Southeast Missouri (0-0) at Stephen F. Austin (0-0)/UT Arlington (0-0)
Dates: Friday, Feb. 17-Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017
First Pitch: 2:30 p.m. (DH) / 2:30 p.m. / 11:00 a.m.
Location: Nacogdoches, Texas
Host: Stephen F. Austin
Stadium: Jaycees Field
 
Media Information
Radio: SEMO ESPN 92.9 FM / Erik Sean | Listen Live
Live Stats: Game One | Game Two | Game Three | Game Four
Twitter Updates: @SEMObaseball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri
 
The Matchups
Friday vs. UTA: RHP Clay Chandler (0-0) vs. RHP Kadon Simmons (0-0)
Friday vs. SFA: LHP Robert Beltran (0-0) vs. LHP Erik Nouis (0-0)
Saturday vs. UTA: RHP Justin Murphy (0-0) vs. TBA
Sunday vs. SFA: LHP Nate Green (0-0) vs. LHP Patrick Ledet (0-0)
 
Leading Off
Southeast Missouri baseball will open the 2017 campaign this weekend in Nacogdoches, Texas with a pair of games each against Stephen F. Austin and UT Arlington. The Redhawks will begin play Friday at 2:30 p.m. against UTA followed by a 6:30 p.m. matchup against the host Lumberjacks. 
 
Follow the Redhawks
• SEMO ESPN 92.9 FM will carry every broadcast of Southeast Missouri baseball this weekend. Erik Sean will provide play-by-play on the radio broadcast. Fans can download the free SEMO ESPN app to listen to live broadcasts of Redhawks baseball all season long. 
• Live stats will be available on SFAJacks.com and GoSoutheast.com. 
• @SEMObaseball, the official Twitter page of the Redhawks, will feature live in-game updates all season long. 
 
Series Histories
Stephen F. Austin
The Redhawks and Lumberjacks met for the first time last season in Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks dropped the series opener, 3-2, but rebounded to take the series in games two and three. Robert Beltran, who will face the Jacks on Friday evening, worked seven innings in the game three victory last season but allowed five runs and struck out only four. Catcher Brian Lees played well against SFA, recording five hits in three games for a .455 average in the series, scoring three runs and driving in one. 
UT Arlington
This weekend will be the first-ever meetings between the Redhawks and Mavericks.
 
A Peek at What's Ahead
SEMO will open the 25-game home schedule in week two with a three-game series against Western Illinois Feb. 24-26. It will be the first time since 1996 the teams have played each other. The Redhawks will then welcome Big Ten opponent Purdue to Cape Girardeau for a three-game set Mar. 3-5. The teams have only met once before in 2009 and it was at Capaha.
 
Seeing Double on Opening Day
Southeast will play a doubleheader on Opening Day, something that occurred just two years ago against Bowling Green at Capaha Field. In recent years, SEMO has played a doubleheader on Opening Day in 2012 (at Dallas Baptist) and 2007 (at Jackson State). 
 
A New Era of SEMO Baseball
This weekend will begin the Andy Sawyers era of Southeast Missouri baseball. Sawyers was appointed the sixth head coach of the Southeast Missouri baseball program on July 29, 2016. Sawyers brings 18 years of collegiate coaching experience with him to Southeast Missouri, Sawyers' first Division I head coaching job. Sawyers most recently served two seasons as the Associate Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator at Kansas State. Sawyers has been to two College World Series, three NCAA Super Regionals, and 10 Regional Tournaments. He has mentored 39 Major League Baseball draft picks including two first-round picks and eight top-10 round picks.
 
Redhawks Picked as OVC Favorites
2017 is the third-straight year the Redhawks have been picked to win the league in the preseason voting. It's the first time in league history that a team has been tabbed first in the preseason poll three consecutive times. The Redhawks are coming off three-straight OVC regular season titles and most recently won its third all-time OVC Tournament to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Southeast set a program record for wins a season ago, finishing 39-21 with a 22-8 conference record.
 
