FAYETTE, Iowa - UIU baseball (5-4) takes on McKendree (Ill.) (3-7) in a nonconference four-game series this upcoming weekend. Game one is scheduled for noon on Friday, with a doubleheader on Saturday at 11 a.m. The two teams wrap up the weekend in Lebanon, Illinois, at Hypes Field on Sunday at noon.
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to attend the games this weekend can stay connected with a pair of live options available at UIUPeacocks.com/Live, featuring access to live stats and a pay-per-view webcast through GLVCSN. Fans can also refer to the links attached to this story for all live options.
In addition to GLVCSN.com, viewers can catch the Peacocks on the GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile app, as well as the GLVCSN app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.
LAST TIME OUT
The Peacocks split a Saturday doubleheader with Purdue Northwest (1-1) on Saturday. UIU fell, 16-2, in game one, but responded with a 5-2 win in game two.
Thane Meiners led UIU with two hits, a double and three walks. He reached in all but one of his plate appearances. JJ Vargas and Brock Zimmer also had two hits. Cael Luzum knocked a 2RBI triple in the sixth inning of game two.
Gabe Olson got the win in game two, throwing four scoreless innings while allowing two hits and four walks. He also threw two strikeouts in his first win of the season. Dylan Hesch entered in relief, allowing two hits, two walks and two runs while striking out two batters.
STATISTICAL SUMMARY
Meiners leads the Peacocks in batting average, slashing .333/.436/.455 with 11 hits, four doubles and six walks. Zimmer is slashing .313/.488/.500 with 10 hits and two home runs. Gabe Bombardier is batting .282 with three doubles, two home runs and a team-high 14 RBIs
Luzum is slashing .267/.488/.433 with three doubles, a triple and four RBIs. Hunter Jones is batting .381 in 21 at-bats with a home run. Vargas and Jared Hoodjer both have a home run this season.
Bombardier ranks fourth in the GLVC in total RBIs, while he and Zimmer are tied for sixth in home runs. Meiners is tied for fourth in total doubles.
Olson leads the team with a 0.82 ERA in 11 innings pitched while throwing a team-high 12 strikeouts. Hesch has a 5.00 ERA in nine innings pitched with eight strikeouts. Isaiah Maes has thrown eight strikeouts, and Brett Nicodemus has thrown six strikeouts.
Olson is currently tied for the GLVC lead in ERA with Drury's Coleman Morrison, each with 11 innings pitched. He is tied for 14th in total strikeouts in the GLVC and is sixth in opposing batting average.
AROUND THE GLVC
Rockhurst (Mo.) (7-0) is the lone unbeaten team in the GLVC after sweeping Bemidji State (Minn.) (0-8) in a four-game series this past weekend. Missouri S&T improved to 4-1 with a pair of wins over Missouri Valley (0-10). Quincy (Ill.) (8-4) swept a four-game series against Roosevelt (Ill.) (1-4) this past weekend.
Quincy's Isaiah Fudge was named the GLVC Player of the Week. He batted .625 with four walks for a .667 on-base percentage. He drove in 12 runs with two doubles and a homer.
Southwest Baptist's (Mo.) (3-6) Eli Stewart earned GLVC Pitcher of the Week after tossing six shutout innings against Kentucky Wesleyan (6-4). He gave up two hits and two walks with five strikeouts in the team's 17-0 win.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS
McKendree enters this weekend after going 1-3 in a four-game series against Findlay (Ohio) (4-4) in Lebanon this past weekend. The Bearcats picked up a 5-4 11-inning victory over then No. 11 Minnesota State (4-1) on Feb. 14.
Redshirt senior Noah Shuman leads the team with a .318 batting average, along with three doubles. Junior infielder Peyton Bittle has a .303 batting average with four doubles. Shuman and Bittle have both walked a team-high 10 times. Hunter Sherman is batting .300 with nine hits, three doubles, a homer and is tied for the team lead in RBIs with nine.
Graduate Gavin Arseneau leads the team in total hits with 11. He has a .282 batting average and has knocked in six RBIs. Max Meuli has nine hits and nine RBIs with two home runs.
On the mound, junior Trey Cole is the top pitcher for the Bearcats so far with a 5.17 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched. He's also tossed three strikeouts. Lefty Josh Dima has a 5.73 ERA in 11 innings pitched, throwing a team-high 22 strikeouts.
McKendree is led by Tum Gurnow, who became the head coach in 2023 after previously serving as an assistant coach. He has a 37-71 record entering this weekend as McKendree's head coach.
