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Baseball Opens Home Season Against UW-Platteville, Evansville
March 25, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS WEEK IN PANTHER BASEBALL The University of Northern Iowa baseball team will host UW-Platteville on Wednesday and Evansville in a three-game series starting Friday. It will be the first home games of the season for UNI, who has played its first 18 on the road. The Panthers have won their last six games, hitting .348 as a team during that stretch. UNI swept a doubleheader over Northwestern in its last outing, holding the Wildcats to just six hits and one unearned run in the two games. Freshman Cory Ege is leading UNI with a .355 average and is one of six Panthers hitting .300 or better. This Week's Schedule March 26 vs. UW-Platteville, Riverfront Stadium - 3 p.m. March 28 vs. Evansville, Riverfront Stadium - 3 p.m. March 29 vs. Evansville, Riverfront Stadium - 2 p.m. March 30 vs. Evansville, Riverfront Stadium 1 p.m. LEADING OFF... • After dropping four straight contests, the Panthers are on a six-game win streak. UNI is hitting .348 over that stretch, and the Panthers are averaging 9.2 runs per game over those six contests. The streak includes three consecutive games where UNI scored 12 or more runs. The six-game streak is the longest for the Panthers since opening the 2006 campaign with seven straight wins. •The Panthers are scheduled to play their first home contests of the season when they host UW-Platteville on Wednesday and Evansville over the weekend. The Panthers are 10-8 after playing their first 18 games away from Riverfront Stadium. • Nick Kirk and Guido Fonseca combined to allow just six hits and one run in 14 innings two sweep Northwestern in a doubleheader on Good Friday. Kirk pitched seven-innings of shutout baseball in the first game, allowing just two hits while striking out seven in seven innings. Fonseca allowed four hits and one unearned run while pitching all seven innings of the second contest. SCOUTING UW-PLATTEVILLE The Pioneers are 5-6 on the season after wrapping up a road trip through the South. The trip ended with a 7-5 loss to fellow Div. III foe, 10th-ranked Piedmont, Ga. Despite a losing record, UW-Platteville has had consistent batting from a pair of seniors. Outfielder Ross Bennett and infielder Jerod Haxton are batting .419 and .400, respectively. The Pioneers' pitching rotation is led by junior lefty Joe Lange who has recorded 11 strikeouts with an ERA of 1.45 in 18-plus innings. Eric Frese returns for his second year as head coach. Frese is a native of Norway, Iowa, where he helped lead his team to three state championships. SCOUTING EVANSVILLE The Purple Aces have struggled so far this season, losing 17 of their first 19 games. Evansville has an inexperienced team, with only one senior gracing the roster compared to 25 underclassmen. The Aces opened MVC play March 21-23, finishing 1-2 against Bradley. Evansville surrendered 28 runs in those three games. Evansville has a new look from a year ago, and 16 different Aces made their Valley debut against the Braves last weekend. Evansville's starting lineup features six true freshmen. The Aces rank eighth in the Valley with a .258 team batting average, and Evansville has an MVC-high 6.99 team ERA. Evansville's batting attack features junior Andy Smith and freshman Greg Wallace. Smith boasts a .404 batting average while Wallace bats .328 and has 10 RBIs. The Purple Ace's ace, junior John Foley, has struck out 21 batters with an ERA of 4.32 in 25 innings. Head coach David Seifert is in his second year. FUN IN THE SUN UNI had a successful trip on its annual spring break trip to Florida. While playing seven games in eight days, UNI finished 6-1 on the trip. UNI dropped its first game, 8-6 to Eastern Illinois, but came back to win six straight, the Panthers' longest win streak since winning seven straight to open the 2006 season. UNI hit .342 as a team during the trip and averaged 8.7 runs per game. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE UNI slugger Brett Featherston is leading the Missouri Valley Conference in walks, drawing 21 so far this season. Fellow senior Dane Embury has drawn 16 walks this season, ranking fourth in The Valley. GETTING IT DONE Pitcher Guido Fonseca is having a good start to his senior season. The right-handed hurler is 4-0 in five starts for UNI. His is the first Valley pitcher to earn four wins, and he is tied for the MVC lead with 34 strike outs on the season. Aside from his spotless 4-0 record, Fonseca doesn't have gaudy stats, holding a 5.20 ERA and giving up 31 hits in 27.2 innings, but he has found a way to hold on for wins. Fonseca led the Panthers with five wins last season A NICE RETURN After sitting out 12 games with an injury, junior center fielder Deric Manrique returned to the starting lineup against Central Connecticut State on Thursday. Playing as the designated hitter that game, he hit 3-of-4 with three runs scored, five RBIs, two doubles and a home run. He hit .500 on the week, going 5-of-10 from the plate with six RBIs. BREAKING OUT Chris Lopez had a break-out weekend at UALR, tallying seven hits, six of them for extra bases. Lopez hit six doubles in the series and two home runs, finishing the weekend with a 1.000 slugging percentage. WHAT A RELIEF The Panther bullpen has been solid for the Panthers this season, especially seniors Nick Lauver, Mike O'Leary, Joe Gonzalez and Tim Flattery. The foursome has combined to pitch 38.2 innings of relief, allowing just 10 earned runs for a combined 2.35 ERA. That group has held opponents to a .201 batting average. FAST START Brandon Douglas got his junior season off to a blistering start. The preseason All-Valley shortstop went 11-of-16 in the series against Centenary, including four doubles. Douglas collected three three-hit games in that series. OFF ON THE WRONG FOOT The first play of the season proved to be a costly one for the Panthers. Preseason All-MVC selection Deric Manrique was able to run out an infield single, but he turned his ankle in the process. Manrique sat out the remainder of the Centenary series and will likely be out of action this weekend. FILLING IN After the injury to Manrique, redshirt freshman Levi Ferguson moved into center field and the leadoff spot for UNI. In his first game as the leadoff man, Ferguson went 3-of-4 from the plate and scored three runs. He hit .375 in the opening series for UNI, and he collected a hit in each of the Panthers' four games. ROAD WARRIORS Once again, the Panthers' early schedule has them traveling. UNI will play its first 20 games away from Riverfront Stadium. UNI will play in four-game series at Centenary and Arkansas-Little Rock, along with a three-game tournament in the Metrodome and the annual nine-game spring trip to Bradenton, Fla. The Panthers will play its first home game on March 26 when they host UW-Platteville. PRESEASON HONORS UNI's Deric Manrique and Brandon Douglas were each tabbed to the preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference team. Manrique and Douglas were each named to the All-MVC first team last season. In 2007, Manrique led the Panthers with a .351 average, and he stole a league-high 30 bases. Douglas is a two-time All-Valley first-team selection. He led the Panthers with 19 doubles a year ago.
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