Ohio Valley Conference

• OVC Baseball Report – May 22 (PDF)
 
This Week’s Schedule

2023 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship
Mtn Dew Park - Marion, Illinois
All Games Air on ESPN+
All Times Central

Wednesday, May 24
Game 1: #5 Eastern Illinois vs. #8 Southern Indiana, 9 a.m.
Game 2: #6 Tennessee Tech vs. #7 SIUE, 12:30 p.m.
Game 3: #4 Southeast Missouri vs. Winner of Game 1, 4 p.m.
Game 4: #3 UT Martin vs. Winner of Game 2, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, May 25
Game 5: #1 Morehead State vs. Winner of Game 3, 11 a.m.
Game 6: #2 Little Rock vs. Winner Game 4, 3 p.m.
Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 7 p.m.

Friday, May 26
Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 2 p.m.
Game 9: Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 6 p.m.

Saturday, May 27
Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9, 12 p.m.
 
NOTES:
* The first four games are single elimination.
* The Championship Game (Game 10) is winner-take-all. 
 

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OVC Players of the Week

PLAYER
Roman Kuntz, DH • 6-3, 185, Jr. • New Carlisle, Ind. • Morehead State
In two games last week (two others were canceled due to weather), Kuntz hit .600 (6-for-10) with six runs scored, a double, four home runs, five RBI, a .636 on-base percentage and 1.900 slugging percentage. His performance helped Morehead State win both games against Little Rock to lock up the OVC regular season crown, its first since 1985 (a North Division title) and first outright since 1979. In Thursday's 12-8 win over Little Rock, Kuntz smashed three home runs and drove in four RBI. His home runs came in the third, sixth and eighth innings. On Friday he was 3-for-5 with three runs scored, a double and a home run as MSU won 14-10. Among OVC players Kuntz ranks 10th in home runs (0.26/game) and RBI (0.94/game).
 
Others Nominated: Logan Eickhoff, Eastern Illinois; Joe Copeland, Lindenwood; Nico Baumbach, Little Rock; Brady Bunten, SIUE; Hayden Gilliland, Tennessee Tech; Mac Danford, UT Martin.
 
PITCHER
Jake Bockenstedt, RHP • 6-1, 190, Sr. • Cedar Rapids, Iowa • SIUE
Bockenstedt made his final regular season start a memorable one, throwing eight no-hit innings to lead the Cougars to their first-ever combined no-hitter and first no-hitter of any kind since making the move to Division I. Bockenstedt threw eight innings in the start against Lindenwood, striking out eight and walking four. From the end of the second inning through two outs in the eighth inning he recorded 18 consecutive outs. He made way for Hayden Cooper in the ninth; Cooper would strike out the side to complete the no-hitter. Bockenstedt bookended OVC Pitcher of the Week honors in 2023, winning the first and last of the season.
 
Others Nominated: Zane Robbins, Eastern Illinois; Michael Walsh, Lindenwood; Chance Vaught, Little Rock; Matt Bettio, Morehead State; Tyler Hutson, Southern Indiana; Campbell Cleveland, UT Martin.
 

OVC Tournament Team-Specific Notes

GENERAL TOURNAMENT NOTES
This year marks the 44th OVC Baseball Tournament; the first elimination style event was held in 1979 (prior to that the winner of each division matched up in a three-game series to be crowned league champion)...Since 2001 the event has been played at a neutral site, first Paducah, Kentucky (2001-09), then Jackson, Tennessee (2010-16), Oxford, Alabama (2017-18), Marion, Illinois (2019, 2023), Jackson, Tennessee (2021) and Lexington, Kentucky (2022)...This year marks the 22nd at a neutral site...No event was held in 2020 due to the pandemic...Since the tournament went to a neutral site, the No. 1 seed has won eight titles, the No. 2 seed has won six titles, the No. 3 seed has won four titles, the No. 4 has won twice and No. 5 seed has claimed one championship...Southeast Missouri has won each of the past two tournament.
 
