Team Notes

Austin Peay (25-25, 12-11 OVC): The Governors lost to Middle Tennessee (18-10) and then topped Evansville (10-4) in non-conference action last week before splitting a pair of OVC games at Eastern Illinois. The final game of the EIU series was rained out. Austin Peay is now 12-11 in the OVC and tied for third place with the Panthers with three Conference games remaining. Should the Govs and Panthers be tied in the final standings, it could come down to a complicated tiebreaker, since both teams have the same record against the league’s top two teams (Jacksonville State and Samford). Senior OF Rafael Hill hit .467 (7-for-15) with five runs, a double, triple and four stolen bases. Hill leads the Govs in batting for the season (.392), a mark that ranks fifth in the OVC. Joshua Kemph added a .462 average (6-for-13) with three doubles and a RBI. Ryne Mantooth picked five innings and allowed four hits and an earned run while striking out six. Mantooth now has a 6-3 record on the season. Austin Peay will play at Lipscomb this week and then host Murray State over the weekend. The defending OVC champions need at least a win to lock up a spot in the six-team tournament field.

Eastern Illinois (21-26, 12-11 OVC): Eastern Illinois dropped a non-conference game at Indiana State before splitting a pair of games with Austin Peay. The final game of the series was cancelled due to rain. The split left EIU with a 12-11 mark, which ties the Panthers with APSU for third place in the Conference standings. Should the teams remained tied after next week’s games, it could come down to a complicated tiebreaker. Both EIU and APSU were 1-2 against Jacksonville State and 0-3 against Samford (the top two teams in the league). Eastern OF Brett Nommensen had another good week, hitting .714 (5-for-7) with three runs, a home run and two RBI. Nommensen has raised his batting average to .375, which is sixth in the OVC. In his last six games he is 12-for-17 while reaching base safely in 20 of his last 24 plate appearances. Freshman Josh Mueller, who is ninth in the OVC in E.R.A. (4.31), allowed just three hits over six innings while picking up his fifth victory of the season. Tristan Facer and Zach Skidmore hit back-to-back home runs against Indiana State, the second time this season the Panthers have had players record that feat; Skidmore has been involved in it each time. Curt Restko extended his streak with a strikeout to 60 at-bats and 71 consecutive plate appearances; he ranks nationally in toughest to strikeout. EIU will host Evansville this week before wrapping-up the regular season at Eastern Kentucky this weekend.

Eastern Kentucky (23-26-1, 10-14 OVC): Eastern Kentucky lost two of three games (both by one run apiece) at Southeast Missouri State over the weekend. EKU led the Redhawks 4-0 entering the ninth inning of game one, before Southeast scored four times in the bottom of the ninth and hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning. But the Colonels bounced back with a 3-1 victory in game two of the series to split the doubleheader. Eastern led Southeast 7-4 entering the final inning of game three, before allowing four runs as the Redhawks once again walked off with another victory. The two hard-luck losses left EKU at 10-14 in the Conference; entering the final weekend of play they are in eighth place, 1.5 games out of the final OVC Tournament spot. In the 10-inning loss, All-American Christian Friedrich was once again nearly un-hittable, allowing only one hit over eight innings. He struck out a season-high 13 while walking six. He was lifted, however, before Southeast scored four times in the bottom of the ninth. Friedrich is now 5-1 with a 1.59 E.R.A. in 11 appearances this season. He has 99 strikeouts in 73.2 innings this season (12.10 per 9 innings). Junior infielder Matt Davis hit .545 (6-for-11) with three runs, a double, home run and three RBI. The Colonels will play at Dayton and then host Eastern Illinois to close out the regular season. The Colonels will need to win at least two games to have a shot of making the six-team OVC Tournament field.

