GAME NOTES | LIVE VIDEO, LIVE AUDIO AND LIVE STATS LINKS ON THE SCHEDULE PAGE

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. -- Two of the top teams in the Ohio Valley Conference baseball race will square off for a three-game set this weekend when Morehead State visits Jacksonville State. Games one and two are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, while game three is Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Eagles own the league's best overall record at 27-15 and are 11-7 in conference games. Jacksonville State's overall record is a bit less gaudy at 21-19 but the Gamecocks are ahead of the Eagles at 12-6 in the circuit. JSU is 13-10 this year at the brand new Jim Case Stadium at Rudy Abbott Field.

All three contests are scheduled to be aired live on ESPN+. Fans can also listen to the action on MSUEagles.com with Sunday's game being carried live on WIVY-96.3 FM in the Morehead area and on MSUEagles.com.

PROBABLE PITCHERS

Game 1: LHP Dalton Stambaugh (MSU) vs. RHP Garrett Farmer (JSU)
Game 2: RHP Jason Goe (MSU) vs. RHP Isaiah Magwood (JSU)
Game 3: TBA vs. TBA

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES WITH JACKSONVILLE STATE
Through 49 career meetings, having met for a series in 1996 and every year since 2004, Jacksonville State leads the all-time series 31-18 over Morehead State. Last season, Morehead State took two of three from the Gamecocks, improving to 12-7 under head coach Mike McGuire in the series. After playing the last series at Jacksonville State at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala., Morehead State will return to Rudy Abbott Field in Jacksonville for the first time since sweeping Jacksonville State in 2015.

GARNERING NATIONAL RECOGNITION
As the season rolls towards the final month of play, Morehead State has moved into the Top-25 of 11Point7's Mid-Major Top-25. The Eagles slot in at 24^th in the poll while representing the only team from the Ohio Valley Conference to find themselves ranked. On the season, Morehead State sits at 27-15 overall and 11-7 in OVC play.

CONTINUING HIS CLIMB
With three hits in Tuesday's midweek contest with Marshall, senior shortstop Reid Leonard continued to climb the OVC's all-time hits list. Accumulating 305 career hits, Leonard ranks fourth all-time in league history in hits, trailing just Kevin Strohschein (Tennessee Tech; 331), Clayton Daniel (Jacksonville State; 330), and Bert Smith (Jacksonville State; 323). In a doubleheader with Eastern Illinois earlier in April, Leonard became the sixth player in OVC history to eclipse 300 career hits and the first in Morehead State history.

QUITE REMARKABLE
In 217 games across his four-year Morehead State career, senior shortstop Reid Leonard has reached base safely in 197 career games, failing to reach base in just 20 total games. He has reached in 91 percent of the games he's played in an Eagle uniform and has failed to reach just five times across the past two seasons (104 games). In regards to a career-best reached-base streak, Leonard authored the longest such streak in Morehead State history, reaching in 50 consecutive games during the 2018 season, a streak that spanned from March 2 to May 26.

DRIVING THEM IN
Belting a three-run home run in game one of last Thursday's doubleheader with Eastern Illinois, senior first baseman Trevor Snyder passed former Eagle Kevin Matuszek (2001-03) for the second spot on Morehead State's career RBI leaderboard. Snyder now sits just 10 RBI shy of tying former Eagle Drew Lee for the top spot as Lee drove in 186 runs from 2007-10. This season, Snyder has driven in 27 runs and now totals 176 for his career.

THE HITS KEEP COMING
With each player picking up a hit in Tuesday's midweek at Marshall, senior outfielders Jake Hammon and Connor Pauly continue to rank one-two in the OVC in hits. In fact, both players rank inside the top-25 in the NCAA in hits, slotting in at 10^th and 12^th, respectively. With two players accumulating hit totals that rank in the top-25 in the nation, Morehead State is just one of five teams in the country who have two teams in the top-25, joining New Mexico State, A&M Corpus Christi, George Washington, and Wake Forest.

