Southeast Missouri State baseball team begins OVC title defense vs. EKU

A lot has been in flux for the Southeast Missouri State baseball team so far this season.

The Redhawks have had to reschedule 10 home games due to inclement weather, leading to lengthy last-minute road trips.

They haven't had the same lineup throughout any of their first 10 games of the season, in part because they have two middle infielders out with injuries.

All of that hasn't helped a team trying to figure out what it will take to flourish. Southeast (4-6) continues to seek better at-bats up and down the lineup as well as a third starting pitcher that's reliable in the rotation.

Now that the Redhawks are on the verge of starting their defense of the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title, coach Steve Bieser is hopeful they'll ease into a more consistent situation.

Southeast is scheduled to begin its first OVC series against Eastern Kentucky on Saturday at SIU Edwardsville in Edwardsville, Illinois.

"The biggest thing is we need some success so guys can start getting that confidence and get things rolling as a pretty newer club," Bieser said. "It just takes a little bit of time to play. It's a lