Racers Host SEMO In Big OVC Matchup

Murray State (15-12, 6-3) vs Southeast Missouri (13-13, 7-5)

GAME 28-30
Dates: April 9-10, 2021
First Pitch: Friday Game 1: 12 p.m.; Friday Game 2: ~4 p.m.; Saturday: TBA
Location: Murray, Ky.
Stadium: Johnny Reagan Field (550)
Dimensions: 330 (LL) 400 (CF), 330 (RL)
Series History: Southeast Missouri leads 63-58-1
Last Meeting: Apr. 13, 2019 (Murray State Won 6-5)

Follow The Racers:
Live Stats: Game 1 Game 2 Game 3
Radio: SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM & 1220 AM (Erik Sean)
Twitter In-Game: @RacersBaseball

First Pitch
MSU has won four-straight series against Eastern Illinois, Jacksonville State, Memphis, and Tennessee Tech. They sit atop the OVC with a 15-12 overall record and a 6-3 conference record. MSU took two-of-three from the Golden Eagles the previous weekend, winning 4-2 and 7-2. Southeast Missouri won their series with Jacksonville State, taking the opener 6-5 and then winning the rubber match, 8-3.

Inside the Matchup
The Racers and Golden Eagles have met 122 times on the diamond, dating back to their very first meeting in 1931 with SEMO holding a slight 63-58-1 advantage. Murray State took the series in 2019, winning two of three after being swept in 2018 in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Weekend Recap
Murray State traveled to Cookeville, Tennessee for a three-game series conferences series with the Golden Eagles. The Racers took the first two games to earn their fourth straight series victory.

In Thursday's game, the offense was held to only three hits but the pitching staff was lights out to keep Tech at bay for most of the game and allow the offense enough time to manufacture a few late runs and pull out the 4-2 win. Jacob Pennington pitched two scoreless innings in relief to pick up the win and Alec Whaley earned his first save of the season.

On Friday, the Racers finally got to Tech's starter Ty Fisher in the fifth inning, loading the bases with nobody out and scoring three runs. Two innings later, MSU broke the game wide open putting up a four-spot, capped by a two-run shot from Bryson Bloomer. Jack Wenninger earned his third victory of the season, going 6.1 innings, surrendering only three hits while striking out four.

Game two on Friday saw all nine runs scored through the first three innings as TTU jumped out to a 5-4 lead. The Golden Eagle's bats went quiet after MSU handed the ball over to Sam Gardner in the third inning. The righty was lights out for six innings, his longest outing of the season, tying a career-high nine strikeouts and finished with a line of 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, and 9 Ks and retired the side in order in four of his six innings worked.

The Racers overcame their biggest deficit of the season, falling behind by seven runs to Bellarmine. In the very first meeting between the two programs, the Racers scored 10 runs in the sixth and seventh inning combined using three two-run home runs to come over the deficit and beat the Knights 12-8.

A Look at the Racers:
Murray State sits in first place in the OVC standing with a 15-12 overall record and a 6-3 conference record with series wins over Eastern Illinois, Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech.

In the weekend series vs TTU, Cozart hit .462 with a pair of home runs, four runs scored and four RBIs. He put up a slugging percentage of 1.077% and a .500 on-base percentage and improved his hitting streak to nine games.

Cozart moved into a tie for seventh in the nation with ten long balls, homering twice in the finale to finish with three of the Racers four RBIs. His team-high 31 RBIs is good for T-26th nationally. He has hit three first-inning home runs in the past four games and added a two-run shot in the third to pull Murray State within one.

The Racers are also leading the OVC in home runs with 38, adding four against TTU and three more versus Bellarmine. The Racers are top three in slugging pct (.438), runs scored (177), runs batted in (159), doubles (49), total bases (394), walks (126) and strikeouts (247).

Four Racers had hit multiple home runs in conference play. Jordan Cozart and Bryson Bloomer have hit five homers apiece followed close behind by Brock Anderson with three and Tanner Booth has a pair of long balls.

On the mound, the Racers will hand the ball to redshirt sophomore Shane Burns and freshman Jack Wenninger. Jake Jones is second in the OVC with four wins in his 12 appearances.

Wenninger is 2-0 in conference play and leads the OVC in ERA among qualified pitchers with 2.64. Opponents are batting .185 against him, good for second in the OVC, with 23 strikeouts and through his 30.2 innings of works, he has only given up one home run.

Burns earned a no-decision on Friday, throwing 6.0 innings, allowing only two runs on seven hits.

Senior Day
The Racers will honor their five seniors, #8 Brock Anderson, #10 Ryan Perkins, #12 Jordan Cozart, #28 Sam Gardner and #35 Jonah Brannon.

Anderson transferred from Walters State CC and has played in 97 career games as a Racer, including all 28 this season. In 2019, he was named to the 2019 All-OVC Second Team after batting .289 and leading MSU in batting average, hits, runs, triples, home runs, RBIs, total bases and slugging percentage.

Anderson finished the pandemic shortened season third in the country with eight home runs and eleventh with 23 RBIs leading him to be named one of college baseball's top 50 senior hitters in 2020 by D1baseball.

In his final season as a Racer, Brock has hit nine home runs, thirteenth-most in the country and is second on the team with 24 RBIs.

Brannon redshirted his freshman year after coming from Calloway County High School. He has played in 19 career games, hit one homer and drove in three runs.

Cozart transferred from Olney Central College and in his 82 careers games played, he is a career .348 hitter. As a two-way player, Cozart has made eight appearances on the mound with 13 strikeouts in 14.1 innings.

In the pandemic shortened 2020 season, he batted .417 with five home runs and 19 RBIs. He led the Racers in hits, doubles, runs scored, slugging percentage and walks to be named a Third-Team All-American by collegiate baseball news. He was also named a top 30 second baseman and a top 50 senior hitter in the country by D1 baseball, ranking eleventh in hitting ability and twelfth in game power.

This season, Cozart was named a preseason Third-Team All-American by collegiate baseball news as well as a preseason All-OVC pick. So far he is tied for 7th in the nation with ten homers and ranks nationally in the top 40 in total bases, runs scored, RBIs, and slugging percentage.

Gardner is a graduate transfer from the University of Alabama, making nine career starts and ten total appearances as a Racer. In 2020, Gardner went 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA in his four starts. He has struck out 38 batters through 37.1 innings, including 20 K's this season. Gardner tied a career-high in punch outs last weekend against TTU with nine.

Perkins has been a fixture in the Murray State lineup as a five-year starter. He became just the tenth Racer to compete in 200 career games and is now third overall.

In his freshman season, Perkins was named to the All-OVC Freshman Team and a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball News after batting .281 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs.

This season, Ryan set a new career high in RBIs as he drove in seven runs against Jacksonville State on March 20^th and is third among active players with 36 career home runs.

Players Weekend
The Racers will participate in Players' Weekend on Friday where they will wear a colorful uniforms with their nicknames on the back of the jerseys. The jerseys allow the players the opportunity to express their personal styles and nicknames.

Scouting Southeast Missouri
The Southeast Missouri Redhawks sit third in the conference with a 7-5 record winning series against SIUE, Austin Peay and Jacksonville State. The Redhawks only conference series loss comes versus Eastern Illinois as SEMO won the opener but fell in both games of the doubleheader the following day.

Redhawks ace Dylan Dodd leads the OVC in innings pitched per game (6.24) and strikeout (55) and is second in strikeouts per game (11.34). Opponents are batting .234 against Dodd this season and he hold a 3-1 record with a 3.09 ERA.

Tyler Wilber is the reigning OVC Player of the Week after hitting .611 with two runs scored, a pair of doubles, nine RBI and a stolen base last week. He hit safely in 11 of his 18 at-bats, boasted a .722 slugging percentage and registered a .619 on-base percentage in four starts. Wilber has emerged as SEMO's offensive leader, batting .386 with a team-high 39 hits and 22 RBIs and a .515 slg %.

Sophomore Jevon Mason leads the Redhawks with a .418 batting average, playing in 17 game with 14 starts in the outfield. Mason is one of six players in the OVC to be hitting over .400 (min. 13 starts).

As a team, the Redhawks are hitting .254 with 15 home runs and a .353 slugging % and .350 on-base %.

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Players Mentioned

Brock Anderson

Bryson Bloomer

Tanner Booth

Jonah Brannon

Shane Burns

Jordan Cozart

Sam Gardner

Jake Jones

Jacob Pennington

Ryan Perkins

Jack Wenninger

Alec Whaley

Murray State University Athletics