• OVC Baseball Report – April 28 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Tuesday, April 29
UT Martin at North Alabama, 5:00 p.m.
Tennessee Tech at Lipscomb, 6:00 p.m.
Lindenwood at Southern Illinois, 6:00 p.m.
Arkansas State
at Little Rock, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Murray State
at Southeast Missouri, 6:00 p.m.
SIUE at Saint Louis, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wednesday, April 30
Bradley
at Western Illinois, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southern Indiana at Illinois State, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday, May 2
*Little Rock at Eastern Illinois, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Morehead State at Lindenwood, 5:00 p.m.
*Southern Indiana at UT Martin, 5:00 p.m.
*Tennessee Tech at Southeast Missouri, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at SIUE, 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 3
*Little Rock at Eastern Illinois, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Morehead State at Lindenwood, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee Tech at Southeast Missouri, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at SIUE, 2:00 p.m.
*Southern Indiana at UT Martin, 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 4
*Little Rock at Eastern Illinois, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Morehead State at Lindenwood, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Tennessee Tech at Southeast Missouri, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at SIUE, 1:00 p.m.
*Southern Indiana at UT Martin, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
CO-PLAYER
Gunnar Doyle, DH • 6-0, 190, Sr. • Oak Creek, Wis. • Southeast Missouri
Doyle tied the Southeast Missouri program record with nine RBI in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader with Morehead State. The nine RBI in a game is tied for the fifth-most by a Division I player this season. Doyle started two games during the week (pinch hit in another) and hit .600 (6-for-10) with six runs scored, a double, three home runs, 12 RBI, a .667 on-base percentage and 1.600 slugging percentage. In Saturday's contest, he was 4-for-5 with four runs scored, two home runs and the nine RBI. In the final game of the series he hit what proved to be the game-winning home run, a three-game blast with two outs in the top of the ninth inning.
CO-PLAYER
Cameron Boyd, OF • 6-0, 195, So. • Villa Hills, Ky. • Southern Indiana
In five game last week Boyd hit .583 (14-for-24) with eight runs scored, a double, three home runs, 12 RBI, four stolen bases, a .583 on-base percentage and 1.000 slugging percentage. The sophomore had multiple hits in all five games last week and stole a base in four of five contests. Boyd opened the week by going 2-for-5 in a win at Saint Louis. A day later against Bellarmine, he was 4-for-5 with a career-high two home runs and five RBI. In the three-game weekend series with Eastern Illinois, the outfielder hit .571, including going 3-for-5 in the opener, 3-for-4 in the middle game and 2-for-5 in the finale. During the week he raised his batting average from .245 to .306.
Others Nominated: Joey Hagen, Eastern Illinois; Filip Sarota, Lindenwood; Mack Mitchell, SIUE; Landon Smelser, Tennessee Tech; JT Popick, UT Martin.
CO-PITCHER
Josh Newell, RHP • 6-2, 190, Jr. • St. Charles, Mo. • Lindenwood
Newell earned his fourth OVC Pitcher of the Week award in picking up his eighth win of the season (second in a season in Lindenwood's NCAA era) at Western Illinois. The junior pitched seven innings, allowing three hits (two singles) and three walks while striking four without allowing a run. It marked his third OVC start of the season of at least seven innings on zero runs. Newell ranks first in the OVC in wins (8) and innings pitched (70.1) and second in E.R.A. (3.07).
CO-PITCHER
Reece McDuffie, RHP • 5-11, 200, Jr. • Mount Airy, N.C. • Tennessee Tech
McDuffie made three appearances, winning a pair of games out of the bullpen as Tennessee Tech compiled a 4-1 record during the week. Overall he pitched 6.1 innings, allowing no runs, no walks and three hits while striking out four. In the Golden Eagles win over USC Upstate on Tuesday, he scattered two singles and struck out one over 2.1 innings in picking up his second win of the season. In the second game of the UT Martin series, he pitched the final 2.1 innings, allowing only one single. He capped the week by pitching the final 1.2 innings against the Skyhawks, not allowing a hit and adding a strikeout as he won for the third time on the season.
Others Nominated: Bryce Riggs, Eastern Illinois; Jackson Kranawetter, Southeast Missouri; Liam McKillop, SIUE; Zach Wager, UT Martin; Jorge Romero, Western Illinois.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Jorge Romero (RHP, Sr.), Western Illinois. Pitched seven innings, combining with the bullpen to a 1-0 shutout win over Lindenwood. Allowed two hits while striking out four.
•
Zach Wager (LHP, Jr.), UT Martin. Pitched eight innings, allowing five hits and one earned run in picking up victory over Tennessee Tech.
•
Bryce Riggs (RHP, So.), Eastern Illinois. Pitched 7.2 innings over two games, striking out seven and allowing only one run.
•
Jackson Kranawetter (LHP, Jr.), Southeast Missouri. Made two appearances, picking up two saves. Pitched 4.1 innings, striking out eight without allowing a walk.
•
Mack Mitchell (INF, Jr.), SIUE. Hit .500 (5-for-10) with six runs scored, three home runs, five RBI and a 1.500 slugging percentage as SIUE swept Little Rock to remain in first place.
