LIVE AUDIO (GAME ONE | GAME TWO | GAME THREE)
LIVE VIDEO (GAME THREE)
GAME NOTES

MOREHEAD, Ky. – After going toe-to-toe with a nationally ranked foe, Morehead State baseball makes a trek to the Music City to open Ohio Valley Conference play. The Eagles (9-2) travel to face Belmont (5-7) for a three-game slate set to begin Friday.

Game times are set for 5 p.m. ET Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The Eagles enter the conference portion of their schedule on a high-note as the team is off to the program's best start through 11 games in history. The hot start is thanks in large part to an offense that ranks top-25 in the NCAA in eight categories, including an OVC-leading 10.3 runs per game.

Morehead State—the league's preseason pick to win the league—currently sits atop the standings entering conference play's opening weekend. Belmont slots in fifth in the standings after being picked to finish seventh in the preseason.

Live Audio will be available on the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety Eagle Sports Network with Sunday's finale slated to air on WIVY-96.3 FM in Morehead. The series' final game is also scheduled to air on ESPN+.

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
GAME 1: LHP Dalton Stambaugh
GAME 2: RHP Garret Rogers
GAME 3: RHP Will Lozinak

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES WITH BELMONT
Having met every season since Belmont joined the Ohio Valley Conference in 2013 and from 1998 to 2005, Morehead State trails the all-time series 34-14. Last season, Morehead State swept its season series with the Bruins, taking all three games at Allen Field. Under head coach Mike McGuire, Belmont owns a 12-9 advantage, but Morehead State has captured five of the seven matchups over the past two seasons.

NO SWEET TUNE IN THE MUSIC CITY
Since the start of the 2016-17 athletic season, the city of Nashville has gotten the better of the Morehead State Eagles. Over the last three years, Eagle athletic clubs are 10-22 in the Music City. Things are on the upswing though as this season, Morehead State athletics has captured four total victories in Nashville after entering the year going 6-19 in the previous two seasons. In the past two seasons, Morehead State baseball owns a 2-1 record, capturing its series in Nashville during the 2017 season.

BEST START SINCE…
Morehead State is off to its best start through 11 games since… well, ever. The Eagles 9-2 record marks the best start in program history, winning eight of the last nine. Last season, Morehead State's longest winning streak stretched to six games from March 16-23. The eight-game streak Morehead State went on from Feb. 16-March 2 is the longest since 2017 when the Eagles put together an eight-game and nine-game streak as part of a 22-6 start to the season.

OVER THE HILL
With a fourth-inning double, senior centerfielder Connor Pauly reached the 40-game plateau of his current reached-base streak. The Glenview, Ill. native has reached safely in all 11 games this season, adding to the 29-game streak to end last season to become just the third player in program history to reach base safely in 40 straight games. Pauly joins senior shortstop Reid Leonard—program-record 50-game streak in 2018—and current hitting coach and former first baseman Kane Sweeney—41-game streak in 2013.

ANOTHER IS STREAKING AS WELL
In addition to Pauly's 40-game reached base streak, another Morehead State outfielder has put together quite a streak of his own. Senior left fielder Jake Hammon has also reached in all 11 games this year, combining with his season-ending 22-game streak last season to hold an active 33-game streak. With both players concurrently over 30-game reached-base safely, it marks the second time in program history with two players over 30-games at the same time—Reid Leonard (50) and Braxton Morris (33) in 2018.

HOW ABOUT THIS START?
In addition to the team's program-best start to the season, senior catcher Hunter Fain has started the season hot out of the gate. He ranks top-five in the NCAA in batting average (fourth), on-base percentage (second), and slugging percentage (second), posting a slash line of .556/.692/1.185. He leads the club and is 10th in the country in home runs, slugging five while driving in 10 runs on the year.

DOUBLING UP IN A DOUBLE DIP
In game one of the Eagles' doubleheader with NJIT last Saturday, Morehead State seniors Fain and Jake Hammon both posted perfect days at the plate, both going 5-for-5. The two performances established or tied career-bests as Fain knocked four singles and a double, plating two and scoring two while Hammon picked up five singles, knocking in a pair and scoring four. The pair continued their hot start to the doubleheader, picking up a sixth hit in as many at-bats to open the nightcap. Overall, both men finished the day 7-for-8 at the plate.

KING OF THE HILL
Redshirt sophomore infielder Stephen Hill entered last Saturday's twin-billing searching for his first hit in a Morehead State uniform, entering the game 0-for-9 at the plate. After a strikeout in his first at-bat of the day, Hill collected his first hit—a single to left—in his second at-bat. From there Hill went on to collect five additional hits to finish the doubleheader 6-for-10 with a home run, six RBI, and four runs scored.

BIG DAYS FROM THE TRIO
Morehead State collected 41 hits in both ends of their doubleheader with NJIT last Saturday, with 49% of the team's hit total coming from three players. The aforementioned Fain, Hammon, and Hill combined for 20 of the team's 41 hits, combining to hit .769 (20-for-26) at the plate. Fain and Hammon collected seven hits apiece while Hill chipped in six.

STILL TOUGH TO STRIKE OUT
On top of his 40-game reached base streak, Pauly is also one of the toughest hitters to strike out on the Morehead State roster. Through 48 at-bats on the year, he has fanned just twice. Pauly ranks 19th in the NCAA with 24.0 at-bats per strikeout. He isn't the only player on the roster to register in the top-25 as he's joined by Leonard, like Pauly has struck out just twice, but in 46 at-bats. Leonard ranks 21st in the NCAA with 23.0 at-bats per strikeout.

CONTINUING THE OFFENSIVE TRENDS
Last season, Morehead State reached double-digit hits in 44 games, owning a 30-14 record. This season, the Eagles have reached double-digit knocks in six games with a 5-1 record in such games. Additionally, Morehead State had 21 games in which they had 10 or more runs last season, owning a 17-4 record in those games with the team having six such games and a 4-1 record this season.

DOUBLING UP ON THE TRENDS
In 20 games last year, Morehead State was able to put up both double-digit hits and runs, combining to go 16-4 in such games. Compared to this season, the Eagles are on a similar pace, having five such games this season, posting a 4-1 record.

POSTING A "SCORE" OF RUNS AND HITS
Morehead State scored 21 runs in the second game of last Saturday's doubleheader, doing so on 20 hits. The game marked the second time this season the Eagles had accumulated 20 or more hits, the other being the opener of the twin-billing when the Eagles laced out 21 hits. Last season, Morehead State posted at least a score (group of 20) runs in four games and at least 20 hits in six games. With the two 20-run games this season, the last five 20-run games have included 20-plus hits.