GAME TRACKER

Baseball

Bradley (16-29, 3-15) at

Northern Iowa (21-25, 5-14)

When: Today, 6:30 p.m.; Friday, 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m.

Where: Waterloo (Riverfront Stadium)

Radio/Internet: KQMG, 95.3 FM/www.unipanthers.com

Last time out: Bradley dropped two out of three to rival Illinois State last weekend, while UNI won three of four at home against North Dakota.

Series: UNI leads the all-time series 36-30, including wins in three of the four meetings last year. The Panthers eliminated the Braves at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament last May.

Probable pitching matchups (Bradley listed first): Today (Rob Scahill, 3-2, 4.00 ERA vs. Nick Kirk, 5-5, 3.90); Friday (Joe Bircher, 3-2, 3.49 ERA vs. Brian dela Torriente, 2-1, 6.61); Saturday (Collin Brennan, 0-4, 7.84 ERA vs. TBA).

Series notes: This marks the final weekend of the 103-year-old UNI program. The Panthers have won six of their last seven. … Senior pitcher Nick Kirk has 227 career strikeouts, ranking fourth on UNI's all-time list. … Travis Bennett (.337), Brett Douglas (.329) and Jeff Taliaferro (.324) lead the Panthers in hitting. Taliaferro is three doubles shy of tying Brandon Douglas' single-season record of 25. … BU, the only team in the Valley not to win a series this year, is 2-17 on the road. The Braves are last in the conference in hitting (.260) and ERA (5.61).

Quoting UNI coach Rick Heller: "You're talking about two teams that aren't going to be playing after this weekend, but I expect Bradley to come in fighting. They're not going to lay down. Honestly, with the chances of us having some pretty good crowds, players get up for that. It's going to be a battle.

"All of us feel some pressure. None of us want to finish the season or the last season at UNI on a sour note."

Around the Valley this weekend: Indiana State (15-4) at Missouri State (14-5); Creighton (14-6) at Wichita State (8-7); Southern Illinois (8-9) at Evansville (7-14).

- Compiled by Matt Coss, Courier Sports Writer