Baseball ventures to SEMO for three-game OVC series

GAME NOTES (PDF) | LIVE STATS (GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3) | LIVE AUDIO (GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3)

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- It's still early in the Ohio Valley Conference baseball schedule, but one of the most important series is set to take place this weekend when Morehead State travels to Southeast Missouri. The two squads faced off in the 2015 OVC Tournament title game.

The series opener is set for Friday at 4 p.m. ET with games Saturday (3 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.) following. Live audio will be available on MSUEagles.com as well as links to live stats for all three contests.

Morehead State (12-4/3-0 OVC) will be facing a Redhawk (10-8/3-0) team that defeated Missouri once in a midweek series. The Eagles most recently fell 6-5 in 12 innings at Marshall Tuesday. Before that, MSU was on a six-game winnng streak.

Runs could be at a premium this weekend with the OVC's top-ranked pitching staffs going at it. SEMO leads the league with a team ERA of 3.03. But, the Eagles hurlers are right behind at 3.48. Junior righty Luke Humphreys will take the ball Friday afternoon, followed by senior righty Matt Anderson (Saturday) and sophomore lefty Aaron Leasher (Sunday).

15 NOTES HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND

• Morehead State defeated SEMO 16-3 in last season's OVC Tournament Championship game. The Eagles have won the regular-season series over the Redhawks in three of the last four years (2012, 2013, 2014).

• MSU has won seven of the last 11 in the series with Southeast Missouri.

• 10 of MSU's normal starters or high reserves are hitting better than .300. The Eagles' .332 team batting average ranks eighth in Division I.

• A year after ranking first in the nation in five stats categories, MSU is back at it again. The Eagles rank fifth in the nation in hits (204) and home runs (22). MSU leads the OVC and ranks eighth nationally in scoring (8.6 runs/game) and also ranks eighth in the country in slugging percentage (.517).

• Senior pitcher Tyler Keele, MSU's primary closer for the pitching staff this year, has racked up three saves, and opponents are only hitting .069 against him. Keele has only allowed two hits in 9.1 innings and has struck out 10.

• Junior third baseman Alex Stephens ranks in the top five nationally in toughest to strike out. He leads the conference having only whiffed once in 71 at-bats, and the only team to strike him out was Siena.

• Stephens ranks sixth in the nation in hits (31) and seventh in total bases (52). Forty-two percent (13 of 31) of his total hits have been for extra bases.

• Saturday's starter, senior Matt Anderson, is the reigning OVC Pitcher of the Week (officially and for College Sports Madness). Anderson is coming off a career-best 16-strikeout effort against Tennessee Tech. He ranks third nationally in strikeouts (41) and second in Ks/nine innings (15.1).

• The Eagles rank second in the OVC in fielding percentage at .973. A year ago, MSU set a school record by fielding at a .969 accuracy.

• Junior first baseman Jesus Carrera has reached base in all 16 games of Division I career. Carrera also has a pair of walk-off hits to help the Eagles beat Arkansas State and Longwood. In the last three seasons (two at Southeastern [Iowa] Community College), he has made only five errors, including none this season.

• Freshman shortstop Reid Leonard hit .478 (11-for-23) during MSU's recent six-game winning streak. He ranks second on the team with a .385 overall batting average.

• Junior lefthander Cable Wright has made 68 career appearances, including a school-record 33 last season. He leads the team with nine assignments this year and boasts a 1.04 ERA. In 8.2 innings, he has 10 strikeouts. The career record for appearances in 84 by Troy Young (1995-98).

• MSU has knocked off three nationally-ranked teams in the last three seasons. The Eagles defeated No. 34 San Diego (Collegiate Baseball) three times in 2015 and beat No. 12 Kentucky (Baseball America) and No. 23 Indiana (BA) in 2013. Prior to the UK win, the last victory over a ranked opponent was in 2007.

• Morehead State is tabbed to finish fourth in the OVC in a preseason vote by the leagues head coaches and media relations contacts.

• Collegiate Baseball Magazine predicted MSU to finish second in the OVC, while D1Baseball.com predicted Morehead State will finish third in the league this season. Anderson is a "top pro prospect" by D1Baseball.com, while Leonard was tabbed the league's second highest-rated freshman prospect.