Southeast Missouri (34-16, 21-6 OVC) vs. Belmont (29-24, 15-12 OVC)
Series Information
Dates: Thursday-Saturday, May 19-21, 2016
First Pitch: 6 p.m. / 6 p.m. / 2 p.m.
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Stadium: Capaha Field
Series: Southeast leads 14-7
Head Coaches: Steve Bieser (133-92, Fourth Season); Dave Jarvis (552-493-2, 18^th season at Belmont)
 
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 | Belmont
 
Probable Starting Pitchers
Thursday: LHP Joey Lucchesi (8-4) vs. RHP Aaron Quillen (5-3)
Friday: RHP Clay Chandler (4-3) vs. RHP Tyler Vaughn (6-3)
Saturday: LHP Robert Beltran (8-1) vs. RHP Dylan King (3-2)
 
Leading Off
• Southeast Missouri (34-16, 21-6 OVC) plays host to Belmont (29-24, 15-12 OVC) in the final series of the regular season this weekend beginning Thursday at 6 p.m.
• This weekend will feature two tailgates for fans at Capaha Field. Thursday's tailgate will be sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Cape Girardeau and River Eagle Distributing while Friday's will be provided by the Bank of Missouri and River Eagle Distributing.
• Friday's game will feature Bark in the Park sponsored by Mississippi Mutts while Burrito-Ville will be handing out Redhawks baseball t-shirts to the first 300 fans.
• Southeast will celebrate the careers of 11 senior student-athletes prior to first pitch on Saturday.
• The Redhawks baseball team clinched its third consecutive Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship this week. It's the program's fourth overall.
• Southeast Missouri's third straight title is a new OVC record for winning an outright title.
• Southeast leads Belmont in the all-time series, 14-7. Since Belmont joined the OVC in 2013, Southeast has gone 9-4 against the Bruins.
• Belmont will be making it's first trip to Capaha Field as a member of the OVC.
• Joey Lucchesi still leads the nation with 123 strikeouts. He needs eight strikeouts to break Southeast's single-season record.
• The Redhawks will make their league-record 22nd consecutive appearance in the OVC Tournament next week in Jackson, Tennessee.
• With a sweep this weekend, Southeast can tie a program record with 37 wins and a league record with 24 OVC wins.
 
Redhawks Rundown
The Regular-Season Finale
The Southeast Missouri baseball team (34-16, 21-6 OVC) will welcome the Belmont Bruins (29-24, 15-12 OVC) to Capaha Field this weekend in the final regular-season series of the season. The three-game series will begin Thursday evening under the lights at 6 p.m. Friday's game will also begin at 6 p.m. while the final game is set for Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
Join Us for Fun this Weekend
Thursday Tailgate - The Kiwanis Club of Cape Girardeau and River Eagle Distributing will be providing a free tailgate for all fans.
Friday Tailgate - The Bank of Missouri and River Eagle Distributing will be providing a free tailgate for all fans.
Bark in the Park - Mississippi Mutts will be at Capaha Park on Friday sponsoring the third annual Bark in the Park. Fans are encouraged to bring their four-legged Redhawk fans with them to watch the game.
Burrito-Ville T-Shirts - Burrito-Ville will be handing out Redhawks baseball t-shirts to the first 300 fans at Friday evening's game.
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.
Senior Day - Southeast Missouri baseball will celebrate the careers of 11 senior student-athletes who will play their final game at Capaha Field on Saturday.
 
Follow the Redhawks
This weekend's series against Belmont 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
The Redhawks played their conference bye week last weekend at home against Stephen F. Austin. The Redhawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in game one but the Lumberjacks held Southeast scoreless as they rallied for three runs to take game one, 3-2. Joey Lucchesi did not factor into the decision on Friday night, despite striking out eight and allowing only two runs in seven innings. The senior and reigning OVC Pitcher of the Year has a nation's-best 123 strikeouts in 87.2 innings this year; he also owns an 8-4 record and 2.05 ERA in 13 starts. The Redhawk bats exploded for 15 runs in game two as Southeast evened up the series with a 15-6 victory. The Redhawks secured the series win with a 9-5 victory on Sunday. Branden Boggetto extended his hitting streak to 13 games (the second longest active streak in the OVC) last week and hit .385 (5-for-13) in three games. Four of his five hits went for extra bases as he recorded three doubles and two home runs while driving in six RBI.
 