EASTERN ILLINOIS
Appearances: 18
Titles: 2 (1999, 2008)
All-Time Record: 20-25
Eastern Illinois is back in the field for the second-straight year...Last year the team was the No. 4 seed and lost in an elimination game on the first day of the event...The team has lost three-straight times in its first game of the event...The Panthers are looking for its first OVC Tournament victory since 2014 (they have lost five-straight games)...Overall the team has won OVC crowns in 1999 and 2008...In 2012 the team advanced to the Championship Round of the bracket before being shutout in back-to-back games by Austin Peay...The Panthers have won 26 road games this season, the second-straight season they have won the most road games of any Division I team (they won 25 in 2022)...EIU has 33 overall wins, marking its first back-to-back seasons with at least 30 wins since the 1998-99 campaigns...EIU has won seven games in a row (including back-to-back OVC sweeps), eight of its last nine and 10 of its last 12 ... The Panthers open Tournament play with Southern Indiana; USI won two of three games in the series this year.
 
LITTLE ROCK
Appearances: 1
Titles: 0
All-Time Record: 0-0
In its inaugural OVC season, Little Rock finished 14-8 in OVC play (they missed two games due to weather) to lock up the No. 2 overall seed ... The Trojans won two of its last three OVC series, falling to OVC champion Morehead State in the final weekend of the year...Little Rock led the OVC in batting (.301 team average) and was second in E.R.A. (5.22)...Sophomore Jackson Wells led Division I in E.R.A. until the final week of the regular season and enters the postseason with a 1.71 E.R.A., which ranks second nationally (the leader is at 1.58)...The Trojans have the top three players in terms of batting average in the league: Nico Baumbach (.376), Tyler Williams (.364) and Luke Pectol (.362).
 
MOREHEAD STATE
Appearances: 27
Titles: 4 (1983, 1993, 2015, 2018)
All-Time Record: 35-45
Morehead State is in the OVC Tournament field for the ninth-straight tournament, the longest stretch in program history...The Eagles finished OVC play 16-7 to win its 12th overall regular season crown, its first since 1985 (when it won the North Division) and first outright overall title since 1979...The Eagles have finished in the top three in the league regular-season standings for six-straight seasons...After winning the 2018 Tournament, the Eagles advanced to the Championship Round in 2019 but have lost three-straight games over the past two events...MSU has won six of its last seven games...The team hit an OVC-best 96 home runs during the regular season...Outfielder Ryley Preece is second in the OVC and ranks 15 nationally with 21 home runs; that is the 14th-most home runs in OVC single-season history (one away from 10th place)...As the No. 1 seed, the Eagles will not play until Thursday; the team will play either Eastern Illinois, Southern Indiana or Southeast Missouri.
 
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
Appearances: 28
Titles: 5 (1998, 2002, 2016, 2021, 2022)
All-Time Record: 48-48
Southeast Missouri enters this year as the two-time defending Tournament champions...The last time the event was held in Marion (2019), the Redhawks failed to make the field after making 24-straight events...SEMO led the OVC race for most of the season but lost its last six Conference games (and 10 games overall) and slipped to a tie for third in the standings (and finished fourth after the tiebreaker)...No team has won three-straight OVC Tournament titles since 2011-13 (Austin Peay)...The Redhawks will play the winner of the Eastern Illinois/Southern Indiana game on Wednesday afternoon; SEMO was swept by EIU at home the final weekend of the regular season and won two of three against USI on the road.
 
SIUE
Appearances: 4
Titles: 0
All-Time Record: 2-6
Last year SIUE made its third Tournament appearance and picked up its first-ever win (topping Austin Peay to open the event); the Cougars would also beat Eastern Illinois before losing two-straight...After winning 25 games during the regular season in 2022, the team won one more game this season (26)...The Cougars lost eight of its final 10 regular season games...On the final Thursday of the regular season, pitchers Jake Bockenstedt and Hayden Cooper combined to throw the first no-hitter in SIUE's Division I history; it was the first no-hitter in the OVC since 2018...SIUE will face off with Tennessee Tech in the first round in an elimination game; the teams have never met in the OVC Tournament...TTU swept SIUE during the 2023 regular season.
 