SEMO Lands Three Preseason All-OVC Picks
Outfielder Chris Osborne and starting pitchers Robert Beltran and Clay Chandler were chosen as Preseason All-OVC Team members. Southeast returns 21 total players to the 34-man roster. The roster is comprised of a formidable group of 11 seniors including the three Preseason All-OVC members in Osborne, Beltran, and Chandler.
 
NCBWA Preseason All-American
Senior outfielder Chris Osborne was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Third Team All-America heading into the 2017 season. Osborne emerged as the national slugging percentage champion with a .741 slugging clip. He was named First Team All-Ohio Valley Conference and was an OVC All-Tournament team selection. The outfielder from Edmonds, Washington blasted a team-leading 15 home runs and led the squad with a .367 batting average. He appeared in 40 games including making 36 starts in right field. He finished third on the team with 44 runs batted in.
 
SEMO Receiving Votes in NCBWA Poll
Southeast Missouri baseball was listed as receiving votes in the NCBWA Preseason Poll released on Jan. 21. 
 
Makeup of the Roster
The 34-man roster is comprised of 21 returning players and 13 newcomers. Of the returners, four made a significant amount of starts including Chris Osborne, Trevor Ezell, Dan Holst, and Brian Lees. Aside from those four, Daniel Costello and Chris Caffrey also made 30 or more starts in 2016. 
 
A New Look to the Rotation
A pair of familiar faces in Preseason All-OVC selections Clay Chandler and Robert Beltran both return to the Redhawks' starting pitching rotation in 2017. The pair never missed a start as SEMO's number two and three starters in 2016. Joining then in the cycle will be former closer Justin Murphy. Murphy will assume the No. 3 role this weekend. The senior righty went 4-2 with five saves and a 2.97 ERA in 27 appearances out of the pen. He pitched a total of 36 and a third innings. Lefty Nate Green will get the ball in game four this weekend and will vie for the midweek starting role. 
 
Already a Stellar Career
In just two seasons as a Redhawk, Trevor Ezell enters his junior season having already cracked three career top-10 categories at SEMO and will soon crack a fourth. His 94 walks ranked eighth, eight career triples ranks tied for ninth, and his 34 stolen bases ranked tied for 10th. He is 15 runs away from cracking the top-10 runs category. His 118 starts is already a team-high, topping redshirt-senior Clayton Evans' 112 career starts.
 
Back in the Saddle
After missing last season due to injury, redshirt-senior Clayton Evans will look to work his way back into a starting role in the outfield this season. Evans made 30 starts in 2015 and finished the season hitting .352 and driving in 23 runs. Evans was a Freshman All-American in 2013. 
 
Final National Stat Rankings
As a team, Southeast finished in the top-10 in five national statistical categories including drawing walks (fifth, 335), runs (sixth, 474), on base percentage (seventh, .409), strikeouts per nine innings (seventh, 9.2), and scoring (eighth, 7.9 runs per game).
 
A Facelift for the Home Field
Capaha Field, the home of the Redhawks, received a $1.8 million renovation in the offseason. The project included replacing the natural surface with synthetic turf to help improve field playability, new fencing, and a new digital scoreboard with video board in the outfield. Southeast Missouri baseball has called Capaha Field home since the program's inception in 1959. 
 
Come Fly With Us
Southeast Missouri signed 10 student-athletes to the 2018 baseball roster during the early signing period. The list includes Gavin Alvarez (LHP), Austin Blazevic (INF), Nathan Bock (RHP), Justin Dirden (OF), Peyton Faulkner (RHP), Ashton Holyfield (RHP), Daniel Lloyd (RHP), Gabe Schimpf (LHP), Chase Urhahn (outfield), and Christian Vick (RHP).
 
2017 OVC Baseball Championship
The 2017 OVC Baseball Championship will be held for the first time at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama. The format of the tournament will also be changed to an eight-team tournament. The No. 7 and 8 seeds will begin the tournament with a single-elimination play-in game before the double-elimination format begins. The only time the OVC Tournament field featured eight teams was in 1996 when the format featured preliminary rounds at the top two seeds and a championship round at the highest remaining seed.