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RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team will host Southeast Missouri in a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series at Turkey Hughes Field this weekend.

A Saturday doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m., while Sunday’s single game is also scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.

EKU (7-18, 1-2 OVC), which defeated Eastern Illinois in its OVC opener last Saturday before dropping a Sunday doubleheader to the Panthers, has lost 10 of its last 11, but the Colonels are 6-3 and batting .320 at home this season. Junior Richie Rodriguez leads the way, as he tops the OVC with 39 hits, is sixth in the OVC with a .394 batting average and leads the team with 16 runs scored, nine stolen bases and only eight strikeouts in 99 at-bats. Junior Jacob Daniel, the Colonels’ lone preseason All-OVC player entering the season, has also proven to be a reliable power source, as he is tied for the third in the conference with four home runs and is eighth in the conference with 21 RBI. EKU will also look to weathered veteran Ryan Faidley this weekend, as the senior paced the Colonel offense at EIU last weekend with a home run, two doubles and four RBI.

No player better exemplifies the Colonels’ preference to play at Turkey Hughes Field than sophomore Austin Grisham, who is hitting just .235 on the season, but who is hitting .433 with four doubles and a home run at home. He leads a group of six Colonels who are batting above .320 (with at least 19 at-bats) at the Turk this year.

SEMO (13-11, 1-1 OVC) brings six preseason All-OVC players and an OVC-best 3.74 ERA to Richmond this weekend. The Redhawks split at home with Morehead State last weekend, though, winning game one, 3-2, before getting pounded in game two, 14-4. Taylor Heon leads a balanced SEMO offense with a .358 batting average, while Louie Haseltine has driven in a team-best 20 runs. Six Redhawks have hit at least two home runs.

EKU will go with the same pitching rotation it has employed the last two weekends. Junior right-hander Matt Fyffe (0-3, 4.07 ERA) will start game one, freshman lefty Kyle McGrath (2-1, 5.46 ERA) will start game two and senior right-hander Stephen Hefler (2-3, 3.75 ERA) will start the finale on Sunday.

SEMO will counter with left-hander Jordan Underwood (1-0, 2.88 ERA) in game one, right-hander Jon Dicus (2-1, 2.79 ERA) in game two and right-hander Brad LaBruyere (3-0, 2.48 ERA).

EKU leads the all-time series with SEMO, 28-27. The last time the Redhawks visited Turkey Hughes Field, a wacky, pre-2011 bat college baseball weekend ensued, as the Colonels erased a 10-0 deficit in game one to win, 14-13, and then erased an 8-2 deficit in game three to storm back and win, 11-10.

Following this weekend’s series, EKU will host Marshall on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. before traveling to Austin Peay next weekend for another important OVC series.