SOUTHERN INDIANA
Appearances: 1
Titles: 0
All-Time Record: 0-0
In its inaugural season of OVC competition, the Screaming Eagles won two of three games against Tennessee Tech to qualify for the OVC Tournament field as the No. 8 seed...USI won 4-2 on the final day (getting the final out with the winning run at the plate)...Southern Indiana is reclassifying to Division I and ineligible to compete in the NCAA Tournament; per OVC policy, should the team win the OVC Tournament Championship, the automatic bid would be awarded to the tournament runner-up...Southern Indiana opens OVC Tournament play with No. 5 seed Eastern Illinois in an elimination game.
 
TENNESSEE TECH
Appearances: 22
Titles: 4 (1997, 2001, 2009, 2017)
All-Time Record: 38-37
After missing out on two-straight OVC Tournaments (2019, 2021), Tennessee Tech is in the field for the second-straight season...Overall the team has made eight-straight tournament under head coach Matt Bragga, who left after the 2018 season but returned prior to the 2022 campaign...The team won the OVC Tournament in 2017 and advanced to the Championship Round in 2018 (a year they got an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Super Regionals)...Last year Tech won three-straight games to open OVC Tournament play (avoiding elimination twice)...First baseman John Dyer leads the OVC and ranks 10 nationally with 22 home runs this season; the 22 home runs are tied for the 10th-most in OVC single-season history...TTU is 5-5 over its last 10 games this season...Tennessee Tech opens play with No. 7 seed SIUE, which marks the first OVC Tournament meeting between the two teams; the Golden Eagles swept the Cougars this season.
 
UT MARTIN
Appearances: 5
Titles: 0
All-Time Record: 1-5
UT Martin is back in the OVC Tournament field for the first time since 2019, the last time the event was held in Marion...The Skyhawks lone win in the Tournament came in 2011 against Eastern Kentucky...UTM has won eight of 11 games entering the postseason...The No. 3 seed is the highest ever for the program (the previous high was No. 6)... UT Martin (14-10) finished above .500 in OVC play for the first-time ever, clinched a Top 4 seed in the event for the first time, and won its most OVC games ever (surpassing 12 wins in each 2017 and 2019)...UT Martin will play the winner of the Tennessee Tech/SIUE matchup; the Skyhawks have never played either team in the Tournament...UTM won the SIUE series (2-1) but dropped the TTU series (1-2) this season.


Notes From Around the League

Highlights From Around the League: Morehead State won both of its games against Little Rock over the weekend to claim the OVC Regular Season Championship, the first time the team had won a title since 1985 (when it won a North Divisional Title)...Little Rock finished second in the standings in its first year in the league...UT Martin earned its highest OVC seed with No. 3 (its previous high was 6th)...Eastern Illinois swept SEMO for the first time since 2009 and finished above .500 in OVC play for the first time since 2014 (not including the shortened 2020 season)...Eastern Illinois is tied for most road wins nationally with 26 ...TTU's John Dyer is currently on a 23-game hitting streak, the longest in the OVC this season and tied for the third-longest single-season mark in school history...Dyer has 22 home runs this season, making him just the fifth TTU play to reach the 20-homer plateau; his 46 career home runs ranks him 17th in OVC history (sixth in TTU history)...Little Rock's Nico Baumbach has reached base safely in 49-straight games (every game he has played in this season)...Morehead State has turned 48 double plays this season, the 14th most nationally; the Eagles have hit 96 home runs, which is 24th nationally...EIU has combined for seven shutouts this year, which is fourth nationally...The 2023 All-OVC baseball teams and award winners will be announced on Tuesday.
 
Morehead State Wins Regular Season Title: Morehead State finished OVC play 16-7 (including winning six of its last eight games) to claim the 2023 OVC Regular Season Championship. It was the 12th overall regular season title (divisional or overall) for the Eagles and first since 1985 (a North Division Title). It was the team's first outright title since 1979.
 
