Southeast Missouri (21-8, 12-0 OVC) at Austin Peay (16-11, 8-4 OVC)
Series Information
Dates: Friday-Sunday, April 8-10, 2016
First Pitch: 6 p.m. / 1 p.m. / 1 p.m.
Location: Clarksville, Tenn.
Stadium: Raymond C. Hand Park
Series: Southeast leads 49-33
Head Coaches: Steve Bieser (120-84, Fourth Season); Travis Janssen (16-11, First Season)
 
Media Information
Radio: SEMO ESPN 92.9 FM / Erik Sean | Listen Live
Live Video: OVC Digital Network
Live Stats: Game One | Game Two | Game Three
Twitter Updates: @SEMObaseball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri | Austin Peay
 
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: LHP Joey Lucchesi (6-1) vs. RHP Alex Robles (5-2)
Saturday: RHP Clay Chandler (4-0) vs. Michael Costanzo (4-2)
Sunday: LHP Robert Beltran (3-1) vs. RHP Caleb Powell (3-1)
 
Leading Off
• Southeast Missouri baseball (21-8, 12-0 OVC) will put its perfect start to conference play and its 11-game winning streak on the line at Austin Peay (16-11, 8-4 OVC) this weekend.
• The Redhawks are riding a 11-game winning streak, the longest since 2003. The streak is the second-longest in Division I baseball, behind Lamar's 12-game streak.
• The Redhawks are coming off a midweek victory over regional rival Arkansas State on Tuesday.
• Southeast is 49-33 against Austin Peay in the all-time series. The Redhawks have won the series each of the last three years.
• Austin Peay will be the first team over .500 the Redhawks have faced since Morehead State (Mar. 18-20).
• Over 80% of Southeast's home runs have come in the last 10 games.
• Clay Chandler earned his third OVC Pitcher of the Week Honor and second Louisville Slugger National Pitcher of the Week honors by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
• Southeast finished the month of March with a 13-5 record.
• Southeast Missouri received votes in this week's NCBWA Top 30 poll.
• Two OVC teams have started conference play undefeated as Southeast Missouri is currently 12-0 and Jacksonville State is 9-0, which are both all-time bests for the programs.
• The Redhawks' weekend starting pitching staff has combined for a 1.29 ERA, 156 strikeouts, and a 13-2 record in 21 combined starts.
 
Redhawks Rundown
Putting it All on the Line
The Southeast Missouri baseball team (21-8, 12-0 OVC) takes its perfect start to Ohio Valley Conference play and 11-game winning streak to Austin Peay (16-11, 8-4 OVC) this weekend. The Govs ranks third in the OVC and are sporting a powerful offense that ranks second in the league. First pitch Friday is set for 6 p.m. while Saturday and Sunday's games will begin at 1 p.m. from Clarksville, Tennessee.
 
Follow the Redhawks
This weekend's series will be broadcast live on SEMO ESPN 92.9 FM. 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. Live stats will be available on GoSoutheast.com. Live Twitter updates are available on the official Twitter page of the Redhawks, @SEMObaseball. This weekend's series will also be streamed on the OVC Digital Network.
 
Let's Recap
The Redhawks picked up their fourth Ohio Valley Conference series sweep this weekend with three wins over SIUE. With the sweep, Southeast is now 12-0 in OVC play this season, improving on their already stellar start to league play. In the series, the Redhawks scored in the first inning and never trailed once the entire weekend. Joey Lucchesi improved to 6-1 on the season as he helped lead the Redhawks to a 9-4 victory over the Cougars. Clay Chandler pitched a complete game shutout on Saturday. He struck out 11 hitters and walked only one. He scattered only four hits and only one base runner reached second all game. Chandler remains undefeated at 4-0 on the season. The bats came alive in game three as Southeast completed the sweep with a 20-11 victory. The Redhawks earned a midweek victory over regional rival Arkansas State on Tuesday. Southeast found itself down 2-1 in the eighth inning but pinch hitter Chris Osborne played hero as he hit a three-run home run to put the Redhawks on top, 4-2. Southeast's winning streak was extended to 11 games with the midweek victory, the longest since 2003 when Southeast won 14 straight games.
 
What's Ahead
The Redhawks will make the return trip to Arkansas State Tuesday in Jonesboro. The Redhawks will look to sweep the home-and-home series for the first time since 2011. Southeast and Arkansas State are set to begin at 6 p.m. The Redhawks will return home for a three-game OVC series with Eastern Illinois next weekend, Apr. 15-17. Southeast Missouri will host the second free tailgate of the season April 16, sponsored by Jimmy Johns and Kohlfeld Distributing.
 
