• OVC Baseball Report – April 20 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Tuesday, April 21
Butler
at Eastern Illinois, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Belmont
at UT Martin, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
UTRGV
at Little Rock, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southern Illinois
at Southeast Missouri, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
SIUE at Missouri, 6:00 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Western Illinois at Iowa, 6:00 p.m. (B1G+)
Middle Tennessee
at Tennessee Tech, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wednesday, April 22
Morehead State at Marshall, 10:00 a.m. (ESPN+)
UTRGV
at Little Rock, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saint Louis
at Western Illinois, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
UMSL
at Lindenwood, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Evansville
at Southern Indiana, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
North Alabama
at Tennessee Tech, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday, April 24
*Eastern Illinois at UT Martin, 5:00 p.m.
*Little Rock at Lindenwood, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southern Indiana at Morehead State, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*SIUE at Southeast Missouri, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Tennessee Tech, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, April 25
*Little Rock at Lindenwood, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southern Indiana at Morehead State, 2:00 p.m.
*SIUE at Southeast Missouri, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Tennessee Tech, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Eastern Illinois at UT Martin, 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 26
*Southern Indiana at Morehead State, 12:00 p.m.
*Little Rock at Lindenwood, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Eastern Illinois at UT Martin, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*SIUE at Southeast Missouri, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Tennessee Tech, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
PLAYER
Sam Driscoll, OF • 5-9, 160, Fr. • Mt. Zion, Ill. • Lindenwood
Driscoll helped Lindenwood to a 4-0 week (and extending the team's OVC winning streak to seven games) by hitting .727 (8-for-11) with 10 runs scored, two doubles, a triple, three home runs, six RBI, two stolen bases, a .750 on-base percentage and 1.909 slugging percentage. The freshman opened the week by scoring twice, driving in a run and swiping two bases in a 9-1 victory over Saint Louis. He opened the Morehead State series with a hit and RBI on Friday. On Saturday he was a single shy of the cycle, going 3-for-3 with four runs scored and two RBI. Driscoll capped the week with a 4-for-6 performance on Sunday, once again scoring four runs while blasting two home runs and driving in two. During the week he raised his batting average from .193 to .279.
Others Nominated: Angel Cano, Little Rock; Cal Sullivan, Southeast Missouri; Noah Foster, Southern Indiana; Jorsixt Jimenez, Tennessee Tech; TJ Grines, UT Martin; Isaiah Monge, Western Illinois.
PITCHER
Jacob Sitton, RHP • 6-0, 220, Sr. • Bradford, Tenn. • UT Martin
Sitton tossed the first nine-inning complete game by a UT Martin pitcher since the 2024 OVC Tournament (Tristan Walton) in topping Southern Indiana 10-1 on Friday. The senior scattered five hits (four singles) and allowed one run while striking out six USI batters. He helped the Screaming Eagles to a .147 batting average in the contest. Sitton is now 5-2 on the season in 10 starts and sports a 3.60 E.R.A. This marks his second OVC Pitcher of the Week award of the 2026 season.
Others Nominated: Seth Benes, Lindenwood; Nic Bronzini, Little Rock; Tim Teixeira, SIUE; Ryan Weller, Southern Indiana; Carter Casabella, Tennessee Tech; Cade Sonoqui, Western Illinois.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Angel Cano (1B, Sr.), Little Rock. Hit .529 (9-for-14) with seven runs scored, two home runs and six RBI in four games, including a three-game sweep of Eastern Illinois.
•
Cal Sullivan (1B, Jr.), Southeast Missouri. Smashed three home runs in four games, driving in nine RBI and scored five times as Redhawks were 3-1.
•
Jorsixt Jimenez (OF, Sr.), Tennessee Tech. Hit .600 (9-for-15) with seven runs scored, four doubles and two RBI in four contests.
•
Isaiah Monge (INF, Sr.), Western Illinois. Led WIU with a .500 (8-for-16) batting average while scoring three times and tallying four doubles.
•
Tim Teixeira (RHP, So.), SIUE. Allowed one run over seven innings, while striking out nine and walking only one in 7.0 innings against Western Illinois.
•
Ryan Weller (RHP, Jr.), Southern Indiana. Pitched eight innings in earning win over UT Martin, as he allowed five hits while striking out five.
•
Seth Benes (RHP, Jr.), Lindenwood. Allowed three hits in a 7-inning complete game, striking out five without issuing a walk at Morehead State.
•
Nic Bronzini (LHP, R-Jr.), Little Rock. Pitched 5.0 innings, allowing one run, in picking up win over Eastern Illinois to push Trojans into a tie for first place.
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: After five weeks of Conference play, four teams have separated from the pack with Little Rock and SIUE tied for first place at 11-4 and Eastern Illinois and Southeast Missouri one game back at 10-5 ... As a Conference the OVC is ranked No. 14 in the RPI; SEMO has the top RPI (64) while EIU (77) also in the Top 80 nationally ... EIU's Brett Stanley had his hitting streak end on Sunday at 31 games; it had been the longest hitting streak by an EIU player since the 1991 season ... EIU's James Love extended his streak of reaching base safely to 35 games, which ranks among the Top 10 nationally ... UT Martin's TJ Grines nabbed two stolen bases to increase his national lead to 40 swipes this season (which is the UTM single-season record) ... Lindenwood has now won seven-straight OVC games, the longest active streak in the Conference; the Lions scored 38 runs in a three-game series at Morehead State (after scoring no more than 12 runs in any OVC series this season) ... SIUE junior first baseman Ryan Niedzwiedz hit his 36th career home run Sunday breaking the program's all-time record ... Southern Indiana head coach Chris Ramirez under his 400th career victory on Sunday against UT Martin ... UTM's Jacob Sitton tossed the first nine-inning complete game by a Skyhawk pitcher (against USI on Friday) since Tristan Walton in the 2024 OVC Tournament.
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 40 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.