Southeast Missouri (27-10, 16-2 OVC) at Jacksonville State (25-11, 13-2 OVC)
Series Information
Dates: Friday-Sunday, Apr. 22-24
First Pitch: 6 p.m. / 1 p.m. / 1 p.m.
Location: Jacksonville, Ala.
Stadium: Rudy Abbott Field
Series: Southeast trails 20-23
Head Coaches: Steve Bieser (126-86, Fourth Season); Jim Case (476-389, 15th Season)
 
Media Information
Radio: SEMO ESPN 92.9 FM, 1220 AM / Erik Sean | Listen Live
Live Video: OVC Digital Network
Live Stats: Game One | Game Two | Game Three
Twitter Updates: @SEMObaseball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri
 
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: LHP Joey Lucchesi (7-2) vs. RHP Graham Officer (6-1)
Saturday: RHP Clay Chandler (4-1) vs. LHP Jack Pierce (3-1)
Sunday: LHP Robert Beltran (5-1) vs. Garrett Farmer (2-2)
 
Leading Off
• First-place Southeast Missouri (27-10, 16-2 OVC) travels to second-place Jacksonville State (25-11, 13-2 OVC) this weekend for a key conference showdown.
• Southeast Missouri extended its winning streak to six games with a win over Saint Louis on Tuesday.
• Southeast trails Jacksonville State in the all-time series, 20-23, but defeated the Gamecocks in all four games last season.
• Southeast Missouri State announced a $1.84 million improvement project to Capaha Field.
• LHP Joey Lucchesi was added to the Golden Spikes Award and Diamond National Pitcher of the Year watch lists on Wednesday.
• Shortstop Branden Boggetto was added to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list on Thursday.
• Garrett Gandolfo earned adidas OVC Player of the Week honors for his efforts last week hitting .474 with 13 RBI.
• The Redhawks rank second nationally in drawing walks; they have 222.
• Four OVC teams currently rank in the top 10 nationally in hits.
• With 18 regular-season games, Southeast is 10 wins away from tying the program record of 37 in a season (2000, 2002, 2014).
• The Redhawks are 13-1 at Capaha Field this season; 9-0 in home OVC games.
• Alex Siddle tied Southeast's all-time appearance record this weekend.
• Garrett Gandolfo extended his hitting streak to 17 games at Saint Louis on Tuesday.
 
Redhawks Rundown
Battle of the OVC Leaders
Ohio Valley Conference front-runner Southeast Missouri  (27-10, 16-2 OVC) will travel to second-place Jacksonville State (25-11, 13-2 OVC) this weekend for a three-game series. The series is set to begin Friday under the lights of Rudy Abbott Field at 6 p.m. from Jacksonville, Alabama.
 
Follow the Redhawks
This weekend's series will be broadcast on SEMO ESPN. Friday and Saturday's games will be aired on 92.9 FM while the finale will be on 1220 AM. Erik Sean will provide play-by-play on the broadcast. Fans can download the SEMO ESPN app to listen to live broadcasts of Redhawks baseball all season long. Friday and Saturday's games will also be streamed for free on the OVC Digital Network.Live stats will be available on JSUGamecockSports.com. Live Twitter updates are available on the official Twitter page of Southeast Missouri baseball, @SEMObaseball.
 
Let's Recap
Southeast Missouri extended its winning streak to six games with a 10-3 road victory over Saint Louis University on Tuesday in St. Louis. Tuesday's contest remained close until a five-run ninth broke the game wide open for Southeast. The Redhawks went 4-0 last week with wins over Arkansas State and a sweep of OVC opponent Eastern Illinois. The Redhawks completed the sweep of Arkansas State on Tuesday, the first sweep of the home-and-home series since 2011, with a 13-8 victory. The Redhawks returned home for a three-game set with Eastern Illinois over the weekend. Southeast won game one of the series 15-1 over the Panthers behind Garrett Gandolfo's five-hit, seven-RBI performance. Eastern Illinois led the Redhawks 11-9 going to the bottom of the ninth inning but Chris Osborne once again played hero with a three-run walk-off home run to lift Southeast to a 12-11 victory and a series win. The Redhawk bats were hot again in game three, completing the sweep with a 20-7 win. Southeast has now swept five OVC series this season.
 
What's Ahead
Following the series at Jacksonville State, the Redhawks will return home for a six-game homestand, their longest of the season so far. Regional rival Southern Illinois will come to Capaha to open the stretch on Tuesday, Apr. 26. The Redhawks will look to avenge a 6-5 loss on Mar. 2 in Carbondale, Illinois. Harris-Stowe is slated to come back to Cape on Wednesday. The Murray State Racers will then trek to Cape for a three-game OVC series next weekend.

Capaha Field Improvements Announced
Southeast Missouri State University and the City of Cape Girardeau have mutually agreed to complete upgrades to Capaha Field, the home of Redhawk Baseball. The total budget for the project set forth by the City and University, including design and construction, is $1.84 million and will be split 50/50 between the parties. Renovations include the installation of infield and outfield artificial turf, new fencing, upgraded scoreboard and dugout expansion. Those things will be completed before the 2017 season. Other plans include an indoor hitting and storage facility that will be fully funded by the University. Completion of the indoor facility is undetermined at this time.
 
Scouting the Jacksonville State Gamecocks
Jacksonville State enters this weekend's series in second place behind Southeast with a 13-2 OVC record. JSU has won every conference series this season but has lost a game to Murray State and Tennessee Tech each. In conference-only games, JSU leads the league in hitting with a .338 batting average, only five points higher than Southeast's .332 clip; however, Southeast has scored 25 more runs with eight more home runs. The Redhawks' 3.44 conference ERA is top in the league while JSU's 4.75 ERA ranks fourth. Individually, second baseman Daniel Clayton is leading the team with a .388 batting average, 34 RBI, and is the only Gamecock to start every game this season. First baseman Tyler Gamble has hit seven home runs and has 32 RBI on the season. Josh Bobo, while only playing 22 games, has driven in 31 runs with nine home runs while hitting .358 with a .768 slugging percentage. Friday night starter Graham Officer is 6-1 this season with a 3.91 ERA. He has pitched 48.1 innings in nine starts but has only struck out 16 and walked six. Jacksonville State's closer Justin Hoyt has a 0.00 ERA in 16 appearances and 18.2 innings. He has fanned 25 hitters and has nine saves on the season.
 
Series History
Southeast Missouri narrowly trails Jacksonville State in the all-time series 20-23; however, the Redhawks have won each of the last four meetings with JSU. Southeast swept the Gamecocks at Capaha last season and eliminated them from the OVC Tournament on May 22. At Rudy Abbott Field, Southeast is 7-9 since JSU joined the OVC in 2014. Two years ago, the Redhawks took two of three games on the road, winning the series on the road since 2010.
 
Lucchesi Added to Golden Spike Award Watch List
USA Baseball released its 60-player midseason Golden Spikes Award watch list on Wednesday, moving closer to naming the top amateur baseball player in the country. Sponsored by Major League Baseball and presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, the 39th Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 30 in Los Angeles. The midseason watch list features 60 of the nation's top amateur players from the high school and college ranks. The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will continue to maintain a rolling list of athletes, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award before announcing the semifinalists on June 1.
 
Lucchesi on National Pitcher of the Year Watch List
The 2016 National Pitcher of the Year Award is presented by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. The award, sponsored by Diamond, will be presented on July 2 in Lubbock, Texas as part of the annual Night of Champions event. Seventy-two of the nation's top pitchers appear on the National Pitcher of the Year watch list.
 
Boggetto Added to Brooks Wallace Award Watch List
The 2016 Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year, sponsored by Mizuno, honors the nation's top shortstop and will be presented as part of the annual Night of Champions celebration on July 2 in Lubbock. Boggetto is one of 54 players who appear on the list and is one of three from the Ohio Valley Conference. Clayton Smithson from Austin Peay and Reid Leonard from Morehead State join Boggetto in representing the OVC.
 
Gandolfo Earns adidas® OVC Player of the Week
Garrett Gandolfo was named the adidas® OVC Player of the Week this week. Gandolfo, a senior from San Diego, California, hit .474 (9-for-19) last week, helping the Redhawks to a 4-0 week. He slugged three home runs, one of which was a grand slam, two doubles, and drove in 13 total runs. He himself touched home seven times in four games. He slugged 1.053 with a .565 on base percentage. He began the week going 2-for-4 with a solo home run at Arkansas State. He opened the weekend series against Eastern Illinois going 5-for-6 with seven runs batted in with a double and a grand slam. Gandolfo had a two-RBI double in the first inning of game two and launched a two-run jack in his final at bat in game three to extend his hitting streak to 16 games.
 
Looking for 37
Southeast Missouri is 10 wins away from tying the program record of 37 single-season wins. Southeast set the mark in 2000, tied it in 2002, then tied it again 12 years later in 2014. The Redhawks have 18 regular-season games left on their schedule.
 
Patience at the Plate
Southeast Missouri ranks second nationally in walks with 222 this season. The Redhawks are second only to Mercer's 238 bases on balls. Southeast is led in walks by Dan Holst, who ranks 10th in the nation in the category with 36. Trevor Ezell (33) and Garrett Gandolfo (31) ranks 21st and 29th in the country, respectively.
 
OVC Hitting it Hard
Of the 11 teams in the OVC, four ranks in the top 10 nationally in hits this season. Morehead State (441) ranks season, Murray State (434) ranks fifth, Southeast Missouri (421) ranks eighth, and Jacksonville State (419) ranks ninth. Austin Peay (38th) and Tennessee Tech (46th) round out the top 50 in the country.