RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team opens the 2000 Ohio Valley Conference season this weekend with a three-game set with Austin Peay State University. EKU takes on the Govs in a noon doubleheader Saturday and closes out the series with a 1:00 p.m. single game Sunday.

EKU, 5-10 on the season, has won three of its last five games since returning home from a 10-game stretch of road games to open the 2000 season. APSU comes in at 13-5, having won seven in a row, including its most recent contest, an 11-10 come-from-behind victory over Illinois-Chicago.

"We've been making improvements in our total game. We just need to get a couple of our bats in the lineup going and we'll be OK," said EKU head coach Jim Ward.

Senior second baseman Adam Basil and sophomore shortstop Kiley Vaughn have been stinging the ball lately. Basil is a remarkable 29-46 for a .630 batting average, while Vaughn has an eight-game hitting streak alive and is hitting .371 on the year. He also had a streak of eight straight hits that was stopped late in Monday's 12-1 win over IUPUI.

"Both those guys are hot and Jason (Sharp, senior third baseman) is beginning to warm up at the plate. We feel good about our hitting and ability to score runs," Ward said.

Four other Colonels are hitting .300 this season, including junior rightfielder Gabe Thomas (.367); sophomore infielder Chris Frailly (.333); senior first baseman Lee Chapman (.310); and Sharp (.309).

On the mound, sophomore righthander Nic Lively leads the Colonels' pitching staff with his 1-0 record and 2.12 ERA. Scott Santa, also a sophomore righthander, is 1-1 with a 4.98 ERA among those Eastern pitchers who have more than one appearance.

EKU was predicted to finish second in the league race this season to Middle Tennessee in the OVC coaches' pre-season poll.