Ohio Valley Conference

• OVC Baseball Report – May 4 (PDF)
 
This Week’s Schedule
 
Tuesday, May 5
UT Martin at Murray State, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saint Louis at Lindenwood, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Arkansas State at Little Rock, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Austin Peay at Southeast Missouri, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southern Indiana at Evansville, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)

Wednesday, May 6
Morehead State at Ohio, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Western Illinois at Indiana State, 5:30 p.m.

Friday, May 8
*Tennessee Tech at Lindenwood, 3:00 p.m.
*Western Illinois at Morehead State, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Little Rock at UT Martin, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southern Indiana at Southeast Missouri, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*SIUE at Eastern Illinois, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)

Saturday, May 9
*Tennessee Tech at Lindenwood, 1:00 p.m.
*Southern Indiana at Southeast Missouri, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Little Rock at UT Martin, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Morehead State, 5:00 p.m.
*SIUE at Eastern Illinois, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)

Sunday, May 10
*Western Illinois at Morehead State, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*SIUE at Eastern Illinois, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee Tech at Lindenwood, 1:00 p.m.
*Little Rock at UT Martin, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southern Indiana at Southeast Missouri, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
 
 
OVC Players of the Week
 
CO-PLAYER
Jorsixt Jimenez, OF • 6-0, 205, Sr. • Puerto Plata, D.R. • Tennessee Tech
In four games Jimenez hit .588 (10-for-17) with eight runs scored, two doubles, two home runs, nine RBI, two stolen bases, a .650 on-base percentage and 1.059 slugging percentage. He began the week by going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI in a win at Lipscomb. He followed that with multiple hits in each of the weekend series games at Southern Indiana. Jimenez was 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI in the opener and followed with two hits, including a home run, and three RBI in the middle game of the series. The outfielder capped the week with a 3-for-5 performance, smashing another homer and driving in two more runs. Nationally, Jimenez ranks third in slugging (.859), fifth in total bases (152), eighth in batting (.407) and RBI (66), 13th in home runs (19) and 17th in hits (72).
 
CO-PLAYER
TJ Grines, OF • 5-10, 185, Sr. • Alexandria, La. • UT Martin
Grines established the OVC and UT Martin single-season record for stolen bases in a game (6) in Sunday's win at Western Illinois. For the week the outfielder hit .474 (9-for-19) with eight runs scored, a double, two home runs, seven RBI, seven stolen bases, a .524 on-base percentage and .842 slugging percentage. Grines had a multi-hit contest in all three weekend games with the Leathernecks, including going 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a home run and four RBI. In the finale, in addition to stealing six bases (the second-most by a Division I player this season), he had a season-best four hits, scoring four runs, homering and driving in two more runs. Nationally, Grines ranks first in stolen bases (56), third in runs (67) and seventh in hits (76).

Others Nominated: Dylan Drumke, Eastern Illinois; Will Geary, Lindenwood; Trey Hill, Little Rock; Ryan Niedzwiedz, SIUE; Micajah Wall, Southern Indiana; Kamryn Link, Western Illinois.
 
PITCHER
Nic Bronzini, LHP • 6-4, 250, R-Jr. • San Ramon, Calif. • Little Rock
Bronzini pitched eight shutout innings, combining with his bullpen, in blanking Morehead State 4-0 on Sunday. The lefty scattered four hits (three singles) and walked two while striking out eight batters. Bronzini started the game by retiring 20 of the first 23 batters he faced. He got into a bases loaded, no outs jam in the eighth inning but struck out the next batter before inducing an inning-ending double play to preserve the shutout and pick up his second win of the season.
 
Others Nominated: Bryce Riggs, Eastern Illinois; Tim Teixeira, SIUE; Ean DiPasquale, Southern Indiana; Carter Casabella, Tennessee Tech; Cason Sharp, UT Martin; Max Tripure, Western Illinois.
 
 
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
 
• Kamryn Link (OF, Jr.), Western Illinois. Hit .538 (7-for-13) with six runs scored, a home run, seven RBI and a .923 slugging percentage in four games.
 
• Tim Teixeira (RHP, So.), SIUE. Tossed 6.2 innings of scoreless baseball against Lindenwood, allowing just two hits while striking out eight Lions.
 
• Bryce Riggs (RHP, Jr.), Eastern Illinois. Allowed three hits and one run over 7.1 innings in topping Southeast Missouri in a 11-1 run rule victory.
 
• Dylan Drumke (OF, Grad.), Eastern Illinois. Helped Panthers to 4-0 week, scoring four runs, driving in six runs and combining for a 1.121 OPS average.
 
