FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations

SOMERS, Wis. (Mar. 31, 2015)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside baseball team embarks on a tour of Illinois this week, facing a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division rivals sandwiched around a non-league contest against Saint Xavier University.
 
The Rangers begin the week on Wednesday with an April Fools' Day doubleheader against Lewis University at Brennan Field in Romeoville beginning at noon. The Rangers return to Chicagoland the following day for a single game against Saint Xavier before heading downstate to Lebanon for a four-game set against McKendree University. The Rangers and the Bearcats begin the series on Friday with a twinbill beginning at noon and resume on Saturday with another two game set beginning at noon.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (5-10, 4-8 GLVC) pummeled host Bellarmine University 7-1 to open the series on Sunday but it was tough sledding the rest of the way, suffering a pair of two run setbacks before getting blasted 18-4 to close the trip.
 
In the series opener, the Rangers piled on three runs in the fourth and two more in the seventh en route to the 7-1 victory. Southpaw Tyler Jandron tossed a gem for the second consecutive outing, striking out seven and allowing just one run in seven innings of work while Joseph Plaud finished off the game by retiring the final six batters in order.
 
Darius Hampton finished a perfect three-for-three at the plate while AJ Kaprelian and Nick Janssen each drove in three runs.
 
In game two, Bellarmine pounced early, scoring two runs in the second and tacking on an insurance run in the fourth to stake a 3-0 lead. Kaprelian got the Rangers on the board in the sixth, scoring on a passed ball but Parkside was unable to generate any more offense in the 3-1 setback.
 
On Monday, UW-Parkside tied the game at 3 in the bottom of the fifth courtesy DJ Peltz bases loaded walk but the host Knights pushed across a pair of scores on a two-run home run in the top of the seventh to steal the win. BU tallied eight runs in the second inning and plated six more in the eighth inning, securing an 18-4 blowout win in game two to close the series.
 
Four Rangers are hitting above .300 on the season with Nick Janssen leading the way with a .350 batting average. Ryan Ruediger has a .327 average with three doubles and four stolen bases while Zach Thompson boasts a .318 average in addition to touching home plate 10 times this season. Jake Kolasinski is the fourth member of the Green and White hitting above a .300 clip, owning a .306 average with 10 RBIs and four doubles. Troy Bittenbender has a team-best six extra base hits while DJ Peltz sits tied for the team lead with 10 RBIs.
 
On the mound, Nate Stolte owns a 1.80 earned run average in 10 innings of work, while Jandron has a 2.08 ERA with one shutout and 21 punchouts to his name. Reliever Joseph Plaud has a 3.50 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 18 innings of action while Josh Serio leads the squad in both innings pitched (24 2/3) and strikeouts (31).
 
About the Flyers: Lewis (8-12, 4-8 GLVC) split its weekend series against McKendree University to open up divisional play. The host Flyers began the series last Saturday, netting a 9-8 victory in 12 innings to begin the day before blanking the Bearcats 4-0 in game two. The two squads returned to the diamond on Monday with McKendree winning both by sizeable margins, prevailing 6-1 and 13-6.
 
Brandon Collins is the Flyers' leading hitter, owning a .395 batting average with 10 extra base hits and 12 RBIs. Kurt Becker sports a .333 average with 15 RBIs while Joe Sparacio and Austin Mastela have belted in 14 and 13 RBIs, respectively.
 
On the bump, Eann Cox has tossed two complete games, owning a 4-1 record with a 1.33 earned run average and 26 strikeouts. Reliever Brad Elmore has a 1.54 ERA in 11 2/3 innings pitched while Ryan Fox has tossed a team-high 29 2/3 innings.
 
About the Cougars: Saint Xavier (6-15, 4-9 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference) heads into Tuesday's twinbill against conference rival University of Saint Francis (Ill.) having dropped three straight and four of its last five games.
 
The Cougars were swept by Roosevelt University over the weekend, falling 1-0 and 15-9 on Saturday before closing the series on Monday with an 8-1 setback.
 
Ryan Pellack feeds the SXU offensive attack, owning a .425 batting average with six extra base hits. Bryan Polak owns a .333 average with 22 RBIs and eight extra base hits while Jim Augie has driven in 10 runs.
 
Reliever Kyle Sabie has a team-best 2.81 earned run average with 13 strikeouts while Dan Wetzel leads the Cougars in innings pitched, having tossed 31 2/3 innings on the season with 23 strikeouts. Tyler Hebel leads the team in strikeouts with 24 while also sporting a 4.15 ERA.
 
About the Bearcats: McKendree (5-15, 4-8 GLVC) faces the University of Illinois Springfield on Wednesday after salvaging a series split with Lewis University over the weekend.
 
The Bearcats dropped both games against Lewis to open the series on Saturday, stumbling 9-8 in extra innings and 4-0 before exacting revenge on Monday with 6-1 and 13-6 victories. McKendree pumped out 16 hits in the final game of the series, scoring five runs in the third and six more runs in the sixth inning.
 
Hypes Field in Lebanon has not been kind to the Bearcats this season with McKendree dropping all six contests played at the facility.
 
Adam Kunkel is McKendree's best hitter with at least 50 at-bats, owning a .359 average with 10 RBIs while scoring 11 runs. Kyle Rutledge is hitting at a .342 clip while Tyson Boehne is hitting exactly .300 on the year.
 
Sam Lidisky leads the Bearcats in earned run average (2.93), innings pitched (30 2/3) and complete games (two) while Austin Starkweather owns the top ERA out of the bullpen (3.38). John Tolliver has pitched one complete game and has fanned a team-leading 13 batters this season.