2023 OVC Tournament: The 2023 OVC Baseball Championship will be held May 24-27 at Mtn Dew Park (formerly Rent One Park) in Marion, Illinois. It marks the second time the event has been held at the venue (2019 being the other). For the second year in a row, the bracket which will include four single elimination games on Wednesday, with the winners advancing to the double elimination portion of the bracket which will include the No. 1 and 2 seeds (who receive a bye until Thursday games). Saturday’s Championship Game will be a one-game “Winner Take All” matchup. Mt Dew Park is home to the new Prospect League Team the Thrillville Thrillbillies. The venue opened in 2007 and has a Sportexe Turf synthetic surface and features 3,400 chairback seats and lawn seating for over 2,000. The venue includes a brand-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 44th 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.
 
Seeding Success: Since the OVC Tournament switched to a neutral site in 2001 (21 total tournaments),the No. 1 seed has won eight championships, the No. 2 seed has six titles (including SEMO last year), the No. 3 seed has won four times, the No. 4 seed has won twice and the 5 seed has claimed one title (Tennessee Tech in 2009).
 
SIUE Tosses Combined No-Hitter: SIUE pitchers Jake Bockenstedt and Hayden Cooper combined to throw the first no-hitter in SIUE's Division I history on May 18 at Lindenwood, a 4-0 victory. Bockenstedt pitched the first eight innings with Cooper throwing the final frame. It was the first no-hitter in the OVC since February 24, 2018 (when three JSU players combined for one against Radford). The last solo no-hitter in the OVC was on March 22, 2013 (Murray State's Cameron Finch).
 
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 26 wins over nationally-ranked non-conference opponents.
            Feb. 26 - Eastern Illinois 12, #3 Arkansas 3
            Apr. 12 - Little Rock 11, #5 Arkansas 4
            Apr. 18 - Tennessee Tech 12, #19 Tennessee 5
 
Ignoffo Named Semifinalist for John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award: Eastern Illinois utility player Ryan Ignoffo was named one of 12 semifinalists for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Watch List. The award is given to the best player in the country that contributes both on the mound and in the batters box. Ignoffo, known for his play as a utility player, has excelled not only has a hitter but also on the mound. The winner will be announced on June 15.
 
Two OVC Shortstops Named to Brooks Wallace Award Watch List: Morehead State's Colton Becker and SIUE's Chase Bloomer were named to the initial 2023 Brooks Wallace Award watch list, the College Baseball Foundation announced Tuesday.  The award honors the nation's top shortstop and will be presented by the College Baseball Foundation later this year. It is named for former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace, who played for the Red Raiders from 1977 to 1980. Wallace died of leukemia at the age of 27.
 
Four OVC Players on Stopper of the Year Watch List: Four OVC baseball players were among the 81 players nationally named to the initial Watch List for the 18th Annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball. The OVC players included Morehead State's John Bakke and Jarrett Miller, Southeast Missouri's Kyle Miller and Eastern Illinois' Zane Robbins. Of the initial 81 members, 17 were featured on last year’s midseason watch list. In total, 21 conferences are represented on this list with at least two players coming from 15 different leagues.
 
Wright on Buster Posey Award Watch List: Little Rock senior catcher Jake Wright is currently on the Buster Posey Award Watch List. The award is given to the top collegiate catcher. The watch list will be narrowed down to the semifinalists, who will be announced May 22, 2023. Ballots will be sent to the national voting committee at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced June 6, 2023. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced on June 29, 2023.
 
Dyer Named National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball (May 1): Tennessee Tech senior 1B John Dyer was named National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball on May 1 after he smashed five home runs with nine RBI in 14 plate appearances against EIU. The senior hit .462 (6-for-13) while slugging 1.615 and scoring five runs while making plenty of history. He became the 29th member of the OVC's 40-home run club for a career and tied the Tech program record for consecutive games with a home run (5).
 
Becker Named National Hitter of the Week by NCBWA and D1Baseball (April 10): Morehead State junior shortstop Colton Becker was named National Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and D1Baseball after leading MSU to four wins. For the week he  hit .625 (10-for-16) with nine runs scored, a double, two triples, four home runs, 15 RBI, three stolen bases, a .667 on-base percentage and 1.688 slugging percentage. He had four multi-hit and multi-RBI games during the week.
 
Mann Named National Pitcher of the Week by Collegiate Baseball (April 10): Tennessee Tech pitcher Hunter Mann was named one of the National Pitchers of the Week by Collegiate Baseball on April 10 following his outing against Lindenwood. Mann struck out 11 batters without issuing a walk over six innings in the 4-3 victory.
 
