Southeast Missouri (10-8, 3-0 OVC) vs. Morehead State (12-4, 3-0 OVC)
Series Information
Dates: Friday-Sunday, March 18-20, 2016
First Pitch: 3 p.m. / 2 p.m. / 1 p.m.
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Stadium: Capaha Field
Series: Southeast leads 43-35
Head Coaches: Steve Bieser (109-84, Fourth season); Mike McGuire (92-92, Fourth Season)
 
Media Information
Radio: SEMO ESPN 92.9 (Friday, Saturday), 1220 AM (Sunday) / Erik Sean, Jess Bolen | Listen Live
Live Video: n/a
Live Stats: Game One | Game Two | Game Three
Twitter Updates: @SEMObaseball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri | Morehead State
 
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: LHP Joey Lucchesi (3-1) vs. RHP Luke Humphreys (3-0)
Saturday: RHP Clay Chandler (2-0) vs. RHP Matt Anderson (4-0)
Sunday: LHP Robert Beltran (2-1) vs. LHP Aaron Leasher (2-0)
 
Leading Off
• Southeast Missouri (10-8, 3-0 OVC) returns to Capaha after a seven-game road swing to host Morehead State (12-4, 3-0 OVC) this weekend in a three-game series.
• The three-game series with Morehead State opens a four-game homestand for the Redhawks.
• Southeast has played 15 of its first 18 games on the road.
• Southeast finished its seven-game road series going 4-3. The road swing began with two losses at No. 13 Ole Miss but then turned around with a three-game sweep of Eastern Kentucky. It ended with a two-game split over in-state rival Missouri.
• Southeast leads the all-time series with MSU 43-35. Last season, the Redhawks took the regular season series on the road but fell to Morehead in the championship round of the OVC Tournament.
• The Redhawks' weekend starting pitching staff has combined for a 1.54 ERA, 95 strikeouts, and a 7-2 record in 12 combined starts.
• The Eagles starting pitchers are 9-0 in 10 starts, allowed just 18 earned runs in 64.1 innings, and are holding batters to a .198 batting average.
• Joey Lucchesi ranks tied for first in the nation in strikeouts with 42 this season.
 
Redhawks Rundown
Home to Host the Eagles
Southeast Missouri baseball (10-8, 3-0 OVC) returns home to Capaha Field for its second homestand this weekend to host Morehead State (12-4, 3-0 OVC). Both teams enter the series 3-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play and feature the top pitching staffs in the league. The series will begin Friday at 3 p.m. First pitch Saturday will be at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
 
Follow the Redhawks
This weekend's series will be broadcast live on SEMO ESPN. Friday and Saturday's games can be heard on 92.9 FM while the finale will be broadcast on 1220 AM. Erik Sean will provide play-by-play on the broadcast. Sean will be joined by Jess Bolen who will provide analysis. Fans can download the SEMO ESPN app to listen to live broadcasts of Redhawks baseball all season long. Live stats will be available on GoSoutheast.com. Live Twitter updates are available on the official Twitter page of the Redhawks, @SEMObaseball.
 
Let's Recap
The Redhawks split a midweek series with in-state foe Missouri this week to end their seven-game road slate. Jacob Lawrence dominated the Tigers by pitching eight innings in his start. Lawrence allowed only one run on six hits while striking out a new career-high 11 batters. Lawrence finished his stellar performance with 131 total pitches on the evening. The offense came alive in the game putting up 15 hits on Mizzou. Every hitter in the Redhawk lineup contributed at least one hit in the game, led by Hunter Leeper's three-hit game. Leeper also drove in three of Southeast's seven runs in the game. In game two, Southeast led 4-0 going to the bottom of the fifth inning but an eight-run bottom of the inning was too much for the Redhawks to overcome in the end. Southeast cut the sudden lead to 8-6 but five runs tacked on by Missouri in the eighth distanced the Redhawks too much, 13-6. Jake Busiek made his first start of the season and pitched four shutout innings. 
 
What's Ahead
The Redhawks welcome Harris-Stowe next Tuesday, Mar. 22, for the first home midweek game of the season. The Redhawks and Hornets will throw the first pitch at 5 p.m. Southeast will take to the road for a three-game OVC series at UT Martin. The Redhawks and Skyhawks will play a Thursday-Saturday series to accommodate Easter Sunday.
 
