Southeast Missouri (13-13, 7-5 OVC) at Murray State (15-12, 6-3 OVC)

Series Information
Dates: April 9-10, 2021
Schedule: Apr. 9 - 12 p.m., CT (DH); Apr. 10 - TBA
Location: Murray, Ky.
Facility: Reagan Field
Series: SEMO leads, 63-58-1 
Last Meeting: MSU 6, SEMO 5 (Apr. 13, 2019 | Murray, Ky.)
Head Coaches: Andy Sawyers (188-136 overall; 101-109 at SEMO; 55-50 OVC). Dan Skirka (49-49 overall, 49-49 at MSU).

Follow the Redhawks
Radio: SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM & 1220 AM (Erik Sean)
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 
Twitter: @SEMObaseball
Series Notes: Southeast Missouri Notes (PDF)

Probable Starting Pitchers
Game 1 - Dylan Dodd, LHP (SEMO) / Shane Burns, LHP (MSU)
Game 2 - Noah Niznik, LHP (SEMO) / Jack Wenninger, RHP (MSU)
Game 3 - TBA (SEMO) / TBA (MSU)

Redhawks Head to Murray State
Southeast Missouri (13-13, 7-5) heads to Ohio Valley Conference leader Murray State (14-12, 6-3) for a three-game series this weekend. The Redhawks and Racers play at 12 p.m. doubleheader Friday. Saturday's game time is to be announced due to impending inclement weather.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to this weekend's series at SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM and 1220 AM. Erik Sean will call the action. Live stats can be accessed at GoRacers.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMObaseball.

Series History
Southeast Missouri and Murray State square off for the 122nd time Friday. SEMO leads the all-time series by a count of 63-58-1. The Redhawks have won five of their last seven games against the Racers. Twenty-four of SEMO's wins in the series against MSU have come in Murray, Kentucky. The Redhawks last series win at Reagan Field was in 2015 (3-0). SEMO scored 37 runs during that series. 

Congratulations Coach Sawyers!
Andy Sawyers picked up his 100th career win as Southeast Missouri's head coach when the Redhawks beat Jacksonville State, 6-5, in comeback fashion on Apr. 2. Sawyers, who is in his fifth year at the helm, is 101-108 overall at SEMO.

Series Wins
Southeast Missouri recorded five series wins so far this season, three of which came in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Redhawks beat South Alabama (2-1), Illinois State (3-1), SIU Edwardsville (2-1), Austin Peay (2-1) and Jacksonville State (2-1) for those victories. SIUE and JSU were both ahead of SEMO in the OVC standings at the time the Redhawks won those series. 

Mason's Hitting Streak Reaches 10 Games 
Jevon Mason extended his hitting streak to 10 games after getting multiple hits in two of his three starts against Jacksonville State (Apr. 2-3). Mason is the first Redhawk on a hitting streak of 10 or more games this season. He is one of seven Ohio Valley Conference players on active hitting streaks of 10 or more games. John Stallcup (SIUE, 13 games), John Behrends (Belmont, 12 games), Trey Sweeney (EIU, 11 games), Logan Eickhoff (EIU, 11 games), Raul Elguezabal (SIUE, 10 games) and Daniel Harris IV (EKU, 10 games) are the others.

More on Mason's Hitting Streak 
Jevon Mason began his current hitting streak against Austin Peay on Mar. 20. A day later, Mason started in right field and has not been out of the starting lineup since. He hit .500 (21-for-42) with 10 runs scored five doubles, eight RBI, a .619 slugging percentage and .560 on-base percentage over his last 10 games. Mason also walked six times and collected multiple hits on seven occasions during that stretch.

Last Double-Digit Game Hitting Streaks 
Tyler Wilber and Connor Basler were the last Southeast Missouri players to own hitting streaks of 10 or more games. Wilber hit safely in 14 consecutive games (Mar. 1-22) and Basler held a 10-game hitting streak (Feb. 17-Mar. 8) in 2019. 

Wilber Nabs First OVC Player of the Week Honor 
Shortstop Tyler Wilber claimed his first Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week honor on Mar. 5. Wilber hit .611 with two runs scored, a pair of doubles, nine RBI and a stolen base last week. He hit safely in 11 of his 18 at-bats, boasted a .722 slugging percentage and registered a .619 on-base percentage in four starts. Wilber had three or more hits in three games, including a season-best four against Jacksonville State (Apr. 3). He knocked in the go-ahead run on a two-RBI single in the sixth inning leading Southeast Missouri to its 6-5 come-from-behind series opening win vs. the Gamecocks (Apr. 2). Wilber enters the weekend ranked second in the OVC with 11 multiple-hit games. He also rates fourth in the league in hits (1.5 per game), fifth in batting average (.386) and eighth in on-base percentage (.444). UT Martin's Sam Folks (Pitcher of the Week) rounded out the week's honorees.

Over .400
Jevon Mason leads Southeast Missouri with a .418 batting average. Mason, who has played in 17 games and logged 14 starts, also tops the Redhawks with a .522 on-base percentage. He is one of six players in the Ohio Valley Conference hitting over .400 with a minimum of 13 starts. Logan Eickhoff (EIU, .435, 22 starts), John Behrends (Belmont, .406, 26 starts), Trey Sweeney (EIU, .406, 27 starts), John Stallcup (SIUE, .409, 13 starts) and Alex Carignan (JSU, .404, 13 starts) round out that group.