Series History
The Redhawks lead the all-time series with Austin Peay, 49-33. Southeast has won the series each of the last three seasons under Steve Bieser. In 2015, the Govs took game one at Capaha, 5-1, but the Redhawks rebounded and won games two and three by one-run margins. Southeast held on in game two to win, 3-2. It took 13 innings to decide the winner of game three but Nolan Fisher drove in the winning run to top the Govs, 12-11.
 
Scouting the Govs
Austin Peay topped Southern Illinois in non-conference action last week before winning two of three games against Tennessee Tech over the weekend. The Governors are now 8-4 in OVC play which puts them in third place behind undefeated Southeast Missouri and Jacksonville State. APSU has also won seven of its last nine games overall entering this series including four of its last six road games after starting the season 1-6 on the road. The Govs fell at Middle Tennessee during the midweek, 5-6. Junior second baseman Garrett Copeland hit .588 (10-for-17) with five runs scored, a triple, home run, seven RBI and three stolen bases. He was 5-for-5 with a walk in six plate appearances against SIU; on the season he is hitting .352 with 10 stolen bases (sixth in the OVC). Designated hitter Alex Robles had eight RBI during the week including a two-run home run in the sixth inning of the TTU series that proved to be the game-winner. Robles also picked up the win in Friday's game, striking out 10 and walking only one in 7.1 innings against Tennessee Tech; he scattered six hits and allowed two runs in improving to 5-2 on the season. Robles ranks sixth in the OVC in E.R.A. (3.57) and as a batter he is hitting .352 with 26 RBI. Patrick Massoni extended his hitting streak to 11 games during the week; that streak is currently the second-longest active streak in the OVC. Massoni is hitting .487 (19-for-39) during the streak with six multi-hit outings.
 
The Winning Streak
Southeast Missouri is currently riding an 11-game winning streak. The Redhawks streak is the second-longest in Southeast's Division I history; second only to the program record of 14 games. Southeast has won 15 of its last 16 games and finished the month of March with a 13-5 record. Southeast Missouri's 10-game winning streak is the second-longest in Division I baseball. Lamar University used a pair of midweek wins to extend its streak to 12 games. Southeast and Lamar faced each other opening weekend.
 
Perfect in Conference Play
Two OVC teams have started conference play undefeated as Southeast Missouri is currently 12-0 and Jacksonville State is 9-0, which are both all-time bests for the programs. The starts are the best for an OVC team since Eastern Illinois established the OVC record when it began the 2001 season 17-0 (and finished the year 19-1). Nationally, three teams have started league play 12-0: Southeast, South Alabama (Southland), and Alabama State (Southwestern).
 
National and OVC Pitcher of the Week
After tossing a complete-game shutout of SIUE on Saturday, junior right-handed pitcher Clay Chandler has been named the adidas® Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week as well as one of Louisville Slugger's National Players of the Week by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. This is Chandler's third OVC Pitcher of the Week honor and the second time he's been recognized on the national level by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper this season. In his nine scoreless innings, Chandler struck out 11 batters and allowed just one walk. He scattered only four hits and his defense backed him up with an errorless game.
 
Going Yard
The Redhawk offense has exploded in the last 10 games. 23 of Southeast's 28 home runs have come since Mar. 18, the 19th game of the season. The Redhawks ranked 210th nationally in home runs entering the series against Morehead State; they now rank 31st in the category. Southeast hit eight home runs in game three at UT Martin, the most for a Division I team this season. Chris Osborne leads the team with six jacks this season. 12 of Osborne's 15 RBI have come via home runs. The Redhawks have won every game in which they have hit a home run.
 
The Latest RPI Ranking
The NCAA posted the first public release of the 2016 RPI rankings earlier this week. Southeast currently sits at 49 on the list of 300 Division I baseball programs. Four OVC programs appear in the top 100. Behind Southeast is Morehead State (61), Jacksonville State (87), and Austin Peay (97).
 
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 four ERAs in the OVC, led by Lucchesi's 1.29 clip. The three have combined for a 2.02 ERA and have struck out 156 batters. Together, the three are 13-2 in their 21 starts on the mound. Lucchesi leads the country with 65 strikeouts this season.
 
Key Two-Out Hitting
The Redhawk offense has capitalized on two-out situations this season. In all, the Redhawks have scored 228 runs on the season, 210 of which were driven in. With two out, Southeast has recorded 82 runs batted in this season, 39% of the Redhawks' total RBI. The Redhawks have 95 two-out hits this season and hit .284 with two down in an inning.
 
Going Streaking
Trevor Ezell's 34 game on base streak that dated back to last season, came to an end Tuesday against Arkansas State. He has reached base in 27 games to begin the season. Branden Boggetto now carries the team's longest on-base streak with 16 games. Garrett Gandolfo is riding a team-best nine-game hitting streak while Andy Lack has a strung together a seven-game hitting streak.