• Ean DiPasquale (RHP, So.), Southern Indiana. Earned the victory over Tennessee Tech, pitching five scoreless innings, allowing four hits while striking out three.
 
• Carter Casabella (RHP, So.), Tennessee Tech. Had a complete game victory at Southern Indiana, scattering five hits while striking out five in a seven inning, run-rule victory.
 
• Ryan Niedzwiedz (1B, Jr.), SIUE. Helped SIUE to a 4-0 week with a pair of home runs and nine RBI as Cougars remained in a tie for first place.
 
• Cason Sharp (RHP, Jr.), UT Martin. Earned the victory on Saturday at Western Illinois, tossing a complete game, striking out four batters.
 
 
Notes From Around the League
 
Highlights From Around the League: There are only two weekends of OVC play left in the regular season and Eastern Illinois and SIUE are tied atop the standings at 15-6 ... Those two teams play this weekend in Charleston ... Eastern Illinois won the regular season title last year (its fifth overall title) while SIUE has never won an OVC title since becoming a full member in 2012 ... Little Rock is just one game back while Southeast Missouri is three games back (Little Rock and SEMO play the final weekend of the regular season) ... The League had another good week of non-conference competition (6-2 last week and 17-4 over the past two weeks) and is now ranked No. 12 in the RPI entering the week ... Eastern Illinois is the top-ranked OVC team in the RPI (57), followed by Southeast Missouri (60) and Little Rock (95) ... UT Martin's TJ Grines leads Division I in stolen bases (56), one away from tying the OVC single-season record; Grines set the OVC and UTM record with six stolen bases in Sunday's win at Western Illinois ... As a team UTM has 127 stolen bases, topping the previous mark of 123 set in 1986 ... SIUE has 80 home runs as a team (which ranks 20th nationally), the second-most of the program's Division I era ... SIUE's Ryan Niedzwiedz had 21 home runs, which is seventh nationally and two away from entering the OVC Top 10 single-season leaders list ... WIU's Liam Bushey set the school record with his 13th home run of the season over the weekend.
 
Grines Steals Bases; One Away From OVC Record: UT Martin senior OF TJ Grines leads Division I with 56 stolen bases, which is the UTM Division I single-season record (the old mark was 37). The OVC record for stolen bases in a season is 57 by EKU's Josh Anderson in 2003. Grines had six stolen bases against Western Illinois on May 3, setting the OVC and UTM single game records in that category.
 
Ranked Wins: Here is a look at OVC teams with wins over nationally-ranked teams this season. From 2018 to the present OVC teams have 31 wins over nationally-ranked non-conference opponents.
            February 17 - Morehead State 8, #18 Kentucky 6
 
Recent Baseball Success: Highest NET Ranking in 25 Years/Wins Over No. 1 Ranked Teams: Last season the OVC ranked 15th in the final NCAA RPI, its highest finish in the rankings in the past 25 years. OVC teams also have four victories over the No. 1 ranked team since 2019, including Austin Peay over Vanderbilt (2-27-19), Morehead State over Louisville (3-2-21), Tennessee Tech over Tennessee (4-12-22) and Little Rock over LSU (6-1-25).
 
Thompson-Allen Named NCBWA National Co-Hitter of the Week (March 24): SIUE outfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen was named the National Co-Hitter of the Week by the NCBWA on March 24. He hit .650 (13-20) for the week with four home runs and 11 RBI. He ended the week with an on-base percentage of .682 and a slugging percentage at 1.450 and hit for the cycle in the final game of the week.
 
Two on Buster Posey Award Watch List: Tennessee Tech's Manny Garza and Little Rock's Cade Martin were named to the mid-year Buster Posey Award Watch List. The award is given to the top collegiate catcher. The award is sponsored by the Greater Wichita Sports Commission.
 
Two Named to Stopper of the Year Award Midseason Watch List: Two OVC baseball players were on the Midseason Watch List for the 21st Annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball. The selections were Southeast Missouri senior Jackson Kranawetter and SIUE redshirt sophomore Easton Harris.
 
Riggs Named Semifinalist for National Pitcher of the Year Award: Eastern Illinois' Bryce Riggs was named a semifinalist for the National Pitcher of the Year Award by the College Baseball Foundation. A total of 43 pitchers were selected as a semifinalist for the National Pitcher of the Year award.
 
Two on Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Semifinalist List: Southeast Missouri's Andrew Ramirez and SIUE's Chase Bloomer are two of 50 semifinalists for the Brooks Wallace Award, honoring the best shortstop in college baseball. The award is presented by the College Baseball Foundation.
 
