Baseball Eagles Venture to Alabama to Face Jacksonville State

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

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State baseball is back on the road this weekend when the Eagles face Jacksonville State for a three-game series in Alabama. The games will take place at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, the site of the 2017 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

All three games can be heard live on MSUEagles.com. The Friday opener is set for 7 p.m. ET with the Saturday and Sunday games at 2 p.m.

Morehead State has a firm hold on second place in the OVC at 13-7, while the Eagles are 29-16 overall. MSU is searching for its third straight 30-win season.

The Gamecocks are 23-20 overall and 10-11 in OVC contests.

GAME NOTES

SERIES NOTES
Morehead State trails 28-15 in the all-time series with Jacksonville State, but the Eagles have won six straight in the series. MSU swept JSU in Jacksonville in 2015 and also won all three last year in Morehead. Overall, Morehead State has won nine of the last 11 against the Gamecocks.
 
TALON TRENDS & TIDBITS
Morehead State leads the nation in hits (567), on-base percentage (.434), runs (411) and scoring (9.1/game) … The Eagles rank second in the nation in batting average (.338) and slugging percentage (.534) … Sophomore SS Reid Leonard enters the weekend on an 11-game hitting streak and is 23-for-51 (.450) in that span … Junior 3B Eli Boggess ranks second in the nation and leads the OVC in batting average (.417) and is only five points behind the national leader … Boggess has nine hits in his last two games ... In the last four Sunday games, Boggess batted 18-for-22 (.818) … Morehead State has hit 31 home runs in its last 12 games … Junior 2B Braxton Morris has reached base safely in 23 consecutive games, while senior RF Will Schneider is riding a 14-game reached-base streak.
 
FOR STARTERS
Game 1 Starter – LHP Aaron Leasher (6-2, 3.63 ERA, 72 K, 22 BB) – Last outing: 4/28 vs. EIU (L, 14-7) = 6 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 4 K, 6 BB, 109 pitches
 
Game 2 Starter – RHP Jake Ziegelmeyer (2-1, 6.52 ERA, 24 K, 11 BB) – Last outing: 4/30 vs. EIU (W, 16-15) = 1.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 K, 2 BB, 33 pitches
 
Game 3 Starter – LHP Dalton Stambaugh (3-1, 6.19 ERA, 38 K, 14 BB) – Last outing: 4/29 vs. EIU (L, 9-8) = 5.0 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 6 K, 0 BB, 85 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. Hulsizer ranks first in the nation in home runs with 21, ranks second in total bases, third in slugging percentage and fourth in RBI. His 21 round-trippers are the third-best single season total in program history. Forty of Hulsizer's 69 hits have been for extra bases.
 
ANOTHER 30-WIN CAMPAIGN?
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 .417 batting average. Boggess has been on an absolute tear at the plate and has only struck out 10 times in 169 plate appearances. He has 11 games with three or more hits. In the last five games, he batted 12-for-22 (.545).
 
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.
 
HE OWNS THE RECORD
Senior lefthanded pitcher Cable Wright now owns the Ohio Valley Conference career record for appearances. The Owingsville, Ky., native has appeared in 108 games in his career – all in relief. 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 already owns two MSU career offensive records – most singles (181) and most at-bats (770). Kent should theoretically break the MSU career record for plate appearances this weekend. He has 933 with the record being 940. Kent also ranks second in runs scored (180 – record is 193) and second in games played (207 – record is 211).
 
TAKING ONE … NO, MAKE THAT SEVERAL … FOR THE TEAM
Junior second baseman Braxton Morris currently ranks second in career times being hit by a pitch at Morehead State with 34. He leads the squad with 16 "bruises" this season. As a team, the Eagles rank first in the OVC and third nationally, being plunked by 82 opposing pitches in 2017.
 
WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY
Senior outfielder Will Schneider leads the team with 71 hits this season after pacing the entire team last season with 84. Will has 421 career at-bats, meaning he gets a hit every 2.6 times he registers an at-bat.