Southeast Missouri (32-15) vs. Stephen F. Austin (26-22)
Series Information
Dates: Friday, May 13-Sunday May 15, 2016
First Pitch: 2 p.m. / 3 p.m. / 11 a.m.
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Stadium: Capaha Field
Series: First Meeting
Head Coaches: Steve Bieser (131-91, Fourth Season); Johnny Cadenas (211-228, Eighth Season)
 
Media Information
Radio: SEMO ESPN 1220 AM / 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 | Stephen F. Austin
 
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: LHP Joey Lucchesi (8-4) vs. LHP Patrick Ledet (6-1)
Saturday: RHP Clay Chandler (4-3) vs. LHP Erik Nouis (4-4)
Sunday: LHP Robert Beltran (7-1) vs. TBA
 
Leading Off
• Southeast Missouri (32-15) baseball plays its conference bye weekend this weekend and will welcome Stephen F. Austin (26-22) to Cape Girardeau.
• Academy Sports + Outdoors will be hosting a free youth clinic following Sunday's game for kids ages 5-14.
• For the first time since 2013, Southeast has dropped more than one OVC series in a season after dropping two of three games at Tennessee Tech last weekend.
• This weekend will be the first ever meeting between Southeast Missouri and Stephen F. Austin.
• The Redhawks are 2-4 against the Southland Conference this season; Steve Bieser is 5-4 against the league in four seasons.
• Southeast's magic number to clinch its third consecutive OVC title is three.
• 11 current and former baseball student-athletes will receive their degrees this weekend.
• Joey Lucchesi still sits atop the national strikeout rankings with 115 this season. He needs 15 to tie Ryan Spille's single-season record of 130.
• Senior Branden Boggetto and sophomore Trevor Ezell picked up CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.
• Southeast Missouri baseball officially locked up a spot to its 22nd consecutive OVC Tournament in Jackson, Tennessee May 25-29.
• The Redhawks rank third nationally with a .422 on base percentage and 277 walks.
• The Redhawks surpassed 30 wins for the 12th time in its Division I history in 2016.
 
Redhawks Rundown
A Step Out of Conference
The Southeast Missouri baseball team (32-15) will welcome Stephen F. Austin (26-22) to Cape Girardeau this weekend for its conference bye weekend. The series will begin Friday at 2 p.m. Saturday's contest will begin at 3 p.m. and the finale is slated to begin at 11 a.m.
 
Join Us for Fun this Weekend
Friday Night Under the Lights - Fans of all ages will have the opportunity to play catch under the lights of Capaha Field following Friday's game. The field will be open for 30 minutes for fans following the end of the game.
Sunday Runday - Kids 14 and under can run the bases after Sunday's series finale.
Academy Youth Clinic - Academy Sports + Outdoors will be hosting a free youth clinic following Sunday's game for kids ages 5-14.
 
Follow the Redhawks
This weekend's series will be broadcast on SEMO ESPN 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 Southeast Missouri baseball, @SEMObaseball.
 
Let's Recap
Southeast Missouri will look to find the winning path again as they have dropped five of their last seven games. The Redhawks went 1-3 last week with a loss to Saint Louis and two losses at Tennessee Tech. The loss to TTU was only the Redhawks' second conference series loss. It's the first time since 2013 that Southeast has lost more than one OVC series in a season. While the Redhawk offense was shut down over the weekend, the bats were explosive as Southeast blasted six home runs, the third-most in a conference series this season. Joey Lucchesi and Robert Beltran each struck out 10 in their starts on the mound. It was the first time two of the three weekend starters had double-digit strikeouts in a series.
 
What's Ahead
The regular season will come to a close at Capaha when Belmont comes to town next weekend, Thursday-Saturday. The Redhawks will host a free tailgate with the Kiwanis Club of Cape Girardeau on Thursday, May 19, and the Bank of Missouri and River Eagle Distributing on Friday, May 20. Southeast Missouri will then celebrate 11 senior student-athletes on Senior Day prior to the regular-season finale on May 21. The Redhawks will then set their sites on the 2016 OVC Tournament held in Jackson, Tennessee.
 
