Southeast Missouri (25-14) at Southern Illinois (9-31)
Tuesday, April 21, 2015 • 5 p.m. • Carbondale, Illionis
Head Coaches
Steve Bieser (88-67, Third Season)
Ken Henderson (Fourth Season)
Radio: SEMO ESPN 92.9 FM
Play-by-Play: Erik Sean, Jess Bolen
Audio Webcast: SEMOESPN.com
Live Video: SIUSalukis.com
Live Stats: SIUSalukis.com
Twitter Updates: @SEMObaseball, @GoSoutheast
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri
 
Southeast Missouri Probable Starting Pitcher
Tuesday – RHP Garret Stockton
 
Southern Illinois Probable Starting Pitcher
Tuesday – RHP Connor McFadden
 
Redhawk Rundown
 
Redhawks Look to Keep the Brooms Out
Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois will play the second game of their home-and-home series Tuesday evening in Carbondale, Illinois. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. Southeast won game one of the series last Tuesday at home, 7-4. Garret Stockton will again make the start against the Salukis. Tuesday's game can be heard on SEMO ESPN 92.9 FM.
 
Let's Review
The Redhawks were a perfect 4-0 at home last week and are currently riding a five-game winning streak. Southeast began the week with a 7-4 win over regional rival Southern Illinois. The Redhawks went on to sweep Ohio Valley Conference rival Jacksonville State in a three-game series. It is the first time that Southeast has ever swept the Gamecocks in three games. Branden Boggetto's bottom of the ninth walk-off home run lifted the Redhawks past JSU in game one, 5-4. Southeast swept a doubleheader with the Gamecocks on Saturday, 9-5, 6-3. As a team, Southeast blasted six home runs in the series, three of them coming from Boggetto.
 
On Pace to Repeat
The Redhawks are on pace to repeat as the Ohio Valley Conference Regular Season Champions. Southeast sits at 16-5 in league play with three OVC series left. A year ago, the Redhawks were 17-4 at the very same spot in the season. Southeast has won all seven OVC series this season with sweeps of UT Martin and Jacksonville State. Last year, Southeast had four OVC series sweeps but had a series loss to Morehead State early in the conference season. The Redhawks clinched the OVC title during the final league series of the season at Tennessee Tech. Second-place Morehead State sits three and a half games back at 11-7 while third-place Belmont is four games back at 10-7.
 
Digging the Long Ball
The Redhawks have won the last six games in which they have hit a home run. Southeast has hit two or more home runs in 11 games this season. The Redhawks rank second in the OVC in the category with 44; behind Belmont's 50. Nationally, Southeast ranks fifth. 16 of Southeast's 44 have been leadoff home runs. Branden Boggetto leads the team with eight this season, including three over the weekend.
 
Assisting From Afar
The Redhawks rank among the best in the nation in outfield assists. Southeast has 14 assists from the outfield this season. Trevor Ezell, who splits time between the outfield and the infield, has a team-high five while Dalton Hewitt has four.
 
Patience (at the Plate) is a Virtue
The Redhawks are the second most patient team at the plate in the nation as they rank second in base on balls with 223. That is first in the OVC. Trevor Ezell ranks seventh nationally in the category with 36 while Dalton Hewitt is 24th with 31. The Redhawks have three players in the top 5 in the OVC including Jason Blum (27).
 
Looking Ahead
Southeast Missouri will begin its last three OVC series on the road at Murray State this weekend. The Racers currently sit at 9-9 in seventh-place in the league. Southeast will take a few days off before returning to action at home against OVC rival Tennessee Tech, May 1-3. It will be the final games at Capaha Park of the season. There will be two free tailgates that weekend; one Friday, the second Saturday.