Belmont has already wrapped up a top-two seed and a double-bye in next week's OVC Championship in Lexington, Kentucky. Since joining the Ohio Valley Conference in 2013, Belmont has never finished higher than third in the regular season standings.
The magic number to clinch the number-one seed and the OVC regular season championship for Belmont is "3." A combination of Bruin wins and Southeast Missouri losses that equals three would hand Belmont their first-ever OVC title.
With a sweep of the Cougars, the Bruins would clinch the top seed. With a series win, the Bruins would need just one Redhawk loss at Eastern Illinois this weekend.
All three games in the series will be streamed on ESPN+, and live audio play-by-play will be simulcast on the Bruin Sports Network.
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Belmont is coming off an 18-0 loss at the hands of #1 Tennessee on Tuesday in Knoxville that wrapped up the Bruins' midweek slate this year
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Belmont's last action in OVC play saw them sweep Eastern Illinois last weekend at E.S. Rose Park, winning 9-5 on Friday, 3-2 in extras on Saturday, and 5-3 on Senior Day on Sunday
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John Behrends hit a walk-off home run in the tenth inning on Saturday to keep Belmont in first place in the OVC
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Behrends, a native of Chattanooga, Tenn., is currently 4th in the OVC in stolen bases (19) and 5th in program history in career stolen bases (47)
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Sophomore outfielder Guy Lipscomb is currently 5th in the country in stolen bases (39) and has already shattered the single-season program record. The native of Franklin, Tenn., is currently 4th all-time in program history for career stolen bases (53) despite only playing in his second season in a Bruin uniform
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Lipscomb is 2nd in the OVC and 17th in the country in batting average (.400), and is on pace to break the NCAA-era single-season batting mark (.397, Dylan Craig, 2009)
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Brodey Heaton and Tommy Crider are the first pair of Belmont teammates to both hit over ten home runs since Brennan Washington and Clay Payne in 2016
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The projected pitching matchups for this weekend are: Belmont LHP Andy Bean (9-1, 3.84 ERA) vs. SIUE RHP Brant Glidewell (4-2, 5.69 ERA) on Thursday, Belmont RHP Joshua South (7-2, 4.66 ERA) vs. SIUE LHP Collin Baumgartner (4-2, 5.91 ERA) on Friday, and Belmont LHP Jalen Borders (5-2, 3.25 ERA) vs. TBA on Saturday
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Sophomore left-handed pitcher Andy Bean is currently tied for 3rd in the country in wins (9) and is tied for 2nd in program history in victories in a single season
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Bean, a native of Fisherville, Tenn., has gone at least six innings in eight of his last nine starts
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Junior right-handed pitcher Joshua South was named OVC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after tossing a career-high 130 pitches and recording 11 strikeouts over eight innings in Saturday's 3-2 win over Eastern Illinois. The honor was the third of the season for the Cookeville, Tenn., native and the ninth honor of his career
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Sophomore left-handed pitcher Jalen Borders is currently 3rd in the OVC in ERA (3.25), 5th in opponent batting average (.253), and 5th in innings pitched (69.1)
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Belmont's pitching staff has been outstanding all season. The Bruins have three of the top five leaders in the conference in innings pitched (Bean-1st, South-2nd, Borders-5th), with all three weekend starters in the top-six in ERA (Borders-3rd, Bean-5th, South-6th)
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With 35 wins, the Bruins have the 4th most wins in a single season in program history, and their most victories since going 38-20 in 2013
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The 2022 season marks the final campaign in the OVC for the Bruins, who will be joining the Missouri Valley Conference effective July 1, 2022
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SIUE has hit a school-record 85 home runs this season, which ranks 2nd in the OVC and 21st nationally
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The Cougars lead the OVC in batting average (.303) and slugging percentage (.518)
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First baseman Brennan Orf is the reigning OVC Player of the Week after batting .563 with three home runs last week
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SIUE has won back-to-back series heading into this weekend, taking two out of three from both Murray State and Morehead State in consecutive weeks
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The Cougars have only been swept once this season, on the road at SEMO during the first weekend of OVC action in late March, and have only lost one series at home this year, dropping two out of three to Eastern Illinois on April 9-10
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Belmont leads the series, 16-6
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Belmont won their series against SIUE last year at E.S. Rose Park, taking two out of three games
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The last time the Bruins traveled to Edwardsville was 2018, with the Cougars taking two out of three games, their only series win against Belmont
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The Bruins have won 7 of 8 series against SIUE since joining the OVC in 2013