Series History
Southeast Missouri and Stephen F. Austin will meet for the first time ever this weekend at Capaha. The Redhawks are no stranger to the Southland Conference this season having faced Lamar and Central Arkansas. Lamar swept the Redhawks to open the season but Southeast won the series against UCA at home in March. Steve Bieser is 5-4 against the Southland in his four-year career.
 
The Magic Number
Entering this weekend, Southeast Missouri holds a two and a half game lead on second-place Jacksonville State. The magic number to clinch its third straight OVC championship is three. That's any combination of Southeast wins and Jacksonville State losses. The Gamecocks take on Morehead State in Morehead, Kentucky this weekend. Austin Peay currently sits in third place. One Southeast Missouri win next weekend or one Governor loss this weekend would eliminate them from championship contention.
 
Congratulations, Grads!
Eleven current and former baseball student-athletes will receive their degrees this weekend from Southeast Missouri State University. Those graduating include Ryan Barnes, Alex Burridge, Jake Busiek, Jacob Lawrence, Hunter Leeper, Andy Lennington, Joey Lucchesi, Scott Mitchell, Cody Spanberger, Garret Stockton, and Alex Winkelman.
 
Left-Handed Pitcher Joey LuKKhesi
Southeast's ace Joey Lucchesi currently leads the nation in strikeouts with 115. For the second year in a row, Lucchesi has cracked Southeast's single-season strikeouts top-10 list and his 115 strikeouts ranks third. He needs 15 more to tie the Ryan Spille's record of 130 (1998). His 93 from last season ranks fifth on the list. He has also cracked Southeast's career strikeouts list with 208. He is only the second to crack the list in two seasons. Spille's (1998-99) 215 strikeouts ranks second. The all-time career strikeouts record of 239 belongs to Trae Hastings (1975-78).
 
Boggetto, Ezell Earn CoSIDA Academic All-District Honors
Branden Boggetto and Trevor Ezell were named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Six Team for recognition of their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. Boggetto, a senior Finance major from Joliet, Illinois, has accumulated a 3.31 grade point average throughout his career. Ezell, a sophomore from Alexander, Arkansas, is a business administration major and has a 3.92 cumulative GPA.
 
The Road to Jackson
Southeast Missouri baseball officially locked up a spot in the 2016 OVC Tournament held in Jackson, Tennessee. The Redhawks will make their 22nd consecutive appearance in the OVC Tournament in 2016, a league record. 2016 will be the seventh year for the OVC Tournament in Jackson.
 
But Does He Get On Base?
The Redhawks rank fifth nationally in on-base percentage with a .416 clip. Individually, Chris Osborne ranks 46th in the country with a .477 percentage. Dan Holst (.475) ranks 54th in college baseball and Garrett Gandolfo (.474) ranks 56th.
 
Surpassing 30
2016 is the third season in a row the Redhawks have recorded 30 wins or more. It's the 12th time in Southeast's Division I history the team has touched 30 victories.
Looking for 37
Southeast Missouri is five 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 Latest RPI Ranking
In the latest NCAA RPI rankings, Southeast Missouri ranks 59th out of 300 Division I teams. Three OVC programs appear in the top 100. Behind Southeast is Jacksonville State (83) and Austin Peay (90). Morehead State ranks 135th and the rest of the over rank 199 and lower. D1Baseball.com also ranks the Redhawks 57th.
 
Patience at the Plate
Southeast Missouri ranks third nationally in walks with 277 this season. Mercer leads the country with 303 while Belmont has 289. Southeast is led in walks by Dan Holst, who ranks 15th in the nation in the category with 44. Trevor Ezell (41) and Garrett Gandolfo (40) rank 19th and 24th in the country, respectively.
 
Going Streaking
Trevor Ezell kept his 17-game hitting streak alive last weekend at Tennessee Tech. Branden Boggetto is now riding a double-digit hitting streak at 10 games. Garrett Gandolfo's 27-game on-base streak is still alive while Dan Holst and Chris Osborne are on 19-game streaks. Boggetto's 10-game hitting streak coincides with a 16-game on base streak.