Jacksonville State (32-19, 20-4 OVC): Jacksonville State extended its winning streak to 12 games (and its Conference winning streak to 11 games) with five victories last week. The Gamecocks won a home-and-home series with UAB and then swept Tennessee Tech in Conference play. The 11 straight conference wins is the longest active-streak nationwide with the 12-straights wins overall is tied for second nationally and is the most for JSU in its Division I history. Overall, Jax State has won 11 straight OVC series, dating back to last season; the Gamecocks have won 19 of their last 21 games overall. JSU enters the final week of the regular season with a 1.5 game lead over Samford (a team they won 2 of 3 from earlier this season). JSU, who has already clinched a first round bye, can clinch its second OVC regular season title (it also won in 2005) with two victories or a victory and a Samford loss. JSU also became the second OVC team to reach 30 wins this season, the sixth straight season they have won 30 or more games in a season. Junior 2B Bert Smith hit .550 (11-for-20) with eight runs, three doubles and nine RBI last week. He had four multiple-hit games, posted a .700 slugging percentage and did not commit and error in the field. On the mound, sophomore Ben Tootle continued his mastery of OVC teams, improving to 7-0 on the year against OVC competition (he is 9-2 overall). Tootle pitched a seven-inning complete game shutout, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out four. Last week’s National Player of the Week, Clay Whittemore, now needs just six hits to be the program’s all-time hits leader; he is batting .467 in OVC play this season, tops in the Conference. Reliever Brian Booth improved to 6-0 (with a 2.70 E.R.A.) in OVC play this season with another win; he is 8-0 overall on the year. The Gamecocks will play at Kennesaw State this week and then conclude the regular season with three games at UT Martin.

Morehead State (16-32, 6-18 OVC): After taking final exams during the week, Morehead State traveled to Samford and dropped three games to the second-place Bulldogs. Both games in Saturday’s doubleheader were close, with the Eagles falling just short by scores of 5-3 and 6-3. On Sunday, Samford got the best of Morehead in winning 17-3. Overall the Eagles have lost nine games in a row and have been eliminated from the OVC Tournament race. Michael Bottoms hit .500 (5-for-10) in the three-game series at Samford. Bottom is second on the team with a .310 batting average this season. This week the Eagles will play Xavier and then host Southeast Missouri as the team completes its first season under head coach Jay Sorg.

Murray State (20-26, 11-12 OVC): With its back against the wall for a hope to make the six-team OVC Tournament, Murray State put its fate into its own hands by sweeping past UT Martin in a three-game home series. The Thoroughbreds won games by scores of 5-1, 5-1 and 13-4. It was the team’s first three-game OVC sweep since Eastern Kentucky in April 2005. MSU is now 11-12 in OVC play and in sixth place heading into the final weekend of play. Freshman OF Elliot Frey hit .571 (4-for-7) with two runs, two doubles and a RBI last week. On the mound the ‘Breds kept up its recent success and now ranks fourth in the league in E.R.A. (5.22). For the eighth consecutive weekend the team had at least one complete game, as the team now has 12 complete games on the season. Senior Mike Perconte tossed his second straight complete game, allowing five hits and one unearned run in nine innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter in the 5-1 MSU victory. The unearned run came in the first inning and Perconte cruised the rest of the way in notching his 11th complete game of his career. In the second game of the doubleheader, Daniel Calhoun also tossed a complete game; he has tossed five complete games in eight OVC starts this season. DH Wes Cunningham had reached base safely in 37 straight games until Saturday’s series opener. Murray State turned six double plays over the weekend and now has 51 in 46 games this season. This week Murray State will host Kentucky at Brooks Stadium in Paducah (the site of the OVC Tournament) and then host Arkansas State. The regular season will conclude with a three-game series at defending champion Austin Peay (who is tied for third in the Conference standings). With three wins, MSU could end up as high as third in the final standings.

