MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Looking to get back on the winning track, the Morehead State baseball team will host Belmont in a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series at Allen Field this weekend. Single games are scheduled for Friday (3 p.m. ET), Saturday (1 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).
After claiming three consecutive wins last week, the Eagles (11-13/4-5 OVC) have dropped two straight. The MSU offense ranks fourth in the conference in hitting, and the Eagles are the toughest team in the league to strike out on average.
Belmont (7-17/0-6) has a pitching staff that ranks fourth in the league in ERA, but the Belmont offense ranks 10th with a .223 batting average.
Fans may bring a bulletin from any church on Sunday and receive a ticket for $1. Regular tickets for all games are just $5 for adults and $2 for children ages 2-12. MSU students are free with their school ID. Parking is always free.
Check MSUEagles.com, Twitter (@MSUAthletics) or Facebook (Facebook.com/MSUEagles) for any potential schedule changes due to weather.
Ways to follow the games:
LIVE VIDEO (GM 1 | GM 2 | GM 3) | LIVE STATS
Weather permitting, all three games are set to be webcast on the Ohio Valley Conference Digital Network. In its second full-year, the OVCDN provides high-quality video streams of OVC events free of charge. No registration is required, and the games can be viewed on computers and most mobile devices as well. Michael Gustin, in his second season as "Voice of the Baseball Eagles," will call play-by-play. If weather does not allow the games to be on the OVCDN, MSUEagles.com will have a free audio-only broadcast. Live stats can be accessed through links here on MSUEagles.com. The link remains the same for all three games.
Releases and pre-series information:
MOREHEAD STATE (PDF) | BELMONT (PDF) | OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE
Notes heading into the series:
Last Time vs. Belmont
Morehead State dropped all three games in the series to Belmont last year in Nashville. The Belmont pitching staff held the Eagles to just five runs in the series.
Touching Them All
The Eagles have four players with double-digit active reached-base streaks. Junior right fielder Brandon Rawe leads the team with 20 straight, while junior shortstop Robby Spencer has 12. Freshman center fielder Ryan Kent has an 11-game streak, while junior left fielder Nick Newell has reached in 10 straight.
Rawe Talent
Brandon Rawe ranks second in the Ohio Valley Conference with a .429 batting average. Rawe leads the team with 13 multi-hit games, including six with three or more hits.
Keep it Up
Brandon Rawe has 42 hits in 24 games for the Eagles. He is nearly halfway to the MSU single-season record of 86 held by Drew Lee in 2009. Lee set the record in 50 games.
The New (ell) Guy
Nick Newell is riding a six-game hitting streak into the Belmont series. In that span, he batted .333 (8-for-24) and has two multi-hit games. Newell raised his batting average 31 points to .250.
Flyin' Ryan
Freshman center fielder Ryan Kent is batting .325, which ranks third on the team. He also has made only one error in the outfield for a .980 fielding percentage.
Craig's List
Sophomore pitcher Craig Pearcy is one of just nine Division I pitchers who leads his respective team in wins and saves. Pearcy is 3-1 with a team-low 2.19 ERA and also is tied for the team lead with three saves. All of his wins have come in relief appearances of 4+ innings.
Getting On Base...Every 4.8 Times
Junior first baseman Kane Sweeney has drawn a team-high 19 walks in 92 plate appearances. That's one walk every 4.8 at-bats. Junior second baseman Tyler Bigler has been hit by a pitch a team-best 15 times, which also amounts to getting on base every 4.8 times in the batter's box.
