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

SOMERS, Wis. (Apr. 17, 2015)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside baseball team resumes its homestand this weekend, hosting Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division rival University of Illinois Springfield in a four-game set before taking on non-conference and in-state rival Cardinal Stritch University on Tuesday.
 
The Rangers and Prairie Stars opened their series on Saturday with a noon doubleheader at Oberbruner Field and close out the series on Sunday with a twinbill getting underway at noon. UW-Parkside caps off its seven game homestand on Tuesday, facing the Wolves in a single game at 2 p.m.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (9-18, 8-16 GLVC) returned home after 14 games on the road on Tuesday, earning a doubleheader split with nemesis Lewis University.
 
UW-Parkside utilized RBI singles from Nick Janssen and DJ Peltz to seize a 2-0 lead after six innings of play in game one while the bullpen kept the Flyers at bay in the waning innings, emerging with the 2-1 victory.
 
Riley Phillips tallied the win for the Rangers, allowing no runs in 5 2/3 innings of action while John Perez collected his team-leading fourth save after retiring the final runner in the ninth inning. Sandwiched between Phillips and Perez was effective relief performances from Josh Serio, Joseph Plaud, and Mario Samuel.
 
In game two, the Rangers tallied a run in the first inning off a Ryan Ruediger single but the offense was anemic the rest of the way, falling 6-1 to Lewis to settle for a split.
 
Lewis tied the game in the top of the second with a run before piling on three scores in the third to secure the lead. The Flyers padded their advantage with single scores in both the fourth and seven innings.
 
The Rangers have been a formidable foe inside the Badger State, having won three of their last four games at home, including a doubleheader sweep on March 21 against Rockhurst University.
 
Jake Kolasinski continues to pace the Rangers at the plate, owning a .326 batting average with four home runs and 21 RBIs along with a slugging percentage of .517. Darius Hampton is hitting .312 on the season while Nick Janssen owns a .303 average. Troy Bittenbender has scored a team-best 23 runs and is one of just three position players to start all 27 games this season, joining Ryan Ruediger and Zach Thompson.
 
Josh Serio leads the pitching staff in earned run average (4.50), owning a 4-3 record on the mound with 47 strikeouts in 44 innings of labor. Tyler Jandron has a 4.91 ERA with 29 strikeouts with one complete game shutout while reliever Joseph Plaud owns 28 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings of action. John Perez has made eight relief appearances for the Rangers, collecting four saves and striking out nine.
 
About the Prairie Stars: Illinois Springfield (18-19, 12-12 GLVC) heads to Oberbruner Field riding a three-game win streak.
 
UIS avoided a series sweep against Lewis over the weekend after prevailing 7-3 in the final game of the weekend. In that game, the Prairie Stars pushed across two runs in the opening inning and never trailed, scoring in pairs in both the fifth and sixth innings to secure the win. The victory came after three agonizing setbacks to the Flyers, stumbling 5-2 in the opener and 5-4 in a marathon 11 inning game to close the day on April 11. Lewis nabbed the 5-3 win to open Sunday before Illinois Springfield stole the final game of the series.
 
Illinois Springfield continued its winning ways on Tuesday, claiming a pair of 4-2 road wins at the expense of travel partner McKendree University. The Prairie Stars used a three-run fifth inning in the opener to seize the lead while pulling away late in game two with two runs in the top of the ninth to secure the sweep.
 
Adam Warde is the Prairie Stars leading hitter, owning a .328 average at the plate, scoring a team-high 24 runs while belting 12 doubles. Aaron Kuper and John Schram both carry a .309 average while Michael Rothmund has a team-high 19 RBIs.
 
On the mound, Jose Marin sports a team-best 1.95 earned run average, striking out 38 in 27 2/3 innings of action while collecting two saves. Kyle Schildroth sports a 1.98 ERA with a 5-1 record while Max Bieddrzycki has a team-best 42 strikeouts.
 
About the Wolves: Cardinal Stritch (15-16, 10-11 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference) enters its weekend clash with CCAC rival Judson University having won two straight. The Wolves salvaged a doubleheader split on April 14 with a 2-0 victory over Purdue University-North Central after falling to the Panthers 6-2 in game one. Stritch continued its winning ways on Monday, claiming a 12-6 non-conference win over host Lakeland College.
 
Three Wolves are hitting above .300 on the year with Chad Mazur pacing the squad with a .345 average with 15 RBIs. Ben Merkes carries a .325 average while Devon Kornowski has eight extra base hits and a team-leading 21 RBIs.
 
On the mound, Luke Erickson is the ace, starting six games and going the distance in four of them. Erickson boasts a 1.27 earned run average and has a team-high 62 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings of action. Reliever Nick Lamers has a 2.00 ERA with 41 punchouts and two saves while Kevin Murphy has pitched a team-high 48 innings on the year with 29 strikeouts.