What's Ahead
Southeast Missouri will makes its 22nd OVC Tournament appearance next week. The Redhawks, who will carry the No. 1 seed into the postseason tournament, will begin tournament play in game five Thursday, May 26, at 7 p.m. at the Ballpark at Jackson. The Redhawks will play the worst seed between the winners of games one and two.
 
Redhawks Clinch Outright OVC Title
The Southeast Missouri State baseball team clinched its third consecutive Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship. The 2016 championship is Southeast's third in a row and fourth overall. Southeast has won the title in 2002, 2014, 2015, and now in 2016. It was announced Monday afternoon that Austin Peay's baseball program would be vacating four OVC wins from 2016, putting the Govs at 17-9 in league play. Four wins behind Southeast and no more conference games remaining, the Govs will no longer be able to keep up with the Redhawks in the win column.
 
Redhawks Three-Peat
Since the OVC stopped division play in baseball in 1989, only Middle Tennessee has won three consecutive titles (1995-97); however, they were co-championships two of those three seasons (1996, 1997). No team has won three consecutive outright titles until the Redhawks have accomplished it this season.
 
Series History
Southeast Missouri holds a 14-7 lead over Belmont in the all-time series, dating back to 1999. Since Belmont baseball began competing in the OVC in 2013, Southeast is 9-4 against the Bruins. Since joining the OVC, Belmont has never played at Capaha Field; Southeast has traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to face Belmont each of the last three seasons. The Redhawks faced Belmont five times in the month of May last season. The Redhawks won the regular-season series then drew Belmont in the second round of the OVC Tournament. Southeast fell in their first game of the tournament to the Bruins, 7-2, to fall into the loser's bracket. Southeast faced Belmont again and won 9-4 to eliminate them and advance to the championship round.
 
Left-Handed Pitcher Joey LuKKhesi
Southeast's ace Joey Lucchesi currently leads the nation in strikeouts with 123. For the second year in a row, Lucchesi has cracked Southeast's single-season strikeouts top-10 list and his 123 strikeouts ranks second. He needs eight more to break 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 216, a figure that ranks second on the list. He is only the second to crack the list in two seasons. Spille's (1998-99) 215 strikeouts ranks third. The all-time career strikeouts record of 239 belongs to Trae Hastings (1975-78). The OVC record for single-season strikeouts is 133.
 
The Road to Jackson
Southeast Missouri baseball will make its 22nd consecutive OVC Tournament appearance next weekend in Jackson, Tennessee. Southeast's 22 consecutive appearances is a league record. 2016 will be the seventh year for the OVC Tournament in Jackson.
 
But Does He Get On Base?
The Redhawks rank fourth nationally in on-base percentage with a .414 clip. Individually, Garrett Gandolfo ranks 50th with a .473 percentage. Chris Osborne ranks 52nd in the country with a .473 percentage.
 
Seeking 37
Southeast Missouri is three 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. 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.
 
OVC Wins Record
The record for OVC wins in a season is 24, set by Tennessee Tech in 2013. Southeast nearly tied the record in 2014 with 23 wins. The Redhawks can tie the record this weekend with a sweep of Belmont.
 
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!
The Redhawks have been nearly unbeatable on Sunday, or in game three of a series. Southeast fell to Lamar on opening weekend but since has gone unbeaten on Sunday. Southeast has won 12 of 13 series finales, all with Robert Beltran on the mound. Beltran suffered the loss in the Sunday Lamar game but since then has gone 8-0.
 
The Latest RPI Ranking
In the latest NCAA RPI rankings, Southeast Missouri ranks 56th out of 300 Division I teams. Three OVC programs appear in the top 100. Behind Southeast is Austin Peay (91) and Jacksonville State (92). Morehead State ranks 108th and the rest of the over rank 186 and lower. D1Baseball.com also ranks the Redhawks 59th.
 
Patience at the Plate
Southeast Missouri ranks third nationally in walks with 288 this season. Mercer leads the country with 321 while Belmont has 305. Southeast is led in walks by Trevor Ezell, who ranks 17th in the nation in the category with 45. Dan Holst (44) and Garrett Gandolfo (41) rank 20th and 28th in the country, respectively.
 
Going Streaking
Branden Boggetto kept his hitting streak alive this weekend, extending it to 13 games; however, Trevor Ezell's hitting streak was snapped at 18. Garrett Gandolfo's 30-game on-base streak is still alive while Chris Osborne is on a 22-game streak. Ezell's on-base streak is now at 20 games while Boggetto's 13-game hitting streak coincides with a 19-game on base streak.