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

SOMERS, Wis. (Mar. 24, 2016)-- After almost two months of non-conference competition, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside baseball team finally opens the lid on Great Lakes Valley Conference action this weekend, making the short trek south to Romeoville, Illinois to face arch-nemesis Lewis University in a four-game set beginning on Friday.
 
The Rangers and Flyers begin the series on Friday with a twinbill beginning at 12 p.m. and finish off the series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at noon. Live stats and video will be available for all four contests.
 
2015 Rewind: Last season the Rangers and Flyers split their four-game series. Visiting UW-Parkside prevailed 5-3 in game one of a twinbill on April 1 in Romeoville, Illinois with the hosts leveling the series with a 6-5 win in game two. The series resumed on April 14 in Somers, Wisconsin with the host Rangers earning a 2-1 victory before falling 6-1 in the nightcap.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (3-11) heads to suburban Chicago looking to snap an eight-game skid, returning from a tough Missouri road swing empty handed. During the tour of the Show Me State, the Rangers dropped a three-game set against William Jewell College to open things up, dropping 11-1, 6-3, and 4-3 decisions to the host Cardinals. The Rangers owned a 2-0 lead in game two before yielding six of the final seven runs before almost rallying for the win in the series finale.
 
On Monday Parkside faced 19th-ranked Missouri Southern State University, succumbing 16-3. On Tuesday the Rangers fell 13-2 to Rockhurst University, leveling the season series at two games apiece before closing the trip with a 12-1 setback on Wednesday to juggernaut Missouri Southern State.
 
Four Rangers are hitting above .300 on the young season led by Nick Janssen who sports a .389 average with five RBIs. Kyohei Makita sports a .372 average, scoring a team-high 10 runs while Jake Kolasinski is hitting .364 at the dish with a team-leading nine RBIs. Zach Thompson is hitting at a .356 clip while stealing a team-best six bases in 2016.
 
On the mound, Tyler Jandron leads the team in both earned run average (1.65) and strikeouts (22), being utilized primarily as a reliever. Nate Stolte sports a 3.92 ERA having tossed one complete game and notching 14 strikeouts. Stolte leads the team in innings pitched, having tossed 20 2/3 innings while Mario Samuel has toed the rubber for 19 1/3 innings with 17 strikeouts to his credit. Josh Serio ranks second on the team in punchouts, collecting 20 in five appearances.
 
About the Flyers: Lewis (10-5) heads into GLVC play and its home opener riding a six-game win streak. The Flyers' good fortunes began in Kirksville, Missouri on Mar. 11, downing host Truman State University 6-3 in game two of a doubleheader to salvage a split. Lewis swept the Bulldogs the following day, collecting 8-3 and 7-4 wins. The Flyers continued to rack up wins last weekend at the Midwest Regional Crossover, averaging 12.3 runs per games in victories over Great Midwest Athletic Conference foes Cedarville University (18-11), Kentucky Wesleyan College (8-2), and Alderson Broaddus University (11-0).
 
Neal Tyrell owns the best batting average on the squad, hitting at a .435 clip with 10 RBIs while Joe Sparacio and Kurt Becker own averages of .388 and .352, respectively. Ethan Bloom leads the team in both extra base hits (eight) and RBIs (21) while speedster Brandon Collins has nine stolen bases in 2016.
 
On the mound, Sam Couch owns a 2.35 earned run average in 15 1/3 innings of action, striking out 11 with three saves to his name. Dalton Hottle has logged a team-high 20 2/3 innings on the hill, striking out a team-best 14 while owning a 3-0 record.
 
Streaks: Jake Kolasinski opened the season with a base hit in eight consecutive games, including four multi-hit games. On the year, Kolasinski has tallied a hit in 11 of the 14 games played while reaching base safely in all but two contests in 2016. Zach Thompson currently owns the longest active hitting streak, recording a hit in five consecutive contests.
 
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. For 2016, Serio resigned with the defending champion Kingfish.
 
Coos Bay Connection: Head Coach Daniel Esposito spent four seasons as the head coach at Southwestern Oregon Community College in Coos Bay and his stint with the Lakers continues to pay dividends with three student-athletes and one assistant coach having spent time with the SWOCC baseball program. Montana natives Riley Phillips and Cody Rolshoven along with Tokyo native Kyohei Makita all spent time with SWOCC prior to donning the Green and White along with assistant coach Gonzalo Gonzalez Jr. who was a player under Esposito at both SWOCC and Pittsburg State University in Kansas.