200th Career Start
Second baseman Connor Basler will make his 200th career start when he takes the field against Murray State Friday. Basler has played and started more games than any Redhawk on this year's roster. He currently leads the team with 204 games and 199 starts since joining the program in 2017.

Wilma Wins 2021 Starting Debut
Left-hander Collin Wilma, who started three of his four appearances in Southeast Missouri's shortened 2020 campaign (due to COVID-19), beat Jacksonville State (Apr. 3) in his first start this season. Wilma struck out three and allowed two runs on six hits in 5.1 innings during SEMO's series clinching 8-3 victory. He made three relief appearances prior to that start. 

Miller Time 
Freshman right-hander Kyle Miller was outstanding out of the bullpen in two relief appearances last week. Miller struck out seven of the nine hitters he faced for the week. He struck out the side and finished with five strikeouts en route to a six-out save against Jacksonville State (Apr. 2). Miller then came on in the ninth inning and recorded a big strikeout with two runners on base to polish off Southeast Missouri's series-clinching 8-3 win over the Gamecocks the next day. Miller tossed 2.2 scoreless innings against JSU. He is second on the team with two saves thus far.

Getting on Base
Andrew Keck has reached base in 15-consecutive games. Keck also hit safely in 13 of those contests. His reached base streak is the longest of any Redhawk this season. Peyton Leeper and Jevon Mason have also reached base in 12 and 10 straight games, respectively.

Career Stolen Base Record in Sight 
Connor Basler is second on the team with seven stolen bases this season. Basler ranks third all-time among Southeast Missouri's all-time career stolen base leaders with 49. He needs four more to break the school's all-time career record. Denver Stuckey (2000-03) currently holds the record with 52 stolen bases.

Where They Stand
Southeast Missouri (7-5) leads the Ohio Valley Conference with seven league victories this season. The Redhawks are third in the standings behind Murray State (6-3) and Morehead State (4-2). SEMO moved ahead of Jacksonville State (5-4) after winning two of three against the Gamecocks last weekend. 

OVC Tournament Site Selected
The Ohio Valley Conference announced on Apr. 6 that its 2021 Baseball Championship will be held at The Ballpark at Jackson from May 27-29. The OVC Baseball Championship was previously held at The Ballpark at Jackson form 2010-2016. This year's championship will feature the top four teams in the OVC standings competing in a double-elimination format with the winner getting the OVC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Jackson is located in the heart of West Tennessee halfway between Memphis and Nashville conveniently on Interstate 40. 

Last OVC Series
Southeast Missouri won two of three games over then Ohio Valley Conference co-leader Jacksonville State (Apr. 2-3). SEMO took game one, 6-5, and game three, 8-3, to hand the Gamecocks their second Ohio Valley Conference series loss. Tyler Wilber hit .615 with two runs scored, eight hits and six RBI, while Jevon Mason hit .500 with four runs scored, six hits and three RBI against JSU. 

Stauss Homers in Back-to-Back Games 
Catcher Wade Stauss hit a home run in back-to-back games for the first time this season. Stauss hit a solo home run in game one of Southeast Missouri's doubleheader against Jacksonville State (Apr. 3) and followed that up with a three-run smash in the nightcap. It marked the second time he homered in two-straight games during his career. Stauss leads the Redhawks and is tied for sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference with six home runs this season.

NCAA Top-25 Rankings
Peyton Leeper ranks seventh in the nation in triples (3). Connor Basler ranks 19th in sacrifice bunts (5). Dylan Dodd (7) and Noah Niznik (7) are fifth in games started. Dodd is also 17th nationally in strikeouts (55).

Atop the OVC
Southeast Missouri leads the Ohio Valley Conference in stolen bases (39) and sacrifice bunts (16). Individually, Peyton Leeper is tied for first in triples (3) and Dylan Dodd is first in strikeouts (55) and innings pitched (43.2). Additionally, Austin Blazevic is first in chances (233), putouts (223) and fielding double plays (17), and Wade Stauss is tied for first in fielding percentage (1.000). 

Wilber Fourth in the OVC in Batting Average
Shortstop Tyler Wilber ranks fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference with a .386 batting average. Wilber is also tied for third among league leaders in hits (39), ninth in on-base percentage (.444) and tied for ninth in total bases (52).  

11 and Counting
Tyler Wilber leads Southeast Missouri and ranks second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 11 multiple-hit games this season. Wilber ranks close behind Eastern Illinois' Logan Eickhoff (13) in that category. Wilber collected multiple hits a total of 47 times during his SEMO career.

Over 150 Starts
Two Redhawks have made over 150 starts in their careers. Second baseman Connor Basler tallied a team-high 199 career starts and mainstay center fielder Danny Wright has accumulated 186. Both Basler and Wright are fifth-year seniors after joining Southeast Missouri's baseball program in 2017.

About Murray State
Ohio Valley Conference Murray State enters the weekend with an overall record of 15-12 and 6-3 in league play. MSU's 15 overall victories are most in the OVC. The Racers are also 7-2 at home this year. MSU leads the conference and rates 11th in the nation with 38 home runs. Racer hitters have also walked a league-high 126 times. MSU hit three or more home runs in a game on six occasions this season with a total of 13 in its series win at Eastern Illinois (Mar. 12-13). The Racers finished with a season-high seven round-trippers against the Panthers on Mar. 13. Jordan Cozart is the Racers top offensive threat hitting .337 with 10 home runs, nine doubles, 30 runs scored and 31 RBI. Cozart leads the OVC in runs, home runs and doubles.