No. 1 Southeast Missouri (33-21, 22-8 OVC) vs. No. 6 Belmont (28-27, 15-14 OVC)
Thursday, May 21, 2015 • The Ballpark at Jackson • Jackson, Tennessee
Thursday: 7 p.m.
Head Coaches
Steve Bieser (96-71, Third Season)
Dave Jarvis (17^th Season)
Radio: SEMO ESPN 1220 AM
Play-by-Play: Erik Sean, Jess Bolen
Audio Webcast: SEMOESPN.com
Live Video: OVC Digital Network
Live Stats: OVCSports.com
Twitter Updates: @SEMObaseball, @OVCSports
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri

OVC Tournament Championship Central
 
Southeast Missouri Probable Starting Pitcher
Thursday – TBD
 
Belmont Probable Starting Pitcher
Thursday – TBD
 
Redhawk Rundown
 
It's Tourney Time
The top-seeded Southeast Missouri baseball team will begin Ohio Valley Conference Tournament play Thursday evening against No. 6 Belmont University. Game five of the tournament between the Redhawks and Bruins will begin at 7 p.m. from The Ballpark at Jackson in Jackson, Tennessee. The OVC Regular Season Champion Redhawks will carry the No. 1 seed into the tournament for the second-straight season. Southeast finished the regular season with an overall record of 33-21 and 22-8 in OVC play. The Redhawks won all but one OVC series on the season. Southeast clinched their second OVC title in as many years; their third overall. Southeast Missouri will be making its 21st-straight OVC Tournament appearance this year, a league record. Southeast won the Tournament in 1998 and 2002. The entire tournament can be seen for free on the OVC Digital Network and will air on SEMO ESPN 1220 AM.
 
Redhawks Against the Bruins in 2015
The Redhawks closed the regular season a week ago against Belmont. The Redhawks delivered the Bruins their first shutout of the season in game one of the series with a 12-0 victory. Joey Lucchesi pitched eight scoreless innings in the game and fanned seven batters in the game. The Bruins took game two, 11-5. Southeast bounced back in game three with a 13-7 victory.  
 
2015 OVC Pitcher of the Year
Southeast Missouri's Joey Lucchesi has been named the 2015 OVC Pitcher of the Year. Lucchesi led the OVC in earned run average (2.87 - 0.45 better than second place), strikeouts (87 total, 9.59/game) and opponent batting average (.194) in compiling a 7-1 record for the OVC Champion Redhawks. After starting the season in the bullpen, the junior transitioned into the starting rotation at the beginning of Conference play and helped Southeast Missouri to a 9-2 record in his 11 starts, including going undefeated over his final six starts of the year. Lucchesi had a season-high 13 strikeouts in back-to-back starts against Murray State and Tennessee Tech and added 11 strikeouts in seven innings of work against SIUE. The junior was a workhorse, ranking seventh in the OVC in innings pitched (81.2) as he went seven or more innings in eight of his 11 starts. He allowed two hits and zero runs in back-to-back starts against each UT Martin and SIUE and went eight innings without allowing run in his final regular season start at Belmont. Lucchesi also did a good job of keeping his opponents in check, as he allowed only 11 extra base hits on the season. Nationally he ranks 24th nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (6.17). Lucchesi is the seventh different Southeast Missouri pitcher to be named OVC Pitcher of the Year and second in a row (Travis Hayes, 2014).
 
All-OVC Selections
Joey Lucchesi, the 2015 OVC Pitcher of the Year, was the only Southeast Missouri player to appear on the First Team All-OVC squad. The Redhawks had four players on the Second All-OVC Team. First baseman Ryan Rippee (.306, 17 doubles, 12 home runs, 56 RBI), shortstop Branden Boggetto (.308, 68 hits, 45 runs, 21 doubles, 11 home runs, 52 RBI), designated hitter Garrett Gandolfo (.307, 51 hits, 8 home runs, 51 RBI), and utility player Andy Lennington (.333, 62 hits, 11 doubles, 7 home runs) all earned second team honors. Freshman Trevor Ezell (.318, 71 hits, 61 runs, 17 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 36 RBI, 11 SB) earned All-Freshman Team accolades.
 