Recent NCAA Success: OVC teams have won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament in eight of the past 16 tournaments. OVC teams have reached the Regional Final round in four of the last 10 events. In 2018, for the first time the OVC sent two teams to the NCAA Baseball Championship. In addition to Morehead State, who won the OVC Tournament and received the league's automatic bid, Tennessee Tech became the first OVC team to receive an at-large bid. After winning an OVC record 27 Conference games during the regular season, TTU had a RPI of 23 to secure the at-large bid and a No. 2 seed in the Oxford Regional. The Golden Eagles were the second OVC team to earn a No. 2 seed, joining the 2013 Austin Peay team. TTU would win back-to-back games against No. 4 national seed Ole Miss to become the first team to advance to a Super Regional (which began in 1999). Tennessee Tech beat Texas in game one of the Super Regional before falling in the final two games.
 
OVC Professional Success: Former OVC baseball players have found professional success at the Major League. 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. Former Belmont standout Matt Beaty was a member of the 28-man playoff roster for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who defeated the Tampa Bay Rays four games to two to win the World Series. Since the OVC was formed in 1948, he is the first former OVC player to be on the active roster of a World Series Champion (most recently former SIUE pitcher Spencer Patton was a member of the 2016 Chicago Cubs championship team, but was not active for the World Series). 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. SEMO pitcher Dylan Dodd was then 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.
 
Southeast Missouri Picked as 2023 OVC Preseason Favorite: Two-time defending OVC Tournament Champion Southeast Missouri has been picked as the 2023 OVC preseason baseball favorite in a vote of OVC head baseball coaches and communications directors. The Redhawks picked up 16 of 18 first-place votes (schools could not vote for themselves) and 128 points to be a unanimous first-place pick. Morehead State received the other two first-place votes to tally 100 points and be picked second. Eastern Illinois was tabbed third (89 points) and followed by Little Rock (86), Tennessee Tech (78), SIUE (76), UT Martin (41), Southern Indiana (26) and Lindenwood (24).

Morehead State's Feltner and Bakke Earn Preseason OVC Player/Pitcher of the Year Honors: Morehead State junior first baseman Jackson Feltner was named OVC Preseason Player of the Year while MSU graduate left-handed pitcher John Bakke was tabbed OVC Preseason Pitcher of the Year.  In all 16 players were selected to the Preseason All-OVC team, seven of who were All-OVC picks a season ago. The 16 players represented eight of the nine teams who will compete for the OVC championship this season. Morehead State, Southeast Missouri and SIUE led the way with three selections apiece.
 
New Teams: The OVC welcomes three new teams this year in Lindenwood, Little Rock and Southern Indiana. Little Rock moves over from the Sun Belt while Lindenwood and USI are reclassifying from Division II and the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). The trio marks just the 22nd, 23rd and 24th full-time members in the 75-year history of the OVC.
 
Western Illinois to Join OVC on July 1: On May 12 it was announced that Western Illinois University would join the OVC on July 1, 2023, giving the OVC 11 member institutions for the 2023-24 academic year. The Leathernecks are just the 25th all-time member of the OVC and will be joining in all sports (football joins in 2024).
 
All Teams Eligible for OVC Tournament: Both reclassifying teams, Lindenwood and Southern Indiana, are eligible to compete and win the OVC Tournament Championship this season. Should a transitioning school win an OVC Tournament Championship, the AQ shall be awarded to the tournament runner-up.  Should the tournament runner-up also be a transitioning school, the AQ representative shall be the third-place team (where the third-placed team cannot be determined, the AQ shall be the semifinal team that had the highest remaining seed going into the tournament).
 
ESPN+: This year marks the fifth of the OVC’s media rights deal with ESPN to air games on ESPN+, the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company Direct-to-Consumer & International segment. 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 $9.99 a month (or $99.99 per year) or as part of a bundle with Disney+ and ad-supported Hulu ($15.99/month). ESPN+ is an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices). More information can be found at www.OVCSports.com/ESPN.