May 9, 2001

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team is second in the nation in batting average and sixth in the nation in runs scored per game, according to statistics released today by the NCAA.

The stats include games played through Sunday.

UWM's .354 batting average entering the week leaves them behind only Bowling Green's .362 average in the list of the nation's leaders. The Panthers pounded out 24 more hits in a doubleheader sweep of Eastern Illinois yesterday, raising their season average to .357.

The Panthers (31-15, 13-3 MCC) are sixth in the nation in runs scored, averaging over 9.6 runs per game. Deleware State leads the nation in scoring, averaging almost 10.4 runs per game.

Individually, Darin Haugom stood seventh in the nation in hitting starting the week, while Scott Gillitzer was 38th and Eric Goerdt was 50th.

As a team, the Panthers are on pace to set new school records for wins, conference wins, runs, hits, and RBI.

UWM plays a doubleheader at Chicago State today, then closes out the regular season at home with a four-game series against Butler. The Panthers own a three-game lead on UIC in the MCC entering the final weekend of play, and UWM is looking for its first-ever, outright MCC title.