MILWAUKEE – With back-to-back weekends at home in the rearview mirror, Milwaukee looks ahead to a trip to Michigan that will see the Panthers visit Oakland for a three-game series beginning on Friday before taking on Central Michigan on Monday afternoon.
 
The Oakland series will conclude the first half of Horizon League play for the Panthers, who are 3-6 heading to Rochester, Mich. Friday's game will begin at 2:00 p.m. (CT) first pitch, followed by a 1:00 p.m. (CT) start on Saturday and a 12:00 p.m. (CT) series finale on Sunday.
 
The wraparound weekend will conclude with a visit to Central Michigan on Monday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. (CT). It will mark the first meeting between the Panthers and Chippewas on the baseball diamond since a doubleheader on Mar. 18, 2009.
 
The weekend series will be broadcast on ESPN+ by Oakland, while Monday's game at Central Michigan will also be available via online streaming. Live stats of all four games will be available, with links for the broadcasts and live stats posted on MKEPanthers.com.

THE MATCHUPS & GAME LINKS
April 10-12 | Milwaukee at Oakland | Oakland Baseball Field | Rochester, Mich.
Friday at 2:00 p.m. (CT) | Saturday at 1:00 p.m. (CT) | Sunday at 12:00 p.m. (CT) | ESPN+ / Live Stats | Follow Along (on X)

April 13 | Milwaukee at Central Michigan | Theunissen Stadium | Mount Pleasant, Mich.
Monday at 2:00 p.m. (CT) | Video / Live Stats | Follow Along (on X)
 
LEADING OFF
» Milwaukee salvaged this weekend's series finale against Youngstown State on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Penguins by a 5-1 score behind the strong efforts of starting pitcher Riley Peterson.
» Peterson pitched a career-high seven innings and struck out nine batters for Milwaukee on Saturday, retiring the first 14 Pen-guins to begin his outing.
» Through a combination of three outings, Peterson had pitched 10 hitless innings.
» Milwaukee will play its fourth of four conference opponents this weekend, visiting the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in Michigan from Friday through Sunday.
» Oakland last played on March 29, salvaging a three-game series at Wright State. The team is scheduled to host Toledo before hosting Rochester Christian in advance of the three-game set with the Panthers.
» Milwaukee and Oakland split their six games a season ago with the home team winning each series, 2-1. The all-time series between the Panthers and Grizzlies is even at 33-33, while in-league action sees Oakland with a 33-31 advantage. The two other Panther wins have come in postseason play.
» Following the weekend against the Golden Grizzlies, Milwaukee heads to Central Michigan to take on the Chippewas.
» CMU took two out of three from Western Michigan at home and will visit the University of Michigan on Tuesday before a trip to Bowling Green this weekend. The wraparound will see the Chippewas host Milwaukee on Monday.
» Monday's meeting will be the first between Milwaukee and Central Michigan since the teams played a doubleheader on Mar. 19, 2009, a doubleheader win for CMU, 13-12 in the opener and 5-3 in game two.

QUICK LOOK AT OAKLAND
Picked last in the Horizon League Preseason Poll with 10 points, Oakland is currently third in the league standings with a 4-5 record having played every team once except for Milwaukee. The Golden Grizzlies have a pair of non-league wins this season under second-year head coach Brian Nelson.

As a team, Oakland is hitting .248 while opponents are hitting .329 against Golden Grizzly pitching. Leading the way on offense for Oakland has been Kyle Rever with 34 hits including a team-high four home runs. Ben Clark has a team-best eight doubles, while Aidan Schuck leads the team with 18 RBIs. Newcomer Tony Konopiots has also tallied double digits in RBIs with 14 this season.

Tanner Ware and Jordan Dahlof have made all seven starts through the season and are expected to make starts against Milwaukee this weekend. Ware has an 8.42 ERA over 25 2/3 innings with 17 strikeouts, while Dahlof has an 11.31 ERA with 11 strikeouts over 24 2/3 innings. As a staff, the Golden Grizzlies have an 8.52 ERA with a WHIP over two. Ben Green is also expected to start this weekend; he leads the team with a 3.91 ERA with 16 strikeouts over 23 innings of work.