•
Joey Hagen (OF, R-Jr.), Eastern Illinois. Hit .500 (5-for-10) with two runs, a double, home run, eight RBI and .900 slugging percentage as Panthers were 4-1 on the week.
•
JT Popick (INF, R-So.), UT Martin. Hit .500 (8-for-16) with three runs scored, three RBI and a .529 on-base percentage.
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: After ix weeks of Conference play, Southeast Missouri and SIUE remain tied atop the OVC standings with identical 13-5 records, both coming off sweeps this past weekend ... Eastern Illinois is 1.5 games back while Tennessee Tech is two games back entering the week ... SIUE's 13 OVC wins are tied for the most under current head coach Sean Lyons (2021) ... With one more overall victory Western Illinois will equal its most wins in a season since the 2019 season ... WIU junior Liam Bushey saw his streak of reaching base of 58 consecutive games come to an end in Friday's series opener with Lindenwood; his streak included 24 games from last season and is the longest in the OVC this season ... Bushey also saw his 21-game hitting streak end, a mark that is also the longest in the OVC in 2025 ... Entering this week the longest active hitting streak in the OVC is shared by EIU's Mike O'Conor and USI's Parker Martin (12 games each) ... Tennessee Tech head coach Matt Bragga is now tied for fifth in league history for wins with 554 in his career, matching the Tennessee Tech program record held by TTU Sports Hall of Famer David Mays; he now sits just 11 wins away from passing Jacksonville State legend Jim Case for fourth on the league's ranking ... Three former OVC players were on Major League Baseball Opening Day rosters, including former Eastern Illinois pitcher Hayden Birdsong (San Francisco Giants), former EIU shortstop Trey Sweeney (Detroit Tigers), the 2021 OVC Player of the Year, and former Austin Peay closer Tyler Rogers (San Francisco Giants), the 2013 OVC Pitcher of the Year ... Three other former OVC players were on 40-man MLB rosters to open the season.
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 28 wins over nationally-ranked non-conference opponents.
April 15 - Little Rock 7, #11 Ole Miss 3
Longest Game in OVC History: The Eastern Illinois at Southeast Missouri game on April 11 lasted 19 innings, making it the longest game by innings in OVC history. It broke the previous record of 17 innings done twice before (Jacksonville State vs. Kennesaw State in 2014, and Austin Peay vs. Eastern Illinois in 2002). After the seventh inning neither team scored again until EIU plated three runs in the top of the 19th to win 6-3.
Two Named to Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List: Southeast Missouri junior
Jackson Kranawetter and Tennessee Tech sophomore
Juan Vargas were among the 56 players nationally added to the Midseason Watch List for the 20th Annual Stopper of the Year Award as announced by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). The award goes to the top relief pitcher in Division I baseball.
2025 OVC Baseball Championship presented by SERVPRO: For the third year in a row the OVC Baseball Championship presented by SERVPRO was held at Mtn. Dew Park in Marion, Illinois. This year's event is May 21-24. The event was also held at the venue (which was previously known as Rent One Park) in 2019. For the fourth year in a row, the bracket includes 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). 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 46th 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.
Southeast Missouri Picked as 2025 OVC Preseason Favorite: Defending tournament champion Southeast Missouri was picked as the 2025 OVC preseason baseball favorite in a vote of OVC head baseball coaches and communications directors. The Redhawks picked up 13 of 20 first-place votes and 157 points in being picked first, just ahead of Little Rock who picked up five first-place votes and 144 points. Tennessee Tech was picked third (118), Morehead State fourth with one first-place vote (107), Eastern Illinois fifth (92) and SIUE got the final first-place vote while being picked sixth (89). The poll was rounded out by UT Martin (69), Southern Indiana (57), Lindenwood (45) and Western Illinois (22).
OVC Professional Success: Former OVC baseball players have found professional success at the Major League level. To begin the 2025 MLB season, three former OVC players were on Opening Day rosters (
Hayden Birdsong, Trey Sweeney and
Tyler Rogers) while three others were on 40-man rosters. 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 2020 World Series. Since the OVC was formed in 1948, he became the first former OVC player to be on the active roster of a World Series Champion. 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 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-place team cannot be determined, the AQ shall be the semifinal team that had the highest remaining seed going into the tournament).
Division I Council Adopts New Reclassification Criteria: On January 15 the NCAA Division I Council adopted a proposal that requires schools moving into Division I to meet objective measures that focus on the student-athlete experience and support a school’s successful transition to Division I. The change reduces the reclassification period from four to three years for Division II schools and four years for Division III schools. Members currently in the reclassification process (Lindenwood and Southern Indiana) can use the new timeline IF they meet all other criteria. Progression through the process is dependent upon meeting each year’s benchmarks. If the benchmarks are met, teams would be eligible for NCAA postseason events in the 2025-26 school year.
The 2025 Season: The 2025 season marks the 77th year of competition in the OVC. Over the previous 76 years, 14 different teams have claimed an OVC baseball regular season championship.
ESPN+: The OVC has a 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 $11.99 a month (or $119.99 per year) or as part of a bundle with Disney+ and ad-supported Hulu ($16.99/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.