MILWAUKEE – In the midst of a five-game winning streak, the Milwaukee baseball team looks to stay hot with four home games to wrap up a seven-game homestand. The Panthers will host St. Thomas on Tuesday afternoon before welcoming Wright State to Franklin Field this weekend.
 
Tuesday's midweek matchup against the Tommies is slated to begin at 3:00 p.m. Friday's game against Wright State will also start at 3:00 p.m., followed by a 2:00 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and a 1:00 p.m. finale on Sunday.
 
Saturday's game will also serve as Senior Day, as the Panthers will recognize the nine members of their roster participating in their final collegiate seasons. Honored prior to the game will be Tristan Ellis, Connor Bozak, Grant Ross, Joey Spence, Aric Ehmke, Charlie Marion, Aiden Fishnick, Matthew Mueller, and Lucas Watson.
 
Tuesday's game will be available via audio stream only, while the weekend series with be available on ESPN+ as well the audio stream. Scott Warras will have the call for all the action. Links to the ESPN+ streams as well as the simulcast audio streams, available on the Varsity Network App (App Store / Google Play), and at MKEPanthers.com/Watch. Links for live stats of all the games can also be found at MKEPanthers.com.

THE MATCHUPS & GAME LINKS
April 21 | St. Thomas (Minn.) at Milwaukee | Franklin Field | Franklin, Wis.
Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. | Audio Stream / Live Stats | Follow Along (on X)

April 24-26 | Wright State at Milwaukee | Franklin Field | Franklin, Wis.
Friday at 3:00 p.m. | Saturday at 2:00 p.m. | Sunday at 1:00 p.m. | ESPN+ / Audio Stream / Live Stats | Follow Along (on X)
 
LEADING OFF
» Riding into the week on a five-game winning streak, Milwaukee looks to continue its hot play of late after sweeping Northern Kentucky this past weekend. The Panthers will host non-league St. Thomas on Tuesday afternoon before hosting Wright State for a three-game series from Friday through Sunday.
» Milwaukee went 4-0 this past week, with a win over Central Michigan and taking all three from the Norse behind a strong offensive effort. The Panthers hit .313 as a team and outscored opponents by a 44-24 margin including 19 extra-base hits to the 12 by opponents.
» As a staff, the Panthers posted a 5.35 ERA over 37 innings of work this past week, highlighted by Gavin Theis, Aiden Fishnick, Cullen Riel, Lucas Watson, and Aric Ehmke. By comparison, the pitching staffs for CMU and NKU had a combined 10.49 ERA.
» Dylan O'Connell went 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts for the Panthers over the past four games, including a five-stolen base game on Thursday against Northern Kentucky. Five stolen bases is a new Milwaukee record and tied the Horizon League mark that was last set by Matt Haas of Notre Dame back during the 1993 season.
» Milwaukee will welcome St. Thomas (Minn.) to Franklin Field for the first time in program history, the two teams met for the first time in 2025 at Koch Diamond, with the Tommies winnings twice last season, 10-7 and 11-3.
» After swapping series due to weather in the Milwaukee area earlier this season, the Panthers will host the Wright State Raiders at Franklin Field beginning on Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. MKE is looking to snap a five-game skid against the Raiders after being swept by WSU at Nischwitz Stadium earlier this season, and losing both ends of championship doubleheader to close the 2025 campaign.

QUICK LOOK AT ST. THOMAS
Coming off a weekend full of baseball, the Tommies played 21 innings and lost an 8-7 game to Northern Colorado on Friday afternoon. St. Thomas came back and won the opener of a doubleheader on Sunday, 11-3, before dropping the series to the Bears by a 6-5 score.

After a 29-21 record, which included two wins over Milwaukee, in 2025, the Tommies have already surpassed last season's loss total and enter the game on Tuesday with a 7-26 record. St. Thomas is 4-10 in Summit League games, placing them fifth in the six-team league. The Tommies were selected to finish in a tie for second in the preseason poll and have 13 games remaining in its conference schedule to bounce back.

Within the league, St. Thomas ranks atop the six-team conference in double plays turned with 28 and are also atop the league in doubles per game at 1.70 per contest. The Tommies have also recorded 59 stolen bases this season which leads the way entering play this week.

ST. THOMAS – PLAYERS TO WATCH
Owen Bond - .337 AVG, .925 OPS, 16 R, 35 H, 3 2B, 3 2B, 2 HR, 16 RBIs, .481 SLG%, .444 OB%
Tanner Recchio - .290 AVG, .778 OPS, 28 R, 38 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 16 RBIs, .382 SLG%, .396 OB%
Matthew Maulik - .278 AVG, .771 OPS, 15 R, 30 H, 9 2B, 4 HR, 23 RBIs, .472 SLG%, .299 OB%

ST. THOMAS – PITCHERS TO WATCH
Nolan Kemp – 1-0, 18 1/3 IP, 6.38 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 15 K, .271 B/AVG
Sam Stockman – 1-2, 21 IP, 6.86 ERA, 1.90 WHIP, 10 K, .305 B/AVG
AJ Rasmussen – 0-0, 17 IP, 8.47 ERA, 2.06 WHIP, 14 K, .311 B/AVG

QUICK LOOK AT WRIGHT STATE
Wright State once again finds itself at the top of the Horizon League standings midway through its conference schedule and opens the second half of conference play this weekend in Wisconsin. Wright State is just 26-34 in games played on the road against the Panthers, which includes a 5-7 record at Franklin Field.

The Raiders are 11-1 in league play and are 4 1/2 games ahead of the Panthers in the conference standings. The Raiders' lone loss came in a 10-inning defeat at home to Oakland on Mar. 29. Milwaukee, Northern Kentucky, and Youngstown State were all swept by Wright State thus far on the year.

