Eagle Baseball Swings Back into OVC Play at Eastern Illinois for Weekend Series

SERIES NOTES | SCHEDULE PAGE (Links to Live Video, Live Stats)
 
Morehead, Ky. -- Morehead State Baseball hits the road for its second Ohio Valley Conference weekend of the season. The Eagles land in Charleston, Illinois, to take on Eastern Illinois. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET, and Sunday's game is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. ET start.  Friday's and Sunday's games are scheduled to be aired on ESPN+.
 
Morehead State will look to build some momentum on its 12-6 win at long-time foe Eastern Kentucky Tuesday in Richmond snapping a six-game skid. MSU mounted rallies in both the fourth and seventh innings, scoring four runs in each frame to clinch the victory. Eagle pitching gave up just six hits and three walks while striking out seven Colonel batters.
 
Eastern Illinois lost its midweek to Northern Illinois Tuesday 5-4 in ten innings in Charleston, Illinois, snapping a seven-game winning streak. The Panthers swept their conference-opening series at Lindenwood last weekend for a good start in the OVC race.
 
RECORDS/STREAK

Morehead State           11-14, 0-3 OVC / W 1
Eastern Illinois             13-9, 3-0 OVC / L 1
 
SERIES

Morehead State is 26-61 all-time against Eastern Illinois. The schools first met on for a three-game series April 19-20 in Charleston. The Eagles won the opener 10-6 and then lost the next two games of the series.  The next Morehead State win over the Panthers was April 3, 2003: MSU swept a doubleheader 2-0 and 14-15, snapped a 19-game losing streak to the Panthers.
 
In Charleston, the Eagles are 12-29 against the Panthers. The Eagles are 16-32 against the Panthers at home. MSU is 1-4 against EIU in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.
 
Morehead State is 5-4 in the last three series with Eastern Illinois. Last season, the Panthers won two of three against the Eagles in Morehead, with the last two going ten innings.

Last three series vs. EIU:

March 29, 2025            Lost 14-10 (10) in Morehead
March 28, 2025            Won 8-7 (10) in Morehead
March 28, 2025            Lost 14-10 (10) in Morehead
May 12, 2024                Lost 5-1 in Charleston
May 11, 2024                Won 18-10 in Charleston
May 10, 2024                Won 7-4 in Charleston
May 6, 2023                   Won 9-6 in Morehead
May 5, 2023                   Lost 10-4 in Morehead
May 5, 2023                   Won 11-5 in Morehead

NOTABLE

• Morehead State tops the Ohio Valley Conference in hits with 264 on the season. The Eagles also top the OVC with 457 total bases.  
• The Eagles rank second in the OVC in runs scored (203), doubles (52) and triples (9).
• The Eagles rank third in the OVC in batting average (.303) and stolen bases (48 in 63 attempts). UT Martin leads the OVC with 68; Lindenwood is second in the OVC with 52 thefts.
• MSU has grounded into 11 double plays this season, tied for the fewest in the OVC with Lindenwood. SIUE turned four twin-killings last weekend against MSU.
• MSU pitchers have plunked 57 batters this season, the most in the OVC and tied for fourth in the country.
• Aubrey Kearns leads Morehead State hitting .439 this season, leading the Ohio Valley Conference and ranking 12^th in the country. His .505 on-base percentage ranks fifth in the OVC and 45^th in the nation.
• Kearns leads the OVC with 43 hits so far this season, and he ranks tied for third in the country. He is tied for second in the OVC with 73 total bases, which ranks tied for 20^th in the country.
• Kearns has hit safely in 23 of the Eagles' 25 games. He ranks second in the conference lead with nine doubles.
• Kearns had a big Sunday in the Eagles' slugfest against SIUE, going 2-3 with a home run, three walks, three RBI and six runs scored.
• Kearns leads the club with 30 RBI (5th in the OVC).
• Kyle Krupp leads Morehead State with 17 stolen bases in 24 attempts and ranking second in the OVC.
• Krupp is second on the club hitting .374. He has hit safely in eight of the last nine games and in 19 of the 24 games he has played in. He is hitting .500 (15-30) with runners in scoring position. He is hitting .395 (17-43) as a leadoff hitter.
• Shortstop Jaden Correa is hitting .308 (3^rd on the team). He is tied for second on the team (with Kearns) with seven home runs, tied for 7^th in the OVC.
• Correa's 28 RBI is second on the team and is seventh-most in the OVC.
• Outfielder Davis Germann ranks fourth on the team hitting .304. He is 4-4 in stolen base attempts.
• Catcher Caden Sheridan has thrown out 16 would-be base stealers this season, the most in the OVC.
• Sheridan's leads the club and ranks tied for fifth in the OVC with eight home runs.
• Sheridan had a big day Sunday vs. SIUE going 3-7 with two home runs, including a grand slam. He drove in five runs and had nine total bases in the game.
• Alex Kean is riding a 14-game reached base streak, the highest current streak on the team. Kean has five multiple-RBI games to his credit this season, including his five-RBI game at Northern Kentucky on February 25.
• Probable Saturday starter freshman Luke Hayes has impressed early in his collegiate career, posting a 2-1 record with a save. He's walked 11 batters and struck out 20 while posting a 1.78 WHIP. Opponents are hitting .135 against him.
• Senior Josh Furtado has made six appearances on the mound this season, posting an 11.74 strikeouts per nine innings average. He also has a 2.00 strikeouts to walk ratio.
•  Reliever Devin Costa has a 5.00 strikeouts to walk ratio and averages a 5.9 strikeouts per nine innings rate.
• Projected Sunday starter Connor Davis got his second win of the season three weekends ago against Butler. He pitched five innings, scattering five hits allowing three runs and struck out three Bulldog batters.
• Davis got off to a rocky start two Sundays ago at Western Carolina giving up three runs to the Catamounts in the bottom of the first inning. The freshman from Cincinnati buckled down and allowed one run on four hits for the next five innings, giving MSU a chance at a comeback win.