Series History
The Redhawks hold a 43-35 series lead on the Eagles all time. Last season, the Redhawks took the three-game series from Morehead State on the road. Morehead finished second to Southeast in the regular season with a 20-10 OVC record. The Redhawks and Eagles met again in the championship round of the OVC Tournament on May 23. Morehead State eliminated the Redhawks and won the postseason tournament with a 16-3 victory. In 2014, Southeast's only conference series loss came at the hands of the Eagles at Capaha. Steve Bieser is 4-6 against the Eagles as head coach of the Redhawks.
 
Scouting the Eagles
Morehead State enters the series with an OVC-best 12-4 record on the season. The Eagles opened conference play a week ago sweeping Tennessee Tech in three games. The three-game sweep of Tennessee Tech extended Morehead's winning streak to six games; however, the streak was snapped with a 12-inning 6-5 loss at Marshall on Tuesday. The Eagles are sporting the top offense in the league (.332 batting average) and the second-best pitching staff (3.48 ERA). Their fielding also ranks second in the OVC with a .973 team fielding percentage. Morehead's weekend starters are an undefeated 9-0 in 10 starts. They have held hitters to 18 earned runs in 64.1 combined innings. They are also holding opponents to a .198 batting average. They have fanned 84 hitters having only walked 27. Matt Anderson leads the trio with 41 strikeouts and a 1.48 ERA. Offensively, the Eagles lead the OVC in hits per game (12.75), runs per game (8.63), and average 38.44 at bats per game. Alex Stephens leads the team in batting average (.437), slugging (.732), on base percentage (.467), hits (31), RBI (21), and doubles (8). As a team, MSU has blasted 22 home runs this season.
 
Two of the Best
Including this season's perfect OVC start, the Redhawks and Eagles have combined for 87 conference wins and only 39 losses from 2014 to now; that's nearly a 70% winning percentage for the two squads. Head coaches Steve Bieser and Mike McGuire are both in their fourth seasons at their respective schools.
 
The Top Trio
The Redhawks' three weekend starting pitchers, Joey Lucchesi, Clay Chandler, and Robert Beltran, have been nearly unstoppable this season. The three each rank in the top five ERAs in the OVC, led by Lucchesi's 0.93 clip. The three have combined for a 1.54 ERA and have struck out 95 batters. Together, the three are 7-2 in their 12 starts on the mound.
 
Key Two-Out Hitting
The Redhawk offense has capitalized on two-out situations in its 18 games this season. In all, the Redhawks have scored 97 runs on the season, 83 of which were driven in. With two out, Southeast has recorded 36 runs batted in this season, 43% of the Redhawks' total RBI. The Redhawks have 55 two-out hits this season and hit .268 with two down in an inning.
 
Going Streaking
Trevor Ezell, Garrett Gandolfo, and Dan Holst have reached base safely in all 18 games. Extending back to last season, Ezell's on base streak is now 25.  Gandolfo is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak.
 
Doubling Down
Branden Boggetto cracked Southeast's career doubles list at EKU last weekend. Boggetto currently ranks tied for ninth with 50. Boggetto ranks second among all active NCAA DI players in the category. Boggetto nearly broke the single-season doubles record in 2015 with 23, which ranked sixth nationally a season ago. The career record is 68 (Zach Borowiak, 2000-03). 
 
Three Consecutive OVC Pitchers of the Week
The Redhawks have had an OVC Pitcher of the Week each of the first three weeks of the season. Clay Chandler has earned the honor twice (Feb. 22, Mar. 7) and Joey Lucchesi earned it once (Feb. 29). No team in the OVC has ever earned three-straight pitchers of the week to begin a season until now. On Feb. 29, Lucchesi earned Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week honors followed by Chandler earning the honor on Mar. 7.
 
The Fork in the Road
Southeast Missouri has entered OVC play at or below .500 in each of the last two seasons and gone on to win the regular season crown. Southeast began league play at Belmont in 2014 with a 6-6 record. Last year, Southeast was 4-6 going into league play against Eastern Kentucky. This season, the Redhawks began OVC play with a 6-7 overall record.
 
Now Appearing...
Senior right-handed pitcher Alex Siddle is on track to break Southeast's all-time appearances record. Siddle has appeared in 71 games in a Redhawk uniform. He currently ranks second on the list. Siddle's 71 appearances ranks 26th among active Division I players in pitching appearances. The Southeast record, held by Jason Swearingen (1995-98) is 76 appearances. Siddle has averaged 22 appearances each season of his three-year career.