Southeast Missouri (15-9, 7-2 OVC) at SIUE (8-11, 8-1 OVC)
Friday-Sunday, March 27-29, 2015
Friday – 3 p.m.
Saturday – 1 p.m.
Sunday – 1 p.m.
Head Coaches
Steve Bieser (78-62, Third Season)
Tony Stoecklin (Third Season)
Radio:
SEMO ESPN 1220 AM
Play-by-Play: Erik Sean, Jess Bolen
Audio Webcast: SEMOESPN.com
Live Stats: SIUECougars.com
Twitter Updates: @SEMObaseball, @GoSoutheast
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri | SIUE 
 
Southeast Missouri Probable Starting Rotation
Friday – RHP Travis Hayes
Saturday – LHP Joey Lucchesi
Sunday – LHP Alex Winkelman
 
SIUE Probable Starting Rotation
Friday – RHP Ryan Daniels
Saturday – RHP PJ Schuster
Sunday – RHP Jarrett Bednar
 
Redhawk Rundown
 
A Key OVC Series
Southeast Missouri baseball will play their most important Ohio Valley Conference series of the season at SIUE this weekend. The Cougars are currently in second place in the OVC at 8-1 while Southeast is in third at 7-2. SIUE opened OVC play with sweeps of Jacksonville State and Murray State. Southeast looks to gain ground on the Cougars and move up in the league rankings while extending their six-game winning streak. The Redhawks are also 8-2 in their last ten games. Friday's game has been moved to a 3 p.m. start while Saturday and Sunday's games will both begin at 1 p.m. The series can be heard live on SEMO ESPN 1220 AM.
 
Let's Review
The Redhawks are currently riding a six-game winning streak heading into the weekend. Southeast added to their streak with a pair of midweek wins over Saint Louis and Arkansas State. The Redhawks earned their first series sweep of the season against the UT Martin Skyhawks over the weekend. The Redhawks pounded the Skyhawks for 34 runs in the series and only allowed six. Southeast won game one 16-2 and secured the series win with a 13-0 shutout Saturday. The Redhawks swept the series with a dramatic game three as Southeast won in walk-off fashion in 12 innings, 5-4. The sweep comes off the heels of the Redhawks defeating SEC foe Arkansas Wednesday, 12-11. Southeast split the two-game series with Arkansas after falling in walk-off fashion in game one, 5-4.
 
OVC Player of the Week
Junior Clayton Evans was named OVC Co-Player of the Week Monday. Evans drove in a total of seven runs last week and hit .500. He hit two home runs, one at Arkansas and another, a grand slam, against UT Martin. He drove in five runs in game one against the Skyhawks. He went 2-for-3 in the game. He went 2-for-3 in game two against the Razorback with three runs scored to go along with the home run. He slugged .938 on the week and had a .579 on base percentage with a trio of base on balls.
 
Make it a Half Dozen
The Redhawks are currently on a six-game winning streak. The streak is currently the sixth-longest in Division I baseball. Southeast has out-scored their opponents 65-23 during the span while they are hitting .100 points higher than the opposition (.324-.224). The Redhawks have stolen 10 bases and held opponents to only three. The Redhawks have also been fielding the ball well at a .984 average, committing only four errors as their opponents have committed 14 total. The defense has also turned six doubles plays. Southeast is still two wins short of matching an eight-game streak in 2014.
 
You Name It, He'll Play It
Junior Hunter Leeper has proved he can play anywhere he needs to. He has started games behind the plate (5), in left field (2), and in right field (1). He has also seen time at third base and most recently, added first base to the list. Leeper has also been known to play the middle infield in his career but hasn't seen game time at either second base or shortstop yet this season.
 
Patience (at the Plate) is a Virtue
The Redhawks are the third most patient team at the plate in the nation as they rank third in base on balls with 144. That is first in the OVC, 11 more than Jacksonville State. Trevor Ezell ranks sixth individually in the category with 26 while Dalton Hewitt is 20th with 21. The Redhawks have four players in the top 10 in the OVC including Jason Blum (16) and Branden Boggetto (14).
 
Scoring Outbreak
The Redhawks rank 10th nationally in scoring as they average 7.6 runs a game. They have scored 183 runs this season, ranking 17th. The Redhawks have blasted 24 home runs as a team this season, which is ninth in the nation. While the Redhawks may be hitting .291, their on base percentage is an eye-popping .409 as a team.
 
Rip Roarin' Rookie
Freshman Trevor Ezell has come to Southeast Missouri and made an immediate impact. He reached base in the first 20 games of the season for a 20-game on base streak. He has also started every game, either in left field (17 games) or at second base (7 games). Ezell has batted in the leadoff position (17 games) and the second spot in the order (7 games). Ezell has drawn a team-leading 26 walks and is sporting a .462 on base percentage. He also leads the Redhawks with 26 runs scored and six stolen bases. He has also tallied six assists from the outfield this season.
 
Looking Ahead
Southeast returns home for another four-game home stand beginning with Arkansas State on Tuesday. Southeast will look to sweep the home-and-home series with the Red Wolves for the first time since 2011. The Redhawks will then welcome Austin Peay to town Thursday through Saturday for a three-game OVC series.