Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Southeast Missouri
Players Mentioned
Racers Begin Series at First-Place SEMO Thursday
4/27/2016 3:47:00 PM | Baseball
GAMES 43-45
Murray State (21-21, 9-9 OVC) at Southeast Missouri (29-11, 18-3 OVC)
April 28-30, 2016
First Pitch: Thursday: 6 p.m., Friday: 6 p.m., Saturday: 1Â p.m.
Series History: SEMO leads 55-52-1
Last Meeting: MSU 2, SEMO 10 – April 26, 2015
Venue: Capaha Field (Capacity: 2,000)
Dimensions: 330 (LF), 400 (CF), 330 (RF)
Live Stats: Game one | Game two | Game three
Watch Live: OVC Digital Network
Twitter In-Game: @RacersBaseball
First Pitch
The Racers look to maintain their momentum as they enter a three-game series with OVC-leading Southeast Missouri riding a four-game winning streak. MSU swept Tennessee Tech last weekend and defeated Alabama A&M Tuesday evening in Murray. SEMO won 2-of-3 last week against Jacksonville State in a battle for first in the league.
Inside the Series
The Redhawks took all three against MSU last season at Reagan Field. SEMO has won 6-of-7 as of late in the series. The Racers' lone win over that span was 11-6 at Capaha Field in 2014. MSU is 22-30 all-time in Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks are the two-time defending OVC regular season champions and are 13-1 at home this year.
Schedule Change
Due to forecasted weather Saturday in Cape Girardeau, the series has been moved up a day and will now be played Thursday-Saturday. Thursday and Friday's contests will be played at 6 p.m., with Saturday's finale set for a 3 p.m., first pitch.
Scouting Southeast Missouri
The Redhawks are the league leaders in the OVC and are also ranked in the top-40 in the RPI. SEMO is hitting .317 as a team and is led by one of the top two players in the conference in Garrett Gandolfo and Branden Boggetto. Gandolfo leads the squad with a .375 batting average and 21 extra-base hits while Boggetto's 40 RBIs and 47 runs scored leads the Redhawks. The Redhawks also have a couple of speed merchants on the base paths in Dan Holst and Trevor Ezell who are a combined 31-for-34 in stolen base attempts this season. SEMO is 51-for-63 on stolen bases in 2016.
The Redhawks also have one of the top pitching staffs in the league with a 3.65 team ERA. The starting trio of Robert Beltran, Clay Chandler and Joey Lucchesi are a combined 17-5 this season in 30 starts. Lucchesi, who was the preseason OVC Pitcher of the Year leads the team with a 1.76 ERA, 88 strikeouts and 66.2 innings pitched while posting a 7-3 record. Justin Murphy leads SEMO with four saves and has a 2.25 ERA out of the bullpen.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Thursday: TBA vs. Joey Lucchesi (LHP) (7-3, 1.76 ERA)
Friday: Ryan Dills (RHP) (2-3, 5.45 ERA) vs. Clay Chandler (RHP) (4-1, 2.98 ERA)
Saturday: TBA vs. Robert Beltran (LHP) (6-1, 3.51 ERA)
