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

SOMERS, Wis. (Mar. 11, 2016)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside baseball squad is back in action this weekend, facing Judson University on Saturday in a single game before battling nationally-ranked Minnesota State University-Mankato in a neutral sit doubleheader clash on Tuesday.
 
The Rangers and Eagles square off in Elgin, Illinois on Saturday with first pitch slated for 12 p.m. UW-Parkside returns to the diamond on Tuesday, traveling north to the artificial turf fields at the Woodside Sports Complex in Mauston, Wisconsin for a two-game set against the 22nd-ranked Mavericks. First pitch on Tuesday is slated for 1 p.m.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (3-4) won its non-conference series last weekend against Rockhurst University, stealing two of the three games in Jacksonville, Illinois. The bats came alive in the series opener, pounding out 13 hits in a 9-1 victory before netting a 3-2 walkoff win in the nightcap. The series concluded on Sunday with the Hawks stealing a 2-1 win to avoid the sweep.
 
In the opener, Rockhurst tallied the opening run but it was all Rangers after that, as UW-Parkside piled on four runs in the fourth inning and added runs in each of the next four innings for the win. Josh Serio was dialed in on the mound, allowing just three hits and striking out 10 in eight innings of action before turning things over to Connor Cunningham who fanned a pair of Hawks in the final frame.
 
In game two, Jake Kolasinski emerged as the hero, belting a walkoff single in the bottom of the seventh to give the Rangers the win. RU surged out to an early 2-0 lead before the Rangers tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, scratching across a pair of scores.
 
Southpaw Tyler Jandron tallied the win, striking out all three batters he faced in the seventh inning while Kyohei Makita led the team at the plate during the doubleheader, netting five hits over the two games.
 
In the series finale on Sunday, Rockhurst pushed across the game's opening two runs and did just enough to hang on for the 2-1 win.
 
Jake Kolasinski is the Rangers' top hitter, boasting a .476 batting average with seven RBIs. Makita is hitting at a .435 clip while Troy Bittenbender and Bobby Neylon sport .391 and .385 averages at the plate.
 
On the mound, Jandron owns a 2.08 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings of work, limiting opposing hitters to batting a paltry .188. Nate Stolte has nine punchouts and one complete game to his name, logging a team-high 12 1/3 innings on the bump.
 
About the Eagles: NAIA member Judson (9-13) won seven of its first 11 games this season but has since dropped nine of the last 11, including its last four appearances on the diamond.
 
Three of the four losses came at the hands of the NAIA's 19th-ranked team in Campbellsville University, falling 4-1, 2-1, and 4-2 to the Tigers while also suffering setbacks in two of the three games against seventh-ranked Lindsey Wilson College.
 
Luke Rojas powers the Eagle offense with a .388 batting average with nine extra base hits and 11 RBIs. Ron Sessler leads the team in doubles (eight), home runs (four), and RBIs (13) in addition to owning a .354 average at the plate.
 
On the mound, Angel Sanchez has been the workhorse, pitching 31 innings and issuing 22 strikeouts with a 2.32 earned run average.
 
About the Mavericks: 22nd-ranked Minnesota State-Mankato (8-5) heads to Wisconsin having splitting 10 games down in the Grapefruit State. The Mavericks closed its Florida trip by winning three of its last four, downing Walsh University 5-3 on Tuesday before falling 3-2 to West Chester University later in the day. Minnesota State pounded Ashland University 14-5 on Wednesday before crushing Grand Valley State University 12-2 on Thursday.
 
Five Mavericks are hitting above .500, including Eric Peterson who owns a .378 average while scoring a team-leading 17 runs. Jordan Hart boasts a .350 average with Taylor Branstad hitting at a .340 clip with 15 RBIs.
 
Dalton Roach has pitched a team-high 18 innings this season, logging 20 strikeouts and owning a 4.50 earned run average. Brody Rodning has retired 22 batters by strikeout while Mitchell Bauer and Aaron Rozek are both 2-0 on the mound in 2016.
 
Sunday Training Camp: The final Sunday session of the UW-Parkside Training Camp series will be moved to Oberbruner Field from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to accommodate the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament being played inside the Sports & Activity Center.
 
On Wisconsin: Tuesday's scheduled neutral site showdown in Mauston, Wisconsin with be the earliest the Rangers have played on home Wisconsin soil since hosting former Great Lakes Valley Conference rival Kentucky Wesleyan College on March 17, 2007.
 
Streaks: Jake Kolasinski has recorded a base hit in all seven games this season, including three multi-hit games. Extended back to the end of last season, the righthanded junior has tallied nine straight contests with a base knock. Other active hit streaks include Juan Bowers and Bobby Neylon who have both logged hits in four consecutive outings.
 
GLVC Reshuffle: 2016 will have a slightly different look to GLVC play with interdivisional games eliminated from the league calendar. Teams will now play seven four-game sets against the rest of their division with the top four teams from each division meeting for the GLVC Tournament from May 12th to 15th in Westview, Indiana. 
 
Out of the (North)Woods: Last summer four Rangers appeared in the Northwoods League, one of the top collegiate summer leagues in the nation. Josh Serio was a league All-Star playing for the eventual champion Kenosha Kingfish while fellow pitcher Mario Samuel also spent time with the local squad. Tyler Jandron spent some time with the Wausau-based Wisconsin Woodchucks with Jake Kolasinski opening the season with the Lakeshore Chinooks based out of Mequon, Wisconsin.