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RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team will wrap up its Ohio Valley Conference regular season versus preseason league favorite Jacksonville State this weekend at Rudy Abbott Field. The series kicks off with a doubleheader on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. EST and ends with a single game on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. EST.

EKU (19-29, 10-11 OVC), which swept Murray State at Turkey Hughes Field last weekend, has won five straight games in a late-season surge for its second consecutive berth in the OVC Tournament, to be held May 25-28 in Jackson, Tenn. The Colonels currently sit in sixth place in the conference standings, and the top six teams at the end of the regular season advance to postseason play. Unfortunately, every other team in the OVC plays its final league series of the regular season next weekend, thus, EKU will probably be forced to scoreboard watch during its non-conference series at SIU Edwardsville. Suffice to say, If the Colonels are able to win at least two of three this weekend at JSU, their chances of making the tournament, while not assured, are greatly enhanced.

EKU, which enters this weekend batting .284 as a team, continues to be led offensively by the junior duo of Richie Rodriguez and Jacob Daniel. Rodriguez is sixth in the OVC with a .367 batting average while Daniel is eighth with a .364 batting average.

The Colonels are also riding the hot pitching of senior right-hander Stephen Hefler (6-4), who leads the OVC with 76.1 innings pitched and has only allowed eight runs in his last 31 innings of work. Hefler will start for EKU in game one, while the Colonels' game two and three starters have yet to be determined.

JSU, which currently sits in third place in the conference standings and enters this weekend hitting .307 as a team, is led at the plate by Ben Waldrip, who is ninth in the OVC with a .356 batting average.

The Gamecocks, who have lost six of their last seven games, will send right-hander Aaron Elias (6-2, second in the OVC with a 3.57 ERA) to the mound in game one, right-hander Hunter Rivers (8-2, 5.03 ERA) in game two and right-hander Jordan Beistline (4-1, 3.52 ERA) in game three.

EKU is 6-13 all-time against JSU and has dropped two of three to the Gamecocks the last two seasons. The Colonels will attempt to change their luck this weekend in a pivotal conference series.