OAKLAND – PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kyle Revere – .330 AVG, .880 OPS, 16 R, 34 H, 4 2B, 4 HR, 15 RBIs, .485 SLG%, .395 OB%
Ben Clark – .321 AVG, .871 OPS, 18 R, 26 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 8 RBIs, .333 SLG%, .417 OB%
Aidan Schuck – .250 AVG, .658 OPS, 12 R, 25 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 18 RBIs, .344 SLG%, .314 OB%

OAKLAND – PITCHERS TO WATCH
Tanner Ware – 1-4, 25 2/3 IP, 8.42 ERA, 2.57 WHIP, 17 K, .390 B/AVG
Ben Green – 1-1, 23 IP, 3.91 ERA, 1/57 WHIP, 16 K, .314 B/AVG
Jordan Dahlof – 0-5, 24 2/3 IP, 11.31 ERA, 2.35 WHIP, 11 K, .356 B/AVG

QUICK LOOK AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Tabbed seventh in the 12-team Mid-American Conference Preseason Poll, Central Michigan is currently in a three-way tie for eighth in the league alongside Akron and Eastern Michigan. Kent State and Toledo lead the league at 12-3 and 11-4 respectively.

The Chippewas are among the conference leaders in several statistical categories and enter play this week second in the league in home runs per game (1.33) and third in total home runs (36). In addition to the long ball, CMU plays small ball as well and are third in the MAC in sacrifice bunts (15). Central Michigan is third in the MAC at 2.15 stolen bases per game and are fourth in total swipes with 58.

Harrison Bowman leads the offense with 38 hits, nine doubles, and eight home runs and is second on the team with 30 RBIs. Cole Prout leads the CMU offense with 32 RBIs and is second on the team with seven home runs. Brady Krzciok and Zach Knowlton both have driven in 24 runs apiece in the middle of the CMU lineup.

As a staff, Central Michigan has a 7.29 ERA. Seven different pitchers have started games this year for the team, including Jake Brown, who made the teams last midweek game start against Michigan State on March 24. Central Michigan will visit Michigan on Tuesday before taking on Bowling Green in league play this weekend.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN – PLAYERS TO WATCH
Harrison Bowman – .325 AVG, 1.001 OPS, 30 R, 38 H, 9 2B, 8 HR, 30 RBIs, .607 SLG%, .394 OB%
Cole Prout – .267 AVG, 1.041 OPS, 22 R, 23 H, 5 2B, 7 HR, 32 RBIs, .570 SLG%, .471 OB%
Brady Krzciok – .280 AVG, .922 OPS, 26 R, 28 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 24 RBIs, .530 SLG%, .392 OB%

CENTRAL MICHIGAN – PITCHERS TO WATCH
Cameron Niehaus – 1-0, 18 IP, 4.00 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 16 K, .203 B/AVG
Liam Stumpf – 1-1, 12 IP, 6.75 ERA, 2.17 WHIP, 8 K, .250 B/AVG
Jared Hanson – 2-2, 20 IP, 9.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 7 K, .363 B/AVG

UP NEXT
After four games in Michigan, Milwaukee returns home for its next seven games beginning with a three-game weekend series against Northern Kentucky from April 17-19.

ON THESE DATES
April 10 – 8-7 Record; Streak: Lost 1; Last Win: 2023 vs. Carroll (12-3)
April 11 – 13-9 Record; Streak: Win 2; Last Win: 2025 vs. Oakland (5-0)
April 12 – 7-10 Record; Streak: Lost 3; Last Win: 2019 vs. Youngstown State (18-6)
April 13 – 10-12 Record; Streak: Won 6; Last Win: 2025 vs. Oakland (10-7)

CLEAN UP THE DEFENSE
Milwaukee has a .954 fielding percentage as a team and are ranked 282nd of 300 Division I baseball teams in 2026 entering play this week.

NO. 2 IS NUMBER ONE
Entering play this week, Milwaukee's #2 Dylan O'Connell is ranked tops in the Horizon League in several offensive categories including slugging percentage (.616), stolen bases (16), and stolen bases per game (0.59). O'Connell is also fifth in the Horizon League in batting average at .323.

GOING STREAKING
Milwaukee has three players on an on-base streak of at least 10 games entering play this week including a 19-game on-base streak by Dylan O'Connell, whose streak also includes a 10-game hitting streak. Grant Ross is currently on a 14-game on-base streaks heading into this weekend's series at Oakland.

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 just 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
Through 29 games, Dominic Kibler has drawn 24 walks, leading the Horizon League and ranking just outside the top-100 nationally.

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

Breakdown by class:
• Seniors: 7 (Marion 3, Spence 2, Ross 2)
• Juniors: 11; (O'Connell 6, Kibler 4, Holmes 1)
• Sophomores: 7; (Hadley VI 4, Horn 2, Palkowski 1)
• Freshmen: 1; (Glusick 1)

Milwaukee has hit two grand slam this season: Hadley VI, Feb. 21 at Duke; Kibler, Mar. 28 vs. Butler

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 10-12 – UNC Greensboro at Northern Kentucky
• 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.