Baseball Looks to Stay in Upper Echelon of League Race; APSU series now begins with Friday DH

Game Notes | Live Audio (Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3) | Live Video (Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3) | Live Stats (Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3)

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Sitting in second place in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Morehead State Baseball team will travel to Clarksville, Tenn., this weekend for a three-game set at Austin Peay.

Due to impending heavy rain forecasted, the series will now start on Friday with a 1 p.m. ET doubleheader. Check MSUEagles.com or Twitter (@MSUEagles) for schedule updates.

The Eagles are 26-11 overall and a 11-4 in the OVC, while the Govs are 17-18 overall and 8-10 in the conference contests. Senior Alex Robles leads the Governor's offense with a .375 average. Robles had been in the starting pitching rotation for the past three seasons but is now appearing in a relief role. Both teams are scheduled to start three lefthanders each this weekend.

GAME NOTES

SERIES NOTES
Morehead State trails 55-33 in the all-time series with Austin Peay, but the Eagles have won six of the last nine. Morehead State has also won the series three straight seasons, including at Clarksville in 2015. That was the first series win for the Eagles at APSU since 1999. Overall, Morehead State has a 13-33 all-time record in games played at Clarksville.
 
TALON TRENDS & TIDBITS
Morehead State leads the nation in batting average (.339), hits (467), runs (341), scoring (9.1/game), on-base percentage (.435) and slugging percentage (.538), marking the second time in the last three seasons the Eagles have ranked first in the country in five stats categories at a given point in the year … MSU is also ranked fifth nationally in home runs (58) and ninth in doubles (85) … In the last four games, the Eagles batted .440 as a team with 21 home runs and 13 doubles and scored 79 runs (19.7/game) … Three players, juniors Eli Boggess (.556) and Braxton Morris (.526) and sophomore Niko Hulsizer (.550) batted better than .500 with at least 10 hits in the last four games … Hulsizer is 13-for-25 (.520) with 16 RBI and four home runs in the last five games … Morehead State has won 18 consecutive home games, and the 18 home wins ties a program record for most wins at Allen Field in one season … Boggess has six multi-hit games in the last seven and has 18 hits in those seven contests (2.5 hits/game).
 
FOR STARTERS
Game 1 Starter – LHP Aaron Leasher (6-1, 3.49 ERA, 63 K, 14 BB) – Last outing: 4/13 vs. SIU Edwardsville (W, 16-3) = 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 K, 3 BB, 101 pitches
 
Game 2 Starter – LHP Dalton Stambaugh (2-1, 5.95 ERA, 28 K, 13 BB) – Last outing: 4/14 vs. SIU Edwardsville (W, 16-4) = 7 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 K, 1 BB, 104 pitches
 
Game 3 Starter – LHP Curtis Wilson (4-3, 4.78 ERA, 40 K, 12 BB) – Last outing: 4/15 vs. SIU Edwardsville (W, 28-15 – no decision) = 3.2 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 4 K, 3 BB, 91 pitches
 
NIKO HULK-SIZER
Sophomore outfielder Niko Hulsizer is making a strong case for conference and national honors and was the OVC Player of the Week on April 3. He also won the Golden Spikes Award Gold Standard Performance of the Week honor, garnering 42 percent of the online vote that week. He leads the OVC in total bases (129), home runs (18), RBI (56) and ranks second in hits (58) and ninth in batting average (.384). Nationally, the Mohnton, Pa., native ranks first in home runs and RBI per game, second in RBI and total bases and third in slugging percentage. He also leads the conference with 19 multi-hit games and carries a 21-game reached-base streak into the Austin Peay series.
 
3 FOR 30
The Eagles are on the verge of the program's third consecutive 30-win season. Prior to 2015, Morehead State had only had one 30-win season (1993 with 31 wins). The Eagles also won 32 games last season, marking the first back-to-back 30-win campaigns in school history.
 
BOGGESS ISN'T BOGUS
Junior third baseman Eli Boggess leads the Ohio Valley Conference in hitting, entering the weekend boasting a .419 batting average. Since March 28 (the previous 13 games), he has raised his average 133 points. In that span, Boggess is a blistering 31-for-54 (.564) with nine multi-hit games. He tied the school single-game record with six hits on April 2 against UMass.
 
OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT
Morehead State tied three school records in its 28-15 win over SIU Edwardsville on April 15. The Eagles belted eight home runs, including two grand slams, both of which were school marks. The 28 runs also tied the single-game standard set all the way back in 1977.
 
THE WRIGHT STUFF
Senior lefthanded pitcher Cable Wright is on the verge of setting the Ohio Valley Conference record for appearances. The Owingsville, Ky., native has appeared in 104 games in his career – all in relief – and needs just four more to set the conference mark. He already had set the Morehead State mark last year, which was previously 84. He ranks first among active Division I players in appearances.
 
KENT CAN'T A GOOD MAN DOWN
Senior centerfielder Ryan Kent will finish his career ranked among the all-time greatest players in program history. He currently ranks second in program history in singles (176) and plate appearances (742). He only needs two singles to set that career record and just 16 times at the plate to set that mark. He is also ranked highly in runs (3^rd – 173), walks (4^th – 111), hits (6^th – 234), doubles (7^th – 49) and games played (8^th – 199).
 
WE LOVE FREE BASES
Morehead State is ranked sixth in the nation in getting hit by pitches. The Eagles have been plunked 64 times. MSU also leads the league and ranks 29^th nationally in walks, taking 180 free passes on balls out of the strike zone.