JACKSON, Tenn. – The No. 5 seed Eastern Kentucky University baseball team will face the No. 4 seed Tennessee Tech on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. EST in the opening game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at Pringles Park. This is the Colonels’ (21-34, 11-13 OVC) second consecutive trip to the postseason.

The loser of the contest will return at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday to play an elimination game. If EKU wins, the Colonels will either face the No. 2 seed Southeast Missouri at 4:00 p.m. or regular season champion Austin Peay at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, pending the outcome of Wednesday’s Jacksonville State (No. 3)/UT Martin (No.6) matchup.

EKU, which won five of its last seven OVC games down the stretch to earn a berth in the six-team field, dropped two of three to TTU (24-27, 12-12 OVC) in Cookeville earlier this season, and the Colonels fell to the Golden Eagles, 7-4, in the 2010 OVC Tournament at Pringles Park.

EKU will look to senior right-hander Stephen Hefler (7-4, 3.43 ERA) to end its recent skid against TTU. Hefler, who went seven strong innings in the Colonels’ lone win over the Golden Eagles in April, led the OVC with five conference wins during the regular season, and he ended OVC play with five straight starts, all more than six innings, in which he did not allow more than three runs.

TTU will counter with right-hander Tristan Archer (6-4, 5.98 ERA), who EKU touched up for three runs on nine hits in only 3.2 innings of work in the Colonels’ game one loss to the Golden Eagles last month.

Junior right-hander Matt Harris (2-3, 1.95 ERA) is expected to start the Colonels’ second game of the tournament.

Junior Richie Rodriguez led EKU during the regular season with a .364 batting average, and he led the OVC during the regular season with 80 hits. The steady shortstop, who swiped 19 bags and struck out only 20 times in 245 plate appearances, smacked five extra base hits last week – two doubles, two triples and a home run – and the Colonels hope he can carry that momentum into Pringles Park this week. Junior outfielder Jacob Daniel, who is batting .337 with nine home runs and 44 RBI, and freshman third baseman Bryan Soloman, who batted .500 (6-for-12) with a home run, double and three RBI in EKU’s three-game set at TTU this season, have also been consistent run producers for the Colonels in 2011.

TTU is led offensively by outfielders Casanova Donaldson, who is batting .327 with 42 runs scored, and Chad Oberacker, who is batting .323 with 10 home runs and 48 RBI, and first baseman Zach Stephens, who is also batting .323 with 10 home runs and 48 RBI.

EKU went 1-2 in the 2010 OVC Tournament, defeating Murray State before falling to TTU and later being eliminated by the same Murray State team it had beat a day earlier. Several Colonels had success in last year’s postseason, as Rodriguez hit .417 in the tournament with two runs scored and two stolen bases, senior Bryce Labhart batted .800 with a run scored and two RBI and sophomore right-hander Anthony Bazzani nearly broke a neutral-site tournament record with 10 strikeouts in his win over Murray State.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Wednesday, May 25
Game 1 - #4 Tennessee Tech vs. #5 Eastern Kentucky, 12:00 p.m.
Game 2 - #3 Jacksonville State vs. #6 UT Martin, 4:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 26
Game 3 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:00 p.m.
Game 4 - #2 Southeast Missouri vs. Highest Seed of Games 1/2 Winners, 4:00 p.m.
Game 5 - #1 Austin Peay vs. Lowest Seed of Games 1/2 Winners, 8:00 p.m.

Friday, May 27
Game 6 - Winner Game 3 vs. Lowest Seed of Games 4/5 Losers, 12:00 p.m.
Game 7 - Winner Game 6 vs. Highest Seed of Games 4/5 Losers, 4:00 p.m.
Game 8 - Winner game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 28
Game 9 - Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 1:00 p.m.
Game 10 - Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9, 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 29 (if necessary)
Game 11 - Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 10, 1:00 p.m.

(all times EST)

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

Baseball Championship Central
PDF Bracket

Video Streaming
-- Fans can watch the entire 2011 OVC Baseball Tournament live or on-demand with OVCSports.TV. Fans can purchase the tournament package for $9.95 and have access to every game. Interested fans should click here to access the sign-up page. (Note: If you already subscribe to the annual or monthly package, you do not have to subscribe to the tournament package in order to see the event; it is already covered in your subscription.)

Live Audio
-- Click here for a FREE online-only broadcast of all the Colonels' tournament games!

Live Stats
-- Click here for live stats of all tournament games!

Tickets
-- Tickets for the event will be $10 per day or $30 for an all-session pass (up to 11 total games). There is also a $8 a day rate for students/faculty of OVC-member schools (with valid ID) or groups. All seats at the 6,000-seat park are general admission for the OVC Championship. Fans can purchase tickets in person at the Jackson Generals box office or by calling (731) 988-5299.

Directions
-- Click here for directions to Pringles Park.