Belmont (27-14, 9-3 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (28-11, 11-4 OVC)
Friday, April 29 | 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 30 | 2 p.m.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Winners of six of their last seven games and currently atop the Ohio Valley Conference standings, the Belmont University baseball team will welcome the defending OVC champions, Southeast Missouri, to the Music City this weekend for a crucial three-game series at E.S. Rose Park.
Games on Friday and Sunday will be streamed on ESPN+, and live audio play-by-play action of all three games will be broadcast on the Bruin Sports Network.
Saturday will be Community and Family Day at the ballpark, with face painting, balloon animals, free popsicles, giveaways, and a running of the bases scheduled for after the game.
The series marks the first home games for the Bruins since April 10. They have played nine straight on the road, going 6-3.
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Belmont is coming off an 8-2 win over Evansville on the road on Tuesday, following up a three-game sweep of Purdue in West Lafayette last weekend
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The win was head coach Dave Jarvis' 700th at Belmont, making him one of 16 active coaches with 700 Division I wins at their current school
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Belmont is 19th in the country in stolen bases (79) and is 6th in fielding percentage (.983)
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Belmont's projected rotation this weekend will be: LHP Andy Bean (7-1, 4.08 ERA) on Friday, RHP Joshua South (5-2, 5.68 ERA) on Saturday, and LHP Jalen Borders (4-2, 2.60 ERA) on Sunday
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Bruin pitching currently leads the OVC in ERA (4.40), opponent batting average (.250), and home runs (36) among other statistical categories
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Andy Bean has gone at least six innings in each of his last six starts, with Belmont winning five of those six starts that the left-hander begins on the bump
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Bean is currently tied with Kyle Miller of Southeast Missouri for most wins in the OVC (7), and leads the conference in opponent batting average (.209), while being tied for first in strikeouts looking (16)
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Joshua South is the reigning OVC Pitcher of the Week. The native of Cookeville, Tenn., tossed seven brilliant innings against Purdue last Saturday, allowing just one run. The junior right-hander is currently 8th all-time in career strikeouts at Belmont, with 208
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Jalen Borders is second in the OVC in ERA (2.60) and third in opponent batting average (.238). The sophomore from Alexandria, Ala., has given up just six earned runs in his last 27 innings on the mound (2.00 ERA)
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Kyle Brennan leads the country in saves (13). The graduate closer is the all-time program record holder for career saves (30), and was recently named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award Midseason Watch List
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Guy Lipscomb is second in the country in stolen bases (31). The sophomore outfielder broke the program record for most stolen bases in a single season on Tuesday by stealing second base in the first inning, breaking a tie with Matt Reynolds, who stole 30 bases in 2005.
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Lipscomb has the tenth-lowest strikeout rate in the country. In 147 at-bats this season, the native of Franklin, Tenn., has struck out just ten times.
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Tommy Crider leads the team with ten home runs, and has three multi-homer games this season, most recently against Purdue last Friday in a 3-2 win over the Boilermakers
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Jackson Campbell homered on Tuesday against Evansville, his second homer of the season. The senior catcher has the most home runs among active Bruins, with 21 in his career.
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John Behrends has been scorching hot at the plate since March 25, hitting above .400 with three home runs and 20 RBIs
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Belmont has not won the OVC regular season or tournament championship since joining the conference in 2013
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Southeast Missouri won the OVC Championship last season, and was picked to repeat as conference champs in the 2022 OVC Preseason Poll, receiving eight of eighteen first place votes.
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Redhawk shortstop Tyler Wilber was the Preseason Player of the Year, and is currently hitting .360 with 14 home runs and a conference-leading 54 RBIs
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Southeast Missouri is currently No. 53 in RPI, while Belmont checks in at No. 59. The next-closest team in the OVC is Tennessee Tech at No. 126
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The Redhawks have relied on a high-powered offense, scoring an OVC-leading 308 runs and averaging 7.90 runs per game
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Belmont leads the conference in fielding percentage (.983), while Southeast Missouri is second (.976)
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SEMO leads the series, 21-12
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Last season, Belmont lost two out of three during a series at E.S. Rose Park (0-12, 4-1, 0-5)
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The first meeting came in a three-game series at Cape Girardeau on April 10-11, 1999. The Redhawks won all three games.
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SEMO has won the last four series. Belmont last won a series against SEMO at home in 2017
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The two teams have met in a three-game series every year except 2020 since 2013, and there has only been one sweep (SEMO, 2014)