Samford (32-18, 18-5 OVC): Samford dropped a non-conference contest at Lipscomb but rebounded to sweep Morehead State in OVC play to improve to 18-5 in Conference play this season. The Bulldogs topped MSU by scores of 5-3, 6-3 and 17-3 to improve to 23-4 at home this season. Samford was a perfect 12-0 in home OVC games this season. Samford has clinched a first round bye in the upcoming OVC Tournament and is just 1.5 games behind Jacksonville State in the chase for the OVC regular season crown. The Bulldogs were picked to finish fifth in the preseason OVC poll. Samford was the third OVC team to reach 30 wins on the season. The 32 wins so far this season has tied the school-record for regular season victories set in 2006 (when they won 34 games total, also a school record). Senior Michael Rutledge hit .462 (6-for-13) with five runs, a triple, two home runs and five RBI last week. In Sunday’s 17-3 win over MSU, Rutledge was 4-for-6 with a triple, two home runs and five RBI. Junior hurler Michael Jarry earned the victory in Sunday’s blowout, pitching seven innings. He allowed six hits and walked one while striking out six. The Bulldogs will close out the regular season this weekend when they play at Tennessee Tech, a team who enters the final weekend in seventh place in the OVC standings (a half game out of the final spot).

Southeast Missouri (21-21, 11-11 OVC): Southeast Missouri State made the most of a weekend home series with Eastern Kentucky, winning two games in dramatic come-from-behind walk-off fashion to improve to 11-11 in OVC play. That puts the team in fifth place in the OVC standings with three games to play. In game one against EKU, the Redhawks were held to only one hit over the first eight innings by All-American Christian Friedrich. But after Friedrich exited the game with a 4-0 lead, SEMO torched the bullpen for four runs in the bottom of the ninth and then Nick Harris hit a solo walk-off home run in the 10th to push the Redhawks to the victory. Eastern bounced back with a 3-1 win in game two before Southeast once again used dramatics in the final game of the series. Trailing 7-4 entering the bottom of the ninth, Southeast scored four times with freshman Trenton Moses’ RBI-single sealing the victory. Junior 1B Matt Wagner had a two-run double in the final inning of the Sunday comeback. For the series Wagner hit .500 (5-for-1) with three runs, two doubles, a home run and three RBI. Wagner now has 18 multi-hit and 13 multi-RBI games this season. The Redhawks will host Central Arkansas for two non-conference games this week and then conclude the regular season with three games at Morehead State. Southeast will need to win games this weekend to guarantee itself a place in the six-team OVC Tournament field. SEMO has made the OVC Tournament 13 straight years (every year of head coach Mark Hogan’s tenure), the longest active streak in the Conference.

Tennessee Tech (31-20-1, 11-13 OVC): Tennessee Tech suffered a loss at No. 11 Vanderbilt before dropping a three-game series at Jacksonville State over the weekend. The Golden Eagles are now 11-13 in Conference play, which places them seventh in the standings, just a half game out of sixth place. Only the top six teams make the OVC Tournament field. In the contest against the nationally-ranked Commodores, Adam Liberatore struck out two batters and allowed only one hit over the first 4.2 innings, in helping shutdown the Vandy offensive attack. But VU eventually scored and slowly pulled ahead in eventually winning 7-2. Tech would lose 12-2 and 4-0 in Saturday’s doubleheader and JSU and led most of the way on Sunday before eventually losing 14-12 to the league’s first-place team. TTU is one of just three OVC teams with 30 wins this season (JSU and Samford are the others). In order to make the OVC Tournament field, the Golden Eagles will need to win some games this weekend, when they play at Samford, who enters the final weekend in second place in the standings, just 1.5 games behind the league leader.

UT Martin (10-37, 5-17 OVC): In its only action last week, UT Martin suffered three losses at Murray State. The Skyhawks fell to 5-17 in OVC play and have been eliminated from a chance to make the six-team OVC Tournament field. UTM managed just three road wins in OVC play this season. Freshman Wes Patterson hit .500 in the Murray State series, including a home run, his ninth of the season. He is now 10th in UTM single-season history for home runs. Junior Scott Gladstone will enter the final week of the season just 12 at-bats shy of breaking into the school’s single-season at-bats Top 10 (193). Junior Lin Cates enters the final week just two appearances shy of 10th on the Skyhawk single-season appearances list (22). UTM will close out the 2008 season this week by playing at Belmont and then hosting league-leading Jacksonville State.

Notes From Around the League

OVC Overview/This Week’s Highlights: The final week of the regular season has arrived and there are six teams fighting for the final four spots in the six-team OVC Tournament which will run May 21-24 (25) at Brooks Stadium in Paducah, Ky...Jacksonville State and Samford have clinched first round byes and will finish 1-2 in the standings; JSU has a 1.5 game lead over Samford entering the final weekend and needs two wins or a win and a Samford loss to guarantee the program its second OVC regular season championship...Austin Peay and Eastern Illinois remained tied for third place despite playing last week; the team’s split a Saturday doubleheader and then had Sunday’s game rained out...Should APSU and EIU remain tied after this weekend, it could come down to a difficult tiebreaker, as both teams have the same record against each Jacksonville State and Samford...Southeast Missouri, who has made 13 straight OVC Tournaments, is currently in fifth while Murray State (fresh off a sweep of UT Martin) is sixth. Tennessee Tech is a half game behind the Thoroughbreds while Eastern Kentucky is a game and a half behind MSU for the final spot in the tournament field...Jacksonville State enters the week with a 12-game winning streak, the second longest streak in the country...Austin Peay skipper Gary McClure could make history this week if he wins two more games; he has 626 victories in his career, two shy of EKU’s Jim Ward, who ranks second all-time in OVC history.

Jacksonville State Has the Nation’s Second-Longest Winning Streak: Entering this week Jacksonville State has a 12-game winning streak, a Division I record for the program. The Gamecocks have not lost since a 10-3 loss to Troy on April 23. New Orleans enters the week with the longest winning streak nationally (13 games), while JSU is tied with LSU for second. Siena and Western Carolina and tied for fourth with eight straight wins while a group of four teams are tied with seven straight wins.

OVC Baseball Championship to Once Again Be Held in Paducah: For the eighth consecutive season the Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship will be held at historic Brooks Stadium in Paducah, Ky. The top six teams from the Conference will meet in Paducah for games May 21-24 (25). The event has seen five different teams win a title in the last seven years with Austin Peay capturing the championship a year ago.

Whittemore Named NCBWA and Ping! Baseball National Player of the Week: Jacksonville State OF Clay Whittemore was named National Player of the Week on May 5 by both the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Ping! Baseball.
Whittemore raised his batting average 42 points during the week after going 15-for-21 for a .714 batting average in helping the Gamecocks extend their winning streak to seven games. He finished with four doubles, four home runs and eight runs batted in and now leads the Gamecocks with a .401 batting average. The Cullman, Ala., native posted three straight games with four hits and then had three hits in the series finale on Sunday at Morehead State.

Friedrich Named to Dick Howser Trophy Watch List: Eastern Kentucky junior pitcher Christian Friedrich has been named to the 2008 Dick Howser Trophy Watch List, given annually to college baseball’s premier player. The list, composed of 50 players, was released April 24 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association (NCBWA). A preseason All-American, Friedrich is rated by Baseball America as the sixth-best MLB prospect in college baseball. The southpaw from Evanston, Ill. has already been named a finalist for the Brooks Wallace and Roger Clemens Awards, and was voted the 2008 preseason OVC Pitcher of the Year earlier this year. The membership of the NCBWA will choose the Dick Howser Trophy based on three rounds of voting. The 2008 winner will be announced at the College World Series in Omaha on Saturday, June 14, at 10:00 a.m. CDT. The Dick Howser Trophy, given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager who died of brain cancer in 1987, is regarded by many as college baseball’s most prestigious award.

Victories Over Ranked Opponents: Southeast Missouri State scored the OVC’s first victory over a ranked opponent in 2008 with a 12-8 win over No. 6 Vanderbilt on April 2. OVC teams are now 1-5 against nationally-ranked teams this season. Last season the OVC compiled a 9-22 record against nationally-ranked foes, including a Tennessee Tech victory over No. 13 Alabama and a two-game sweep of No. 13 Mississippi State by Austin Peay.

APSU’s Cunningham Ties OVC Record For Hits in a Game: Austin Peay junior Chad Cunningham tied the OVC record for hits in a game in a 26-4 win over Morehead State on April 5. Cunningham was 6-for-7 at the plate in the Govs victory. He tied a mark that is also held by eight other players.

