Southeast Missouri (14-9) vs. Mississippi State (17-9)
Tuesday, March 25
6:30 p.m.
Starkville, Miss.
Dudy Noble Field
Head Coaches
Steve Bieser: 40-42, second season
John Cohen: sixth season
Radio: ESPN 1220 AM
Play-by-Play: Erik Sean
Audio Webcast: ESPN1220.com
Live Stats: HailState.com
Live Video: Hail State.com
Twitter Updates: @SEMObaseball, @GoSoutheast
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri
 
Taking it to the Dogs
Southeast Missouri baseball will head to Starkville, Miss. Tuesday for a game against nationally ranked Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 16 in the nation. Over the weekend, they took a series against No. 3 Vanderbilt in Southeastern Conference play. Alex Winkelman will be on the mound for the Redhawks in Southeast's first showdown with an SEC opponent this season. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. from Starkville and can be heard live on ESPN 1220 AM.
 
Let's Review
The Redhawks looked to stay perfect in Ohio Valley Conference play last weekend but Morehead State got the better of Southeast on the Redhawks' home turf. Game one against the Eagles proved a nail biter as the game went extra innings. The Eagles prevailed in the 11-inning game, 9-8. Morehead held the Redhawks to one run on three hits in game two. The red-hot Derek Gibson was shut down as his 14-game hitting and 17-game on base streaks were both brought to an end. The Redhawks were back to their old ways in the series finale, avoiding the sweep with a 7-1 win over the Eagles. This time, Morehead was held to only one run on three hits as Travis Hayes pitched a gem to start the game for Southeast.
 
Against the Bulldogs
Southeast Missouri and Mississippi State have met four times in the histories of the teams. The Bulldogs have taken all four contests from Southeast. In 2010, Southeast took the Bulldogs to 10 innings but fell, 10-7, on a walk-off three-run home run. The next day, Southeast lost a close, one-run game, 3-2. Both teams also met 14 years ago in 1997. Mississippi State got the better of Southeast as they won both games, 13-3, 10-4.
 
Against the SEC
Against current SEC opponents, including all-time against Missouri, Southeast is 21-53 all-time. Southeast Missouri has records against seven of the 14 SEC institutions. Mississippi State is the only SEC team the Redhawks do not have a win against. The Redhawks played one SEC opponent last season, Missouri, winning the game, 9-7, in Columbia. The Redhawks are slated to play at Missouri (April 29) and at Vanderbilt (May 13) yet this season.
 
Statistical Rankings
The Redhawks rank nationally in a number of statistical categories as of March 23. After falling to .306, the team batting average is ranked 20th in the nation. It was 13th the week prior. Scott Mitchell's .444 batting average is tied for eighth-best in the country. He is tied with Daniel Miles from Tennessee Tech. Southeast is also the 24th-highest scoring team in the nation with 161 runs scored this season. Defensively, the Redhawks have the fourth-most double plays turned in the country with 28. Seven of which came just last week.
 
What's on Tap?
After a short hiatus from OVC play Tuesday, the Redhawks will head to Martin, Tenn. for a three-game series with the UT Martin Skyhawks. The Skyhawks are 2-7 in OVC play this season; however, they did get a win against a very offensive Tennessee Tech team last weekend at home. As a team, UTM is hitting .201 on the season. Southeast Missouri returns home to close its annual home-and-home series with Arkansas State April 1.