Southeast Missouri (23-28, 17-10 OVC) at Eastern Kentucky (27-26, 15-12 OVC)

Dates: Thursday-Saturday, May 17-19, 2018
Times: Thurs. 5 p.m., Fri. 5 p.m., Sat. Noon, CT
Location: Richmond, Ky.
Ballpark: Turkey Hughes Field (900)
Series: SEMO leads, 43-36
Last Meeting: SEMO 16, EKU 3 (May 20, 2017 / Cape Girardeau, Mo.)

Head Coaches:
Andy Sawyers (139-80 overall; 52-53 at SEMO; 33-24 OVC)
Edwin Thompson (88-90 overall; 51-57 at Eastern Ky.)

Media:
Radio: SEMO ESPN 92.9 (Erik Sean)
Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3

Series History
Southeast Missouri leads the all-time series against Eastern Kentucky, 43-36. Southeast has 14 series victories against EKU and has not dropped a series against the Colonels since 2012. The Redhawks swept EKU in their series at Capaha Field a year ago.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen this weekend's game on the radio at ESPN 92.9 FM. Erik Sean will call the action. Live stats are available at EKUSports.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMObaseball. 

Redhawks OVC Series
Southeast is currently 17-10 in the Ohio Valley Conference and has won six of its eight conference series this season. The Redhawks presently stand tied for second in the league with Morhead State and Austin Peay. Tennessee Tech currently leads the OVC with a 25-2 record. Southeast has swept two teams this season, including SIU Edwardsville and Murray State. The Redhawks ended Tennessee Tech's 28-game winning streak in Cookeville on Apr. 29. 

OVC Tournament Push
Prior to this weekend there is a three-way tie for second place with Austin Peay and Morehead State. Southeast holds the tie-breaker over Morehead State, but APSU holds the tie-breaker on both teams.  Tennessee Tech has already clinched the No. 1 seed in the tournament, while SIUE and UT Martin have been eliminated. The tournament begins on Tuesday, May 22 in Oxford, Alabama with a matchup between the seven and eight seeds. The earliest Southeast will play at Choccolocco Park is Wednesday, May 23. This is the 22nd consecutive OVC Tournament trip for the Redhawks. 

Total Bases 
Southeast has 757 total bases this season. Justin Dirden leads the team with 129, while Trevor Ezell (119) and Tristen Gagan (100) follow. Ezell has 360 total bases his career to date and Gagan has 218.  

Last Five Games
In the last five games, Southeast has gone 2-3 with its wins coming against Belmont in walk-off fashion. Justin Dirden leads the team with seven RBI and 11 hits, two of which are round-trippers. Devon Wilson recorded a 1.100 slugging percentage on 10 at-bats and seven hits. Wilson's batting average for this week is .700 with two triples and four RBI. Trevor Ezell has hit two home runs and two doubles to total five RBI. Ryan Losman recorded a 0.00 ERA in 5.1 innings of work. He has allowed four hits with three strikeouts. Losman has not given up any extra base hits.  

Midweek Play
The Redhawks are 0-8 in road games during the week and 3-1 at home. The three wins came against Saint Louis (2) and McKendree. Southeast snapped a six-game losing streak in midweek games when it beat Saint Louis, 4-2, on Apr. 4. It was the Redhawks first midweek win of the season. Southeast has lost the last three midweek games. 

Redhawks Field Cleanly
There are two Redhawks currently with a 1.000 fielding percentage. Alex Canty and Peyton Faulkner have no errors through 48 games this season. Faulkner has 46 putouts with no errors in 29 outfield starts. Meanwhile, Alex Canty has only played defense in six games this season, but has seven putouts and 14 assists. Wade Stauss has a .996 fielding percentage on 246 putouts with one error. Tristen Gagan owns a .995 fielding percentage on 399 putouts on two errors. 

Hot Bats
The Redhawks have 505 hits and 308 RBI in 2018. Southeast averages under six runs a game on just under 10 hits. Trevor Ezell leads the team with 82 hits, which is fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference. Justin Dirden leads the Redhawks with 63 RBI this season. Southeast has 97 doubles and 45 home runs, as well.

Home Run Count
Southeast has 45 home runs this season. The Redhawks hit a home run in 30 games this year. Justin Dirden leads the team with 14 round-trippers. The Redhawks had a season-high four home runs at Austin Peay (Mar. 31).  Alex Canty hit four home runs in his first 40 at-bats this season. 

On Deck
The Redhawks open postseason play at the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament next week. This year's event is from May 22-27 at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama.