COLONEL BASEBALL TEAM HOSTS MIDDLE TENNESSEE THIS WEEKEND
RICHMOND, Ky. - Having already secured a spot in next week's six-team Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, coach Jim Ward's Eastern Kentucky University Colonel baseball team will now attempt to move as high in the standings as possible this weekend.
EKU hosts Middle Tennessee, one of the hottest teams in the league, at Turkey Hughes Field in a doubleheader Saturday and a single game Sunday. Both day's action begins at 1:00 p.m.
EKU comes into the game at 31-22 on the year and 12-9 in conference action, while MTSU, who swept Tennessee Tech over the weekend, is 25-26 overall and 13-8 in OVC play. Both teams could finish anywhere from second to sixth, depending upon how the other OVC weekend series go.
"We feel good about getting in the tournament and look forward to this weekend. This will be a good, tough series that will hopefully set us up for next week's tournament," said Ward.
Eastern has taken over the No. 1 spot in team batting with its impressive .330 team average. EKU also leads the league by 21 home runs over Austin Peay and MTSU with 86 homers on the year. The Colonels also top the league in runs scored with 420, an average of 7.92 runs per game.
The Colonels are also on a record-setting pace in several defensive categories. Eastern has turned a school-record 62 double plays, 15 more than the closest OVC team (MTSU with 47), and is two percentage points ahead of the school record for best team fielding percentage of .958 set in 1990.
In team pitching, Eastern is seventh in the league in team ERA with its 6.75 mark. However, the Colonels are second in strikeout-walk ratio with 302 strikeouts and 187 walks.
Junior third baseman Jason Sharp is fourth in the league in hitting with his .384 batting average. Senior rightfielder Sean Murray is 10th at .364 and junior first baseman Lee Chapman is 14th at .361. Chapman is also second in the league in home runs with 18 and in runs batted in with 61.
Other Colonels ranked highly in OVC offensive categories include: junior centerfielder Brad Sizemore, second in steals (18) and seventh in triples (4); Sharp, fourth in doubles (16); Murray, fifth in RBI's (53); junior designated hitter Adam Basil and Chapman, tied for third in runs scored (55); and Chapman, third in steals (17).
EKU freshman righthander Chip Albright and senior righthander Eric Bess are tied for third in wins with 7-5 records each. Junior reliever Mike Martini is 6-1 and leads the league in saves with five while compiling a team-leading 4.24 ERA. Junior lefthander Corey Eagle is 6-4 on the season and is sixth in the league in strikeouts with his 8.3 per nine-innings average.