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

SOMERS, Wis. (Apr. 13, 2015)-- After 14 straight games on the road, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside baseball team returns to the friendly confines of Oberbruner Field on Tuesday, beginning a seven-game homestand with a noon doubleheader against Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division nemesis Lewis University.
 
Last Meeting: The two clubs last clashed on April 1, splitting a doubleheader at Brennan Field in Romeoville, Illinois. UW-Parkside pounced on the Flyers in the opener, staking a 5-1 lead after four innings en route to the 5-3 win while succumbing to a walkoff hit in the bottom of the seventh in game two as Lewis rallied to the 6-5 win to level the series.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (8-17, 7-15) looks to rebound after dropping a four-game set over the weekend against defending national champion University of Southern Indiana.
 
The Rangers fell 13-4 and 13-0 to open the four-game set on Saturday before succumbing to the host Screaming Eagles by identical 6-1 scores on Sunday to cap off the series.
 
On Saturday, UW-Parkside was unable to contain a red-hot Eagle offense that tallied two four-run innings in the opener while enjoying a four-run and a seven-run inning in game two.
 
On Sunday, early deficits sabotaged the Rangers in both games as Southern Indiana completed the series sweep. Jake Kolasinski drove in both Ranger runs on Sunday, driving in Zach Thompson in the fourth inning off singles in both contests.
 
Kolasinski powers the Ranger offensive attack, leading the squad in batting average (.349), extra base hits (nine), home runs (four), RBIs (21), slugging percentage (.554), and on-base percentage (.404). Darius Hampton is hitting at a .319 clip while Nick Janssen is batting .296 with five doubles. Troy Bittenbender has been a menace on the basepaths, collecting 10 stolen bases while scoring a team-high 22 runs.
 
On the mound, Josh Serio sports a 4.53 earned run average with 47 strikeouts in 43 2/3 innings of action, sporting a 4-3 record while Tyler Jandron owns a 2-1 record on the bump with 29 punchouts in 33 innings of labor. The Ranger pitching staff has three saves on the season, with all three credited to closer John Perez who owns a 3.18 ERA in his seven appearances.
 
About the Flyers: Lewis (14-17, 9-13 GLVC) heads into the midweek clash having won four of its last five games, including a series victory over the University of Illinois Springfield last weekend.
 
The Flyers recent run of success started with a 7-1 non-conference win over Saint Xavier University on April 8, snapping a three game slide. Lewis continued its winning ways on Saturday, downing UIS 5-2 in the opener before claiming a 5-4 win an 11-inning marathon to close the day. The Flyers topped the Prairie Stars 5-3 in the opener on Sunday before Illinois Springfield avoided the clean sweep by prevailing 7-3 in the series finale.
 
Ethan Bloom leads Lewis with a .360 batting average with 16 RBIs while Mike Barajas is hitting at a .344 clip as eight Flyers with at least 50 at-bats have a batting average above .300. Austin Mastela has a team-high 16 extra base hits while Kurt Becker has driving in a team-high 25 runs.
 
Eann Cox is the Lewis pitching staff's top hurler, owning a 2.40 earned run average with three complete games to his name. Cox additionally has a team-high 35 strikeouts in 45 innings of action, owning a 5-2 record on the mound. Reliever Brad Elmore has 10 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings of action while Sam Couch has four saves on the season, sporting a 3.31 ERA with 14 strikeouts.