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RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team will host Big East power Louisville today at Turkey Hughes Field. The Cardinals edged EKU last week in Louisville, 9-8, with a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

Senior Tyler Rehmel led the Colonels in the first matchup between these two teams. The Jasonville, Ind. native went 2-for-4 with three RBI, including a pair of two-out RBI doubles. Rehmel’s second RBI double came in the top of the seventh and kept the Colonels within striking distance, setting up senior Matt Davis’ solo blast in the top of the ninth that sent it into the bottom of half of the inning.

Louisville is led by preseason All-American and Big East Player of the Year Chris Dominguez. Phil Wunderlich (.400 batting average) and Andrew Clark (.714 slugging percentage) are also swinging hot bats for the Cardinals.

Junior right-hander Jim Clancy is scheduled to start on the mound for the Colonels while sophomore right-hander Tyler Mathis is set to go for Louisville. 

Colonel Baseball Notes

Colonels Atop the OVC
Several Colonels enter this week as statistical leaders in the OVC. Senior second baseman Tyler Rehmel leads the conference in doubles per game (1.00) and stolen bases per game (1.00). Senior outfielder Matt Davis is tops in the OVC in runs per game (2.25) and sophomore third baseman Jayson Langfels is the league leader in triples per game (.67).

Swinging the Bats Well
As a team, EKU is second in the OVC in hitting with a .315 batting average. They are also second in the league with a .500 team slugging percentage and 15 doubles. They lead the OVC by a large margin with 12 stolen bases.

Davis’ Dramatic Blast
The Colonels’ first home run of the season came in dramatic fashion on Feb. 25 against Louisville. Trailing the then-no. 26 Cardinals, 8-7, heading into the top of the ninth, senior Matt Davis, with one out, belted a shot over the wall in left center to tie the score and send it into the bottom half of the inning.

Memorable Debut for Harris
Freshman right-hander Matt Harris made his Colonel debut against Louisville on Feb. 25, and it was a memorable one for the Lexington native. Facing a formiddable lineup, he allowed just one hit and held the Cardinals scoreless through his two innings of work. He also recorded two strikeouts, getting Louisville’s preseason All-American third baseman Chris Dominguez looking with two outs and two men on to silence a potential rally in the fourth.

Right Where He Left Off...
Sophomore third baseman Jayson Langfels recorded a Colonel-record eight triples last season during his rookie campaign. To put any rumors to rest regarding that number being a fluke, Langfels, in his first at-bat of the 2009 season, ripped an RBI triple over the center fielder’s head at Louisville. One game later, against IPFW, Langfels blasted another three-bagger to deep center field. He is now on pace to hit 36 triples this season. The EKU record for triples in a career is 12 (held by Josh Anderson and Lee Chapman). Langfels now has 10 with, presumably, about 150 games left in his career.

Colonels Flash the Leather
EKU made two Web Gem worthy plays in the same inning the last time they played Louisville to stay within striking distance of the Cards. After EKU pulled to within one run of the Cardinals in the top of the seventh, the bottom half of the inning saw sophomore third baseman Jayson Langfels backhand a hard ground ball deep down the third base line and make a leaping throw across his body to barely get the runner at first. Two batters later, senior outfielder Matt Davis made a diving grab in center to end the inning dramatically.