Leigh shares OVC pitching honor

Southeast Missouri State's James Leigh was named the Ohio Valley Conference co-pitcher of the week for baseball Monday.

Leigh earned wins over Memphis and Lyon College last week, throwing eight innings with 13 strikeouts and only one earned run allowed. He had 10 strikeouts in six innings against Memphis.

The junior left-hander is off to an impressive start after seeing limited action last season following his transfer from a junior college.

Leigh leads the OVC with a 3-0 record, a 1.06 ERA and an average of 14.8 strikeouts per nine innings. In 17 innings, he has given up just 11 hits while striking out 28. He is holding opposing hitters to a .183 batting average.

Leigh shared the OVC pitcher of the week award with Eastern Kentucky's Christian Friedrich, who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Illinois. Friedrich is expected to be selected in the first round of this year's major league draft.

Southeast (6-6) hosts Division II Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The Cougars are 8-7, after going 37-17 last season and advancing to the NCAA regionals.

The Redhawks begin OVC play this week with a three-game home series against Tennessee Tech. There will be a 1 p.m. doubleheader Friday and a 1 p.m. contest Saturday.