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RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team will play its final games of the season at Turkey Hughes Field this weekend, as the Colonels host Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee Tech in a pivotal three-game series beginning Friday at 3:00 p.m.

Saturday’s game two will begin at 2:00 p.m., while Sunday’s finale is set to get underway at 1:00 p.m. Senior Day activities will take place before and after Saturday’s game.

EKU (26-20, 14-7 OVC) is in the midst of a pennant race. With six conference games left, the surging Colonels enter this weekend tied for second place with Jacksonville State in the OVC standings and just a half-game behind first-place Austin Peay.

Momentum is also on the side of EKU. The Colonels have won four straight and nine of their last 10 games, as they took two of three at UT Martin last weekend before crushing Dayton, 10-3, on Tuesday and beating Marshall, 6-4, on walk-off home run by junior Matt Phipps in the bottom of the ninth inning on Wednesday.

Over its last 10 games, EKU has hit .345 as a team with 14 home runs and 29 doubles. On the season, The Colonels lead the country with 62 home runs, and they lead the OVC with a .490 slugging percentage.

Senior Richie Rodriguez is the catalyst of that explosive EKU offense. The shortstop from Miami, Fla. comes into the weekend batting .389 with 13 home runs, 15 doubles, 53 runs scored, 12 stolen bases and 31 walks compared to only 11 strikeouts. Four other Colonels are also hitting above .300 on the year, as junior Austin Grisham comes in at .332, senior #A.J. Jamison# at .313, senior Jacob Daniel at .309 and senior Dustin Dunlop at .304.

TTU (19-28, 9-12 OVC) enters the weekend in seventh-place in the OVC standings and fighting for a spot in the conference tournament. The Golden Eagles, however, are always dangerous and are currently playing good baseball.

TTU had lost six straight before taking two of three from Morehead State last weekend. The Golden Eagles then nearly upset Clemson on the road on Tuesday, losing to the Tigers on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th.

Like EKU, TTU features a strong offense that leads the conference with a .308 batting average. Zach Stephens is the primary force behind that offense, as he is hitting .399 and ranks fifth in the country with 17 home runs.

The EKU pitching staff now ranks fourth in the conference with a 5.32 team ERA, and the Colonels seem to have found their third weekend starter in senior right-hander Matt Fyffe, who has gone 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA since being inserted into the rotation two weekends ago. The Colonels’ rotation will remain the same this weekend, as senior right-hander Matt Harris (4-5, 5.97 ERA) will start Friday, Fyffe (7-0, 1.78 ERA) will start Saturday and junior left-hander Shane Grimm (5-4, 3.37 ERA) will go on Sunday.

TTU, which ranks ninth in the conference with a 6.59 team ERA, will counter with right-hander Tristan Archer (3-4, 4.46 ERA) on Friday, right-hander Matthew Shepherd (4-3, 5.92 ERA) on Saturday and right-hander David Hess (3-6, 6.83 ERA) on Sunday.

EKU leads the all-time series between the two schools, 67-59-1, although TTU has had the upper hand lately. The Golden Eagles have gone 7-1 against the Colonels over the last three seasons, including two wins over EKU in the OVC Tournament.