• OVC Baseball Report – April 13 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Tuesday, April 14
Bellarmine
at Morehead State, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southeast Missouri at Murray State, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
North Alabama
at UT Martin, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Little Rock at Louisiana Tech, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
SIUE at Illinois, 6:00 p.m. (B1G+)
Lindenwood at Saint Louis, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tennessee Tech at Austin Peay, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wednesday, April 15
Southern Indiana at Ball State, 2:00 p.m. (Facebook Live)
Saint Xavier (Ill.)
at Eastern Illinois, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saint Louis
at SIUE, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Western Illinois at Bradley, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday, April 17
*SIUE at Western Illinois, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Lindenwood at Morehead State, 5:00 p.m.
*Eastern Illinois at Little Rock, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southeast Missouri at Tennessee Tech, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*UT Martin at Southern Indiana, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, April 18
*SIUE at Western Illinois, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Lindenwood at Morehead State, 2:00 p.m.
*Southeast Missouri at Tennessee Tech, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Eastern Illinois at Little Rock, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*UT Martin at Southern Indiana, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, April 19
*Lindenwood at Morehead State, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*SIUE at Western Illinois, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southeast Missouri at Tennessee Tech, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Eastern Illinois at Little Rock, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*UT Martin at Southern Indiana, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Jorsixt Jimenez, OF • 6-0, 205, Sr. • Puerto Plata, D.R. • Tennessee Tech
In four games last week Jimenez hit .500 (9-for-18) with seven runs scored, a double, triple, three home runs, eight RBI, a .550 on-base percentage and 1.167 slugging percentage. He opened the week by going 2-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored in a win over Austin Peay. He followed that with a home run and two more runs scored in the opener of the UT Martin series. The senior had a double and two RBI in Saturday's game with the Skyhawks and capped the week by going 4-for-6 with three runs scored, two home runs and four RBI as the Golden Eagles won 18-16. He leads the OVC in home runs (14), RBI (48), slugging percentage (.802), total bases (101) and triples (4), all of which rank in the Top 20 nationally.
Others Nominated: Brett Stanley, Eastern Illinois; Will Geary, Lindenwood; Jaden Correa, Morehead State; Caleb Klein, Southeast Missouri; Gage Franck, SIUE; Collin Senior, Southern Indiana; Andrew Lawrence, UT Martin; Josh McClintock, Western Illinois.
PITCHER
Bryce Riggs, RHP • 6-0, 195, Jr. • Cicero, Ind. • Eastern Illinois
Riggs tossed a one hit, complete game in a 3-1 win over Southern Indiana on Saturday. He took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before allowing a solo home run that tied the game at 1-1. After the home run he retired the final 14 batters he faced to improve to 6-0 on the season. Overall Riggs struck out six and allowed three walks. Nationally, Riggs ranks second in complete games (2), hits allowed per nine innings (3.86) and WHIP (0.72), 13th in victories (6) and 20th in E.R.A. (1.85)
Others Nominated: Seth Benes, Lindenwood; Brannon Westmoreland; Devin Costa, Morehead State; Mason Pennington, Southeast Missouri; Spencer Stearns, SIUE; Eli Huddletston, TTU; Cason Sharp, UT Martin; Eric Rawlings, Western Illinois.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Gage Franck (OF, Grad), SIUE. Hit .667 (6-for-9) with three runs, two doubles, a home run and six RBI in leading SIUE to a 3-1 record.
•
Jaden Correa (SS, Jr.), Morehead State. Hit game-winning home run in top of ninth in Sunday's win at SEMO; finished the week hitting .500 (8-for-16) with six runs and six RBI.
•
Andrew Lawrence (INF, R-So.), UT Martin. Batted .579 (11-for-19) with four runs, a home run and five RBI as Skyhawks went 3-1.
•
Caleb Klein (OF, Jr.), Southeast Missouri. In four games, hit .444 (8-for-18) with five runs, three doubles, a triple and two home runs as Redhawks compiled 3-1 record.
•
Brannon Westmoreland (RHP, Jr.), Little Rock. Allowed only one hit and no runs over 7.2 innings, striking out six in win at SIUE.
•
Spencer Stearns (RHP, R-Jr.), SIUE. Picked up win on Saturday, tossing seven shutout innings against Little Rock, allowing three hits (two infield singles) and striking out three.
•
Seth Benes (RHP, Jr.), Lindenwood. Allowed one run over 8.0 innings, striking out eight against WIU.
•
Mason Pennington (RHP, Sr.), Southeast Missouri. Struck out a career-high 12 in seven innings, allowing three hits against MSU.
•
Eric Rawlings (RHP, Sr.), Western Illinois. Did not allow a run over 7.0 innings in two appearances, striking out six.
•
Devon Costa (RHP, Jr.), Morehead State. In two appearances, allowed only two hits over 5.1 innings, picking up a win in relief.
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: After four weeks of Conference play, Eastern Illinois and SIUE are tied for first place (10-2) while Little Rock and Southeast Missouri are two games back (8-4) ... As a Conference the OVC is ranked No. 13 in the RPI; SEMO has the top RPI (69) while EIU (75) also in the Top 75 nationally ... OVC teams were 7-3 in non-conference games last week ... Eastern Illinois has 14 road victories this season, second nationally behind West Virginia (15) ... EIU's Brett Stanley has a 29-game hitting streak, the longest for an EIU player since 1991; teammate James Love has reached base safely in 31-straigh games ... UT Martin's TJ Grines nabbed two stolen bases to become the program’s Division I leader in stolen bases during a single season (38) and a career (51) ... Grines has four more stolen bases than anyone else nationally (and also ranks fifth nationally in runs with 50) ... Nationally, UT Martin ranks eighth in batting (.324) and fourth in doubles (2.54/game) while SEMO is second in fielding percentage (.987), EIU is third in triples (0.44/game) and Lindenwood is 22nd in E.R.A. (4.00) ... Individually, Morehead State's Aubrey Kearns is third nationally in hits (59), TTU's Jorsixt Jimenez is ninth in RBI (1.45/game), EIU's Bryce Riggs is second in hits allowed per nine innings (3.86) and WHIP (0.72) while USI's Andres Gonzalez is first nationally in appearances (22).
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).
Grines Steals Bases: UT Martin senior OF
TJ Grines leads Division I with 38 stolen bases, which is the UTM single-season record. The OVC record for stolen bases in a season is 57 by EKU's Josh Anderson in 2003.
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.
Six Named to Stopper of the Year Watch List: Six OVC baseball players were among 104 players nationally named to the initial 2026 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 included Little Rock graduate
Hunter Royal, senior
Preston Davis and junior
Gage Haley, Eastern Illinois senior
Nate Marshall, Lindenwood senior
Easton Rakers and Tennessee Tech senior
Reece McDuffie.
Six on National Pitcher of the Year Watch List: Six OVC players are among 141 players named to the College Baseball Foundations National Pitcher of the Year Watch List. The selections included three hurlers from Little Rock -
Zach Busick,
Brigden Parker and
Brannon Westmoreland, Lindenwood's
Seth Benes and
Josh Newell and Eastern Illinois'
Bryce Riggs.
Five on Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Watch List: Five OVC shortstops are among the players on the initial Brooks Wallace Award Watch List released by the College Baseball Foundation. The award honors the nation's top shortstop and will be presented by the College Baseball Foundation later this year. The picks were SIUE's
Chase Bloomer, Southeast Missouri's
Brooks Kettering, Little Rock's
Jerdy Lopez, Tennessee Tech's
Owen Lee and Southern Indiana's
Clayton Slack.
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.