Coaching Milestones: UT Martin head coach Bubba Cates became the latest OVC coach to reach a career milestone when he won his 400th career game on April 26. Earlier in the week Tennessee Tech head coach Matt Bragga also hit a milestone, as he reached his 100 career victory. Also this season Jacksonville State head coach Jim Case won his 200th career game, Samford coach Casey Dunn won his 100th career game and Mark Hogan won his 400th game at Southeast Missouri. Hogan may reach another milestone this season as he needs seven more wins to reach 800 overall for his career. Murray State head coach Rob McDonald needs only two wins to reach 100 for his career.

Whittemore Named Candidate for Lowe’s Senior Class Award: Jacksonville State outfielder Clay Whittemore is one of 30 candidates for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award, which is awarded to a senior baseball player who excels both on and off the field. Presented annually to NCAA Division I student-athletes in eight sports, the award focuses on the "Four C’s" of classroom, character, community and competition. Whittemore was named the 2008 Ohio Valley Conference pre-season Player of the Year and is also a pre-season All-American by Collegiate Baseball. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched in 2001 to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who fulfill their entire athletic eligibility and pursue their degree. Since that time, Lowe’s, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, has expanded the award to include other NCAA sports including baseball. From the list of 30 nominees, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in mid-April. Those ten names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote that will include coaches, media and fans. The award winner will be announced and recognized at the 2008 NCAA Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Whittemore becomes the first player in Ohio Valley Conference history to be listed as one of the 30 Baseball Nominees.

Jacksonville State Picked as Preseason Favorite: In a preseason vote of league head coaches, Jacksonville State was picked as the favorite in the 10-team OVC. The Gamecocks finished second in both the regular season and tournament last season. The overall voting for the preseason poll was balanced and close, as three teams received first-place votes and only two points separated the favorite, Jacksonville State, from second-place, defending champion Austin Peay. Jacksonville State received four of the first-place votes and 76 total points, which put them ahead of the Governors, who actually received one more first-place vote (5 in total) but finished two points behind the Gamecocks in their overall points total (74). Eastern Kentucky received the other first place vote and was predicted to finish third (61 points). The Colonels were followed closely by Southeast Missouri State, who was picked fourth (59), and Samford, who was predicted to place fifth (55). Eastern Illinois was tabbed sixth (38), followed by Murray State in seventh (30), Tennessee Tech in eighth (29), Morehead State in ninth (15) and UT Martin in 10th (13).

Whittemore and Friedrich Named Preseason OVC Player/Pitcher of the Year: In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head baseball coaches Jacksonville State senior outfielder Clay Whittemore was picked as the Preseason Player of the Year while Eastern Kentucky junior left-handed pitcher Christian Friedrich was named the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Whittemore claimed the Player of the Year award at the end of last season after hitting .391 with 93 hits, 53 runs and 69 RBI in 60 games. Whittemore was named a preseason All-American by several outlets (including Collegiate Baseball News) and is one of three OVC players on the Brooks Wallace National Player of the Year Watch List. Friedrich compiled a 5-4 record and 2.09 ERA in 81.2 innings pitched last season. He also tossed three complete games, limited opponents to a .155 batting average and struck out 101 batters. He also enjoyed a successful summer with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League where he compiled a 4-1 record, 2.68 ERA and struck out 52 in 37.0 innings of work (7 starts). Friedrich is also on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List and has been named a preseason All-American.

OVC Players in the Pros: Entering the 2008 season, there were four players from OVC schools on Major League Baseball Opening Day rosters. Those players include: Jacksonville State’s Todd Jones (Detroit), Morehead State’s Jon Rauch (Washington), Austin Peay’s George Sherrill (Baltimore) and Jaime Walker (Baltimore). Three other players - Eastern Kentucky’s Josh Anderson (Atlanta); Samford’s Ehren Wassermann (Chicago White Sox) and Jacksonville State’s Bill White (Texas) were on MLB rosters to end last season but are starting the season in the minors but are expected to be called up later this season.