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RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team will conclude its regular season this weekend with a three-game series against future OVC foe SIU Edwardsville at Turkey Hughes Field. A doubleheader will now be played on Friday at 1:00 p.m. and the series will end with a single game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. There will be no games on Sunday.

EKU’s 2010 senior class – first baseman Anthony Ottrando and catcher Joey Stevens – will be honored before Saturday’s game at around 12:45.

Following a loss at the hands of No. 10 Louisville on Tuesday, the Colonels enter the weekend with a record of 24-25 (9-12 OVC) and will have to sweep the Cougars to finish above .500 for the second consecutive season under head coach Jason Stein. EKU is 12-6 at home this season.

SIUE arrives at Turkey Hughes Field with a record of 14-35 and having lost 12 of its last 14 games. The Cougars have not played a game since May 12 as their last four scheduled games have all been cancelled. SIUE has won just four games on the road in 2010.

The Colonels will keep a keen eye on other OVC action this weekend, especially the games involving Eastern Illinois, Morehead State and UT Martin. Assuming every team plays three games this weekend and there are no ties, EKU needs two of the following three scenarios to occur to qualify for the OVC Tournament: EIU gets swept by Southeast Missouri State, Morehead State loses at least two to Jacksonville State and UT Martin drops at least one to Austin Peay.

EKU will alter its weekend rotation again as junior left-hander Paul Duncan (4-4, 6.90 ERA in 44.1 innings of work) will throw in game one, freshman right-hander Anthony Bazzani (3-3, 6.02 ERA in 64.1 innings of work), the reigning OVC Pitcher of the Week, will pitch game two and junior right-hander Stephen Hefler (3-5, 8.12 ERA in 57.2 innings of work) will start game three on Saturday.

SIUE will counter with Josh Malin (1-6, 6.92 ERA in 52 innings of work), Josh Hoguet (3-1, 7.57 ERA in 54.2 innings of work) and Dustin Quattrocchi (4-6, 5.49 ERA in 57.1 innings of work).

The Colonels come into Friday hitting .307 as a team. Junior All-American Jayson Langfels leads the way with a .376 batting average, 14 home runs, 14 doubles and a team-best 59 runs scored. Sophomore lead-off man Richie Rodriguez, meanwhile, is batting .365 on the year with a team-best 80 hits and 14 stolen bases.

Ottrando leads EKU with 17 home runs and is second in the OVC with 66 RBI. If the Ocala, Fla. native can hit four home runs in three games – which, ironically, he did in the Colonels’ opening series of the season at Western Carolina – he will break the school record for home runs in a season.

SIUE is led at the plate by Dustin Brooks’ .349 batting average. Adam Eggemeyer provides run production for the Cougars with nine home runs and 40 RBI.

This is the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

If the Colonels do qualify for the postseason, the OVC Tournament begins on May 26 at Pringles Park in Jackson, Tenn.