2026 OVC Baseball Championship: For the fourth year in a row the OVC Baseball Championship will be held at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, Illinois (May 19-23). The event was also held at the venue (which was previously known as Rent One Park) in 2019. It was announced in May 2025 that the event will be held at the venue through 2029. This year the bracket has been slightly adjusted with the first two games (now played on Tuesday) being single-elimination (previously the first four games of the event were single-elimination and played on Wednesday). The winners of Tuesday's games will advance to the double elimination portion of the bracket. The Championship will now have 12 games (with the if necessary game being a 13th). The venue, home to the Thrillville Thrillbillies of the Prospect League (the team completed its first season in 2023), opened in 2007 and has a Sportexe Turf synthetic surface and features 3,400 chairback seats and lawn seating for over 2,000. It also has a new high-definition LED video board, 14 suites, a banquet facility, an entertainment plaza and kids’ play area. The stadium is located directly off Interstate 57. This year marks the 47th OVC Baseball Championship. The first elimination style OVC Baseball Tournament was held in 1980, most usually being played at the site of the regular season championship. Beginning in 2001 the tournament switched to a neutral site for the first time.
 
SIUE Picked as 2026 OVC Preseason Favorite: SIUE was picked as the 2026 Ohio Valley Conference preseason baseball favorite in a vote of OVC head baseball coaches and communications directors. The Cougars picked up 10 first-place votes and 137 points in being picked first, one point ahead of Southeast Missouri, who received three first-place votes and 136 points. Eastern Illinois got four first-place votes and 132 points in being tabbed third while Little Rock picked up the other three first-place votes and 122 points in coming in fourth. The poll was rounded out by Tennessee Tech (98), Lindenwood (86), Southern Indiana (70), UT Martin (54), Morehead State (37) and Western Illinois (28).
 
OVC Professional Success: Former OVC baseball players have found professional success at the Major League level. To begin the 2026 MLB season, three former OVC players were on Opening Day rosters (Will Klein, Joey Lucchesi and Tyler Rogers) while four others were on 40-man rosters (including Trey Sweeney who started on the DL). At the end of the 2025 season, former Eastern Illinois pitcher Will Klein captured a World Series Championship as a member of the active playoff roster for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who topped the Toronto Blue Jays in extra innings in a thrilling Game 7. Klein appeared in both Game 1 and Game 3 of the World Series, including picking up the win in Game 3 when he pitched 4.0 innings of scoreless relief as L.A. won 6-5 in 18 innings. He allowed one hit and struck out five in that appearance. Klein pitched 1.0 innings in Game 1, allowing one hit. Klein is the first former OVC player to be on an active roster of a World Series Champion since 2020, when Belmont's Matt Beaty won a title also with the Dodgers. Former UT Martin pitcher Alec Mills tossed the 16th no-hitter in Chicago Cubs history (and 305th in MLB history) against the Milwaukee Brewers on September 13, 2020. In 2021 Eastern Illinois SS Trey Sweeney was selected in the First Round by the New York Yankees (No. 20 overall), becoming just the third First Round pick in OVC history; Sweeney is now with the Detroit Tigers and made his MLB debut in 2024. Also in 2021, former SEMO pitcher Dylan Dodd was selected in the Third Round by the Atlanta Braves, marking the first time in OVC history two players were selected in the Top 3 rounds of the same draft.
 
All Teams Eligible for Postseason Play: Lindenwood and Southern Indiana have completed their reclassification to Division I and are now eligible to earn to compete in NCAA sanctioned postseason play.
 
The 2026 Season: The 2026 season marks the 78th year of competition in the OVC. Over the previous 77 years, 14 different teams have claimed an OVC baseball regular season championship.
 
ESPN+/ESPN Unlimited: The OVC signed a new multi-year media rights agreement with ESPN ahead of the season that continues the long-standing partnership to air games on the Family of Networks. This season over 200 men’s and women’s basketball regular season Conference games and non-conference games will be streamed on ESPN+. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for $11.99 a month (or $119.99 per year). For the first time ever, ESPN now offers its full suite of 12 networks and services directly to fans within an enhanced ESPN App that integrates game stats, ESPN Fantasy sports, commerce, multiview options, a synchronized two-screen experience, a vertical video feature called Verts and a personalized SportsCenter For You. Designed to give fans more choice, flexibility and access to all of ESPN, these new features and functionality are available to all fans who watch on the ESPN App on mobile and connected TV devices, whether they subscribe directly or through a traditional pay TV package. Bundling options available for fans include a special offer at launch for the ESPN DTC Unlimited plan with Disney+ and Hulu for $29.99/month for the first 12 months.