loss, 4-2 (13 Innings)
• May 15, 2008 vs. Youngstown State – Loss, 5-4 (13 Innings, Miller Park)

POWER RACE
Milwaukee has slugged 31 home runs this season as a team, led by Dylan O'Connell with seven.

Breakdown by class:
• Seniors: 8 (Marion 4, Spence 2, Ross 2)
• Juniors: 13; (O'Connell 7, Kibler 5, Holmes 1)
• Sophomores: 8; (Hadley VI 4, Horn 3, Palkowski 1)
• Freshmen: 2; (Glusick 2)

Milwaukee has hit three grand slam this season: Hadley VI, Feb. 21 at Duke; Kibler, Mar. 28 vs. Butler; Kibler, Apr. 13 at Central Michigan.

FIRST DIVISION I HITS
Six Panthers have already recorded their first career hits at the Division I level, S
• Ryan Lemm, February 15 at LSU (Single)
• Max Glusick, February 15 at LSU (Single)
• Peter Visconti II, March 4 at Minnesota (Single)
• Connor Bozak, March 6 at Southeast Missouri (Single)
• Connor Harvie, March 10 at Purdue (Single)
• Sotaro Ishida, March 15 at Northern Kentucky (Double)

IN EXTRA INNINGS
Milwaukee is 1-0 in extra innings in 2026 (1-3 in 2025) and holds an 18-19-1 record in extra-inning games since 2015.

PRESEASON POLL
Milwaukee was picked second in the Horizon League preseason poll with 18 points. Wright State was selected first with 24 points and four first-place votes. Northern Kentucky, Youngstown State, and Oakland round out the league.

THE MAMMOTH VOID
Non-conference games added to offset the departure of Purdue Fort Wayne:
• April 17-19 – Indiana State at Wright State
• April 24-26 – Youngstown State at UIC
• May 1-3 – Milwaukee at UNLV
• May 8-10 – Oakland at Notre Dame
• May 14-16 – Northern Kentucky at USC Upstate

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.