Wright State tops the Horizon League in multiple categories including team batting average (.278), earned run average (5.43), fielding percentage (.982), hits (150), home runs (35), slugging percentage (.432), strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.45), strikeouts per nine innings (8.4), triples (16), and WHIP (1.54).

WRIGHT STATE – PLAYERS TO WATCH
Keegan Holmstrom - .402 AVG, .942 OPS, 15 R, 43 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 14 RBIs, .458 SLG%, .484 OB%
Hunter Warren - .351 AVG, .960 OPS, 28 R, 52 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 29 RBIs, .541 SLG%, .419 OB%
JP Peltier - .285 AVG, .922 OPS, 33 R, 41 H, 17 2B, 7 HR, 35 RBIs, .549 SLG%, .373 OB%

WRIGHT STATE – PITCHERS TO WATCH
Chet Lax – 6-0, 51 1/3 IP, 3.51 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 42 K, .231 B/AVG
Griffen Paige – 2-5, 49 2/3 IP, 5.44 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 51 K, .206 B/AVG
Cam Allen – 3-3, 39 2/3 IP, 6.13 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 33 K, .222 B/AVG

UP NEXT
With the conclusion of this weekend's play against Wright State, the Panthers head back on the road and will have a busy week of travel ahead with stops in three different states. Milwaukee will take on Northwestern on Tuesday afternoon on Apr. 28, before visiting Notre Dame on Apr. 29, the team will then head out to Las Vegas for a repeat visit to UNLV next weekend. The weekend was originally slated to be a matchup at Purdue Fort Wayne for the Panthers.

ON THESE DATES
April 21 – 15-12 Record; Streak: Won 4; Last Win: 2024 vs. Wright State (7-6)
April 24 – 15-15 Record; Streak: Won 1; Last Win: 2022 vs. Youngstown State (17-4)
April 25 – 11-10 Record: Streak: Won 1; Last Win: 2025 vs. Wright State (9-7)
April 26 – 17-11 Record: Streak: Lost 2; Last Win: 2023 vs. MSOE (6-0)

SENIOR DAY
Of the 18 senior days on record, Milwaukee has an 11-7 record, which includes a three-game skid on senior day games. Milwaukee has played Wright State three times for senior day and are 2-1 against the Raiders with wins in 2012 and 2014, and most recently a loss in 2022.

CELEBRATING THE SENIORS
Milwaukee is planning to recognize nine seniors as a part of Senior Day festivities prior to Saturday's matchup against Wright State. The seniors that will be recognized are infielder Tristan Ellis, infielder Connor Bozak, infielder Grant Ross, catcher/first baseman Joey Spence, pitcher Aric Ehmke, outfielder Charlie Marion, and pitchers Aiden Fishnick, Matthew Mueller, and Lucas Watson.

BATTER OF THE WEEK
For the second time this season, Dylan O'Connell was selected as the Horizon League Batter of the Week. He finished the week with 10 hits and scored 10 runs including the game-winner in extra innings on Thursday versus Northern Kentucky.

O'Connell was also 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts last week, which includes a 5-for-5 effort on Thursday against the Norse.

SWEEP OF THE NORSE
With its sweep of Northern Kentucky this past weekend, Milwaukee has now won 12 series against the Norse as Horizon League opponents. After finishing the sweep on Sunday, the Panthers now have swept the Norse four times in those 12 series wins. It was Milwaukee's first sweep of Northern Kentucky since the 2019 season.

The only active Horizon League team that Milwaukee has swept more than Northern Kentucky is Youngstown State, whom the Panthers have swept eight times in program history.

O'CONNELL ON THE RUN
With 29 stolen bases on the season, Dylan O'Connell has the second most stolen bases in a single season by a Milwaukee player. Luke Meeteer owns the record with 37 stolen bases during the 2015 season.

With four stolen bases against Oakland on Apr. 12, O'Connell tied the Milwaukee program record for steals in a game. He later stole five bases in Thursday's game against Northern Kentucky to set a new single-game record. His five stolen bases in a game are the second-most in all of Division I baseball this season, with Alex Laird of Bowling Green recording seven of Akron on Apr. 3.

TEAM STEALS
Milwaukee has 80 stolen bases on the season as a team, which is the fifth-most in the program's history. Next on the list is 87, currently fourth, while the program record is 103 stolen bases set during the 2016 season.

GLUSICK PUSHING FRESHMAN MARKS
With two home runs, 16 RBIs, and five stolen bases, freshman Max Glusick is pushing the top-five marks in the freshman record book. He needs one home run to create a four-way tie for third, six more RBIs to tie for fifth, and three more stolen bases to tie for fifth among all-time first-year Panthers.

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 .956 fielding percentage as a team and are ranked 280th of 304 Division I baseball teams in 2026 entering play this week.

GOING STREAKING
Milwaukee has had four players with an on-base streak of at least 10 games this season including an active 21-game streak by Grant Ross and 13-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 5-4 in home games with eight 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, Grant Ross has drawn a team-high 29 walks with Dominic Kibler close behind with 27as both are among the Horizon League leaders. Last season, Tyler Bickers and Caden Headlee tied the single-season program record for walks in a season (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.

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 35 home runs this season as a team, led by Dylan O'Connell with seven.

Breakdown by class:
• Seniors: 9 (Marion 4, Ross 3, Spence 2)
• Juniors: 15; (O'Connell 8, Kibler 5, Holmes 2)
• Sophomores: 9; (Hadley VI 5, 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…
• 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 2-0 in extra innings in 2026 (1-3 in 2025) and holds an 19-19-1 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 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.