By Matt Schabert and Ryan Frye, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations
GAME NOTES (PDF) | STATS | WATCH | LISTEN
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State baseball will open a Midwest road trip on Wednesday when the Eagles take on the BIG EAST's Butler Bulldogs at 4 p.m. ET in Indianapolis.
Following that, the Eagles will head over Interstate 70 for a three-game OVC series at SIU Edwardsville.
Wednesday's game will be carried live on Facebook via Butler's Facebook feed. As always, fans can also hear the game live on MSUEagles.com. The Bulldogs are 18-8 overall and 1-1 in the BIG EAST, prior to a game at Fort Wayne Tuesday. Morehead State enters at 20-13 overall and 8-4 in the OVC. The Eagles have scored 72 runs in their last four games.Â
PITCHING MATCHUP
RHP Sam Hubbe (Butler, 1-0) vs. RHP
Kyle Cantu (MSU, 3-0)
GAME NOTES
THE SERIES WITH BUTLER
Morehead State trails 7-2 in the all-time series with Butler, losing six straight. All nine games in the series have been played at Allen Field, with Wednesday's trip to Indianapolis marking the first time the Eagles have traveled to Butler in baseball and the two teams' first meeting since 2007.
PAULY, PAULY, PAULY
Junior outfielder
Connor Pauly has been named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week after batting .733 (11-for-15), with three doubles, a triple, and a pair of home runs, totaling nine RBI and 10 runs in four games last week. He secured 22 total bases, slugging 1.467, and reaching base at a .750 clip, all of which led the team.
HOME AGAIN
MSU freshman reliever
Cory Conway could see action very near his hometown of Noblesville, Ind. He played at the same high school as Butler's Garrett and Connor Christman (Noblesville High School).
WHAT A WEEK
In four games last week, Morehead State scored a whopping 72 runs, clubbing 36 extra-base hits, including 20 home runs. As a team the Eagles hit .427, with ten players hitting north of .300. On the mound, the Morehead State staff struck out 46 batters in 36.0 innings, limiting opponents to a .275 batting average.
TOUCHING THEM ALL A LOT
In last Friday's doubleheader sweep over UT Martin, Morehead State clubbed a program record tying eight longballs in game one, the fourth such game the Eagles have launched eight homers, en route to a 25-2 victory. In game two of the twin billing, the Eagles swatted another six homers, giving them 14 home runs on the day. The 14 homers marks a single-day high for any NCAA program this season, while the eight homers in game one ties for the second highest total this season, with the six from game two ranking tied for ninth. In total, all nine starters for Morehead State would slug a home run in the twin billing.
A HULKING RETURN
After missing the last month due to injury, junior outfielder
Niko Hulsizer wasted no time in reintroducing himself to the Eagle lineup. On the very first pitch he saw, Hulsizer crushed a ball to right-centerfield for a home run in his first at-bat of his return. In the three-game series with UT Martin, he hit .583, slugging 1.333, clubbing three homers, driving in four runs, scoring six runs, and totaling 16 bases.
MORE CAREER-FIRSTS
During last week's action, numerous Eagles notched career firsts. Freshman infielder
Bryce Hensor and sophomore outfielder
Sam Sustersic both hit their first home runs in an Eagle uniform, while junior designated hitter
Adam Rapp clubbed his first grand slam as an Eagle. Junior infielder
Reid Leonard added his first career triples, while junior right-hander
Garret Rogers collected his first career save.
LIMITING LOB's
Morehead State has left 302 runners stranded this season, an average of 9.2 runners left on a game. When the Eagles strand fewer than their season average, they are 16-4 on the season.
TWO BIRDS, ONE STONE
Morehead State leads the OVC in double plays turned with 35 twin killings this season, a total that also ranks fifth in the NCAA. The Eagles also lead the league and rank 11
th in the NCAA, turning just over a double-play a game. The 2017 club finished the season ranked 17
th in the NCAA, turning 56 double plays.
CAUGHT LOOKING
Morehead State pitching has caught 81 opposing batters looking at strike three this season. The total is tied for the OVC lead with Eastern Illinois. Starting pitchers
David Calderon and
Dalton Stambaugh (16 apiece) are one of only two sets of rotation mates to rank in the top five in strikeouts looking in the OVC. Senior righty
Kyle Cantu has caught 10 batters looking, giving the Eagles three pitchers with double-digit strikeouts looking.
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