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OXFORD, Ala. – The baseball team travels to Oxford, Alabama to take on in-state rival Morehead State University in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled of for 1:30 p.m. ET.
 
The Colonels (27-29, 15-15 OVC) are coming off a weekend series against Southeast Missouri. The Eagles (32-23, 18-12 OVC) are coming off a weekend series against 16th ranked Tennessee Tech. MSU won one-of-three in the series.
 
When Eastern and Morehead State met earlier this season, the Colonels won two of three over the Eagles in Richmond.  In those three games, Chris Botsoe led the team with a .500 average, recording four hits in eight at bats.  Daniel McFarland drove in three runs and hit .417.  Austin Perry and Logan Teague each recorded quality starts.  Aaron Ochsenbein pitched three innings of scoreless relief.
 
EKU's offense is led by Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist Alex Holderbach and Tyler Romanik. Holderbach is batting a team-high .371, with 11 doubles, two triples, and a team-best 18 home runs and 75 RBIs. He leads the country in RBIs, while also ranking second in the OVC in home runs and first in slugging percentage. Romanik is hitting at a .341 clip to go along with 10 doubles, one triple, seven home runs, and 37 RBIs.  
 
MSU's offense is led by Braxton Morris and Trevor Snyder. Morris is hitting a team-high .388 with a team-leading 24 doubles, one triple, five home runs, and 48 RBIs. Snyder has a .358 batting average with 11 doubles, and a team-leading 18 home runs and 66 RBIs.  
 
The Colonel offense has been rolling this year as they rank first in the conference and 14th in the nation in stolen bases, and eighth in the country and third in the conference in runs scored on the year. Eastern Kentucky ranks third in the conference and seventh nationally in hits. To go along with having the third best batting average in the conference, which ranks 26th in the country.
 
Eastern Kentucky will send the southpaw Jack Piekos to the mound in the opening game of the tournament. Piekos is 2-4 on the year with a 5.67 ERA, while striking out 51 batters over 46 innings pitched. Piekos threw a scoreless inning and struck out one in the 10-4 win against Morehead State on March 23. Morehead State has not named a starter for the game.
 
With a win, EKU moves on to Thursday and will play at 4 p.m. ET.  With a loss, EKU will drop to the elimination bracket and will play at 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday night.