MOREHEAD, Ky. -- With an Ohio Valley Conference tournament berth in sight, the Morehead State baseball team will host Jacksonville State for its final regular season series. The opening game is set for Thursday at 6 p.m. ET, with Friday's game also at 6 p.m. Saturday's Senior Day game is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Saturday is the End of the Year Baseball Bash. Children up to 12 years of age will be admitted free, and there will be free ice cream for everyone in attendance. MSU had two crowds of more than 500 people for its last home series versus Austin Peay two weeks ago. Adults tickets are only $5, and parking is always free.
The Eagles (26-25 overall) are currently tied for fourth place with SIU Edwardsville at 14-13. The Gamecocks (29-22 overall) are tied for second place with Tennessee Tech at 17-10.
Ways to follow the games:
LIVE AUDIO (GM 1 | GM 2 | GM 3) | LIVE AUDIO (MOBILE DEVICES) | LIVE STATS |
TWITTER | FACEBOOKMSUEagles.com will feature a free audio broadcast of all three games. Fans can also listen on most mobile devices at m.Morehead.EZStream.com. Michael Gustin is in his second season as "Voice of the Baseball Eagles." Live stats can be accessed through links here on MSUEagles.com. The link remains the same for all three games. In-game updates will also be available on Twitter and Facebook.
Releases and pre-series information:MOREHEAD STATE (PDF) | JACKSONVILLE STATE | OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCENotes heading into the series:
Senior SaluteThis weekend marks the final home games for seniors
Jeff Birkofer, Bobby Burns, Dan Hyatt and
Noah Smallwood. Entering their final home series, the quartet has combined for 80 wins. Smallwood is MSU's lone four-year senior. Burns and Hyatt are finishing their second year after transferring, and Birkofer has worn the MSU blue and gold for three seasons.
Just One More Base KnockJunior right fielder
Brandon Rawe can etch his name in the MSU record book this weekend. He needs only one hit to eclipse Andrew Deeds' single-season record of 87 set in 2012.
Rawe PowerJunior right fielder
Brandon Rawe leads the Ohio Valley Conference in hits and doubles and ranks third in batting average. He ranks in the top 30 in the nation in Division I in all three categories as well. Rawe ranks fourth nationally in hits (87), 10th in average (.395) and 24th in doubles (18). He also ranks seventh nationally in total bases (135).
Big ImprovementsThe 2014 Morehead State baseball team has shattered last season's totals for wins (26 compared to 16), OVC wins (14 compared to 10), home wins (11 compared to five) and road wins (15 compared to six).
PlunkedJunior second baseman Tyler Bigler has been plunked by a pitch 24 times this season, tying the MSU single-season record. Brandon Baarstad was nailed 24 times in 2003. MSU has set the team record for getting hit by pitches this year with 78, topping the previous mark of 71 set in 2007.
Burning Up the Base PathsSenior designated hitter
Bobby Burns enters the weekend with a team-best 14-game hitting streak. He has 21 hits in that span, and 16 of them have been singles. In nine of those 14 games, Burns has managed multiple hits.
Ain't It GrandJunior first baseman
Kane Sweeney clubbed his third grand slam of the season Tuesday at Tennessee. He also cleared the bases Feb. 23 at Grambling and April 2 at home versus St. Catharine (Ky.).
Series StuffJacksonville State leads the series 26-7 and has won 16 of the last 19 meetings since 2007. Morehead State did claim the last meeting though, a 22-3 romp in the season finale last season in Jacksonville.