OVC Tournament Tickets
Tickets to the 2015 OVC Tournament in Jackson, Tennessee are one sale now. The tournament, which runs May 20-24, is held at The Ballpark at Jackson, home of the Jackson Generals. Single day tickets as well as tournament passes are available on the Generals' website. The Southeast Missouri Student Activities Council is sponsoring free Southeast Missouri student tickets. Southeast students must present a student ID at the gate for free tickets.
 
Tourney Tailgating
The Southeast Missouri Department of Athletics will host free tailgates for fans before each Redhawks game in the tournament. Redhawk tailgating will begin two hours before each game Southeast plays in. The tailgate tent will be set up outside the front gate of The Ballpark at Jackson.
 
NCBWA Poll
Southeast Missouri baseball was listed on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 30 Poll as having received votes on May 18.
 
Capital One Academic All-District®
Senior baseball student-athletes Jason Blum and Dalton Hewitt were named to the District Six Capital One Academic All-District® Baseball team. This is Blum's third time being selected to an All-District team and Hewitt's second time. Blum earned Third Team Capital One Academic All-America® honors in 2014. Student-athletes named All-District are automatically nominated for Academic All-American status.
 
Pitchers of the Week, Again and Again
Southeast Missouri has had six adidas® Ohio Valley Conference Pitchers of the Week. Joey Lucchesi earned the award three times on the season while Travis Hayes, Jacob Lawrence, and Alex Winkelman each earned it once. Southeast won the award three weeks in a row, Mar. 30-Apr. 13, and won it six of the last eight week. This is the most Pitchers of the Week Southeast has had since 2001. Todd Pennington, the 2001 OVC Pitcher of the Year, earned the weekly award five times that season.
 
Chasing 100
Head coach Steve Bieser currently has 96 wins in his three-year career at Southeast Missouri. He needs just four more wins to reach the 100 mark. If Bieser reaches the milestone in 2015, the Redhawks will also tie a program record of 37 wins in a season. Southeast tied the record last season.
 
Against the SEC in 2015
Southeast Missouri went 2-1 against Southeastern Conference opponents this season after splitting a two-game set with Arkansas and defeating nationally ranked No. 21 Missouri. Southeast played its SEC opponents close, narrowly outscoring them 23-20 and outhit them, .300 to .295.
 
Run, Redhawks, Run
Southeast Missouri ranks sixth in the nation in runs scored (433) and fourth in scoring (8.0 runs a game). Southeast has outscored its opponents 433-295 on the season and has scored 10 or more runs in 20 games this season. Southeast also has a +2.6 scoring margin on their opponents, which ranks 19th in the country. Individually, Trevor Ezell is the sixth-highest run scorer in the country with 61. Jason Blum has taken the top spot in active career runs scored with 190 in all NCAA.
 
Digging the Long Ball
Southeast has hit two or more home runs in 17 games this season. The Redhawks rank second in the OVC in the category with 63 behind Belmont (69). Nationally, Southeast ranks fifth in home runs and eighth in home runs per game with 1.17. 20 of Southeast's 63 have been leadoff home runs. Ryan Rippee leads the team with 12 this season.
 
Assisting from Afar
With 15 outfield assists on the season, Southeast Missouri is one of the leaders in the nation in the category.
 
Johnny Bench Award Watch List
Southeast Missouri junior catcher Scott Mitchell has been named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List. Mitchell is a native of Dublin, California. The award, presented by BaseballSavings.com and administered by the Greater Wichita (Kan.) Area Sports Commission, will be presented on June 25 in Wichita. Semifinalists will be announced May 14, and finalists will be announced on June 2.
 
Road Warriors
Southeast has spent a considerable amount of time on the road this season due to moving home three home series to neutral locations early in the season. So far, the Redhawks have bussed approximately 8,061 miles.