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RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team opens conference play this weekend when the Colonels travel to Charleston, Ill. to face Eastern Illinois in a three-game series at Monier Field at Coaches Stadium.

Saturday’s doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. EST, while Sunday’s finale is also scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. EST.

EKU (6-15) enters the weekend riding a six-game losing streak, but the Colonels have history on their side. EKU leads the all-time series with EIU, 24-22, and swept the Panthers last year at Turkey Hughes Field. EKU is also 5-1 in OVC opening series games since head coach Jason Stein arrived in 2009.

The Colonels begin OVC play batting .269 as a team and are led offensively by a pair of juniors. Richie Rodriguez enters this weekend hitting .407 with a team-best 13 runs scored, eight stolen bases and only five strikeouts, while preseason All-OVC selection Jacob Daniel is batting .364 with a team-best four home runs, 20 RBI and a .571 slugging percentage.

EIU (4-13) started the season 1-11, but the Panthers have won three of their last five games and took two of three at Memphis last weekend.

The Panthers are hitting just .228 as a team, but are paced at the plate by Shawn Ferguson, who batted .545 in the Memphis series and is hitting .383 on the season, and Zach Borenstein, who is hitting .313 on the year with an OVC-best three triples.

EKU will start the same rotation it has used the past two weekends, as junior right-hander Matt Fyffe (0-3, 4.34 ERA) will pitch game one, freshman left-hander Kyle McGrath (2-0, 5.09 ERA) will pitch game two and senior right-hander Stephen Hefler (2-2, 2.84 ERA) will pitch game three.

EIU will send right-handed OVC Preseason Pitcher of the Year Mike Hoekstra (2-2, 3.34 ERA) to the mound in game one, right-hander Luke Bushur (1-2, 6.38 ERA) in game two and southpaw Christian Slazinik (0-4, 8.27).

Several current Colonels had success against the Panthers in last year’s series, as Rodriguez (.467), Daniel (.333), sophomore Austin Grisham (.400), senior Ryan Faidley (.364) and junior Michael Garcia (.300) all batted .300 or better in the three-game set, while Hefler (eight innings pitched, 0.00 ERA), junior right-hander Matt Harris (2-0, 0.00 ERA) and junior left-hander Greg Terry (one save, 0.00 ERA) all had great success from the mound in the series.