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RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team will head south to Austin Peay this weekend as the Colonels face the Govs in a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series at Raymond C. Hand Park.

First pitch for Saturday’s doubleheader and Sunday’s single game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. EST.

EKU (9-20, 2-4 OVC) has won two straight games, beating Southeast Missouri, 11-5, in last Sunday’s finale before defeating Marshall, 9-6, on Tuesday, and is hitting .331 as a team over its last four games. Junior Jacob Daniel, in particular, has been on a tear during that four-game stretch, hitting .643 and slugging 1.286 with a double, a triple, two home runs and nine RBI. The outfielder from Russellville, Ala. is now eighth in the OVC in hitting (.379) and is second in home runs (six) and RBI (30).

Another Colonel who has come on strong recently is freshman Bryan Soloman, who is hitting .467 over EKU’s last four games with two home runs, two doubles and six RBI. The third baseman from Jackson, N.J. also leads the team and is among the OVC leaders with nine doubles this season.

Junior Richie Rodriguez continues to be the Colonels’ best offensive player, though, as he is fourth in the OVC with a .398 batting average, first with 45 hits and tied for third with 11 stolen bases.

EKU will employ the same pitching rotation it has used in its two previous OVC series. Junior right-hander Matt Fyffe (0-3, 4.26 ERA) will start game one, freshman left-hander Kyle McGrath (2-2. 6.82 ERA) will start game two and senior right-hander Stephen Hefler (3-3, 3.86 ERA), who stifled a powerful SEMO offense last Sunday, will go in game three.

APSU (13-14, 3-2 OVC) took two of three games last weekend against Eastern Illinois. The Govs are batting .284 as a team and are led by Jordan Hankins, who is batting .374, and Michael Blanchard, who is batting .354 with a team-best 16 stolen bases. John Hogan is APSU’s best run producer, as he leads the squad with four home runs and 24 RBI. The Govs like to run and they lead the OVC by a large margin with 54 stolen bases.

APSU will send a trio of left-handers to the mound this weekend, as Jeremy Dobbs (5-1, 4.76 ERA) will start game one, Jack Snodgrass (1-3, 2.88 ERA) will start game two and Zach Toney (2-2, 4.94 ERA) will start game three. Five of EKU’s regular position starters hit better against left-hander than right-handers.

EKU leads the all-time series between the two programs, 45-37. The Colonels are also 5-1 in the series under head coach Jason Stein, taking two of three from APSU two years ago at Raymond C. Hand Park before sweeping the Govs last year at Turkey Hughes Field.

Four current EKU pitchers have wins against APSU: senior left-hander Paul Duncan (2009 and 2010), senior right-hander Jim Clancy (2009), junior right-hander Matt Harris (2010) and Hefler, who went seven innings against the Govs in 2010 and allowed just one run on six hits while striking out four batters on his way to being named OVC Pitcher of the Week.

Following this weekend’s series, EKU will travel to Ohio next Tuesday before hosting Morehead State in a three-game series at Turkey Hughes Field next weekend.