STILL FINDING WAYS TO REACH
Something that has become almost a given thus far throughout the season for Morehead State has been that senior catcher Hunter Fain will reach base. This year, he has reached 91 times in 179 trips to the plate, good for a .508 on-base percentage. The total ranks 12th in the nation while leading the OVC by a margin of 26 points as Fain is the only player in the league to be ranked in the top-25 in the NCAA in the category. On the season, Fain has reached base with 48 hits, 27 walks, and 16 hit-by-pitch.

HOW BOUT THE STAFF
Through 42 games this season, Morehead State's pitching staff ranks as one of the best in the OVC. Eagle pitching leads the league in earned run average (4.38), hits allowed per nine innings (8.66), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.47), total strikeouts (373), WHIP (1.37), and walks allowed per nine innings (3.71). The pitching staff also ranks second in the league in shutouts (three) and third in strikeouts per nine innings (9.2).

STEADY OUT OF THE PEN
In 14 appearances this season, all in relief, freshman right-hander Landon Weins has crafted a 1.94 earned run average. He has surrendered just nine earned runs (12 total runs) in 41.2 innings. His sub-2.00 ERA ranks second in the OVC, sitting just one point shy of Jacksonville State's Garrett Farmer's earned run average (1.93). Weins' ERA currently slots as the third-lowest single-season ERA (min. 30 IP) in Morehead State history behind Chet Lemay (1.62 in 1978) and Charles Alkins (1.91 in 1965).

ALL IN THE FAMILY
Through 10 appearances and seven starts during the 2019 campaign, redshirt junior righty Jason Goe has issued just six walks in 43.0 innings while striking out 40 hitters. This equates to a 6.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a figure that ranks 20th in the NCAA and second in the OVC. The total would also rank as the second-best in Morehead State history over the course of a season, falling just shy of Goe's older brother Aaron's mark of 7.40 (37 strikeouts and 5 walks). Additionally, Jason Goe's 1.26 walks allowed per nine innings (19th^t-best nationally) ranks second all-time in a single season at Morehead State, again slotting behind his brother Aaron's mark (1.09).

NAILING THEM DOWN
With Morehead State's 4-3 victory against Austin Peay on April 13, junior right-hander Jake Ziegelmeyer recorded his seventh save of the season, tossing the final 2.2 innings, allowing one baserunner while striking out three. The save marks the most in a single season by a Morehead State reliever since 2016 when Tyler Keele saved seven games. The seven saves ties for fourth-most in a single season at Morehead State while Ziegelmeyer's nine career saves ranks sixth all-time. On the season, Ziegelmeyer is seven of nine in save opportunities, having converted his last five of his last six chances.

GETTING MORE THAN JUST THE FINAL THREE OUTS
Of his nine career saves, seven of them have required Jake Ziegelmeyer to record three or more outs to earn the save. In fact, six of the seven saves greater than one inning has required Ziegelmeyer to record six or more outs. On the year, Ziegelmeyer has saved seven games, converting each of his last three save opportunities with each extending over two or more innings.

HITTING THE TRIFECTA
With Morehead State's 19-0 win against Alabama A&M on April 9, head coach Mike McGuire recorded his 300^th NCAA coaching victory and now has 305 NCAA victories in his career (215 at Morehead State and 90 and Lander [S.C.]). This milestone comes after McGuire recorded his 350^th career coaching victory (adding in 52 victories at Louisburg [N.C.]) during Morehead State's doubleheader versus SIUE and collecting his 200^th career victory at Morehead State earlier in the season.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
With a double-header played on the opening day of their series with Eastern Illinois, Morehead State will have played eight twin-billings this season. The total marks the most during a single season for the program since 2013 when the Eagles played a staggering 10 doubleheaders. Of the team's ten series this year, Morehead State has seen just two not feature a doubleheader, starting off the season with four consecutive weekends with a double-dip and each of the last four featuring a double-up. On the year, the Eagles are 11-5 when facing a doubleheader, having completed four sweeps, having salvaged three splits, and having been swept once.