Live Stats | Game Notes
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Offense is promised this weekend at Allen Field, as two of the Ohio Valley Conference’s most explosive teams will link up as Morehead State hosts arch-rival Eastern Kentucky for a three game set. The series begins with a 1:00 p.m. double header on Saturday, with game three set for Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
After downing Marshall on Tuesday, MSU enters the weekend at 19-17 and 2-4 in OVC play. The Eagles currently sit in seventh place in the conference, one spot out of the last playoff position. Eastern Kentucky enters the series with a record of 18-15 and 6-3 in the OVC. The Colonels also defeated Marshall this week, while also losing to West Virginia.
Michael Bottoms,
Matthew Robertson, and
Jeff Arnold will make up the Eagle’s weekend rotation. Bottoms is coming off a complete-game six-hitter against Eastern Illinois last weekend and is now 3-2 on the season with a club-best 6.04 era. Robertson is 0-2 on the year after being the hard luck loser in the EIU series finale, while Arnold enters the weekend at 4-1 with a 7.98 era.
The Colonels will counter with Stephen Hefler, Paul Duncan, and Greg Terry. All three hurlers have earned run averages under 6.00 and respective records of 3-1, 2-1, and 3-2.
Hot-hitting #J.D. Ashbrook
leads MSU. Ashbrook is hitting 13-20 in his last five games to raise his club-best average to .459. The senior slugger also leads the team in home runs and slugging percentage. Ashbrook also comes into the weekend as the national leader in runs scored and ranks in the top-five nationally in five other categories. Drew Lee# is the Eagles top run producer, having driven in 50 runs this season, with 11 home runs and a .383 average. Lee’s RBI total ranks him sixth in the nation.
Daniel Pugh,
Travis Redmon,
Michael Fear,
Cameron Flynn, and
Taylor Davis are all hitting over .300 for the Eagles and four other players have 30-plus RBIs.
Much like MSU, EKU is a highly offensive team led by Jayson Langfels and Richie Rodriguez. Langfels was named alongside Lee as the OVC Preseason Co-Player of the Year and is batting .402 on the season with 11 homers and 36 RBIs. Langfels also slugs .803 for the Colonels and has 12 doubles and four triples. Rodriguez enters the weekend with a team-high 60 hits, good for 10th nationally, and a .395 average. Rodriguez has also driven in 26 runs. Four other EKU players are batting over .300 and two others have surpassed the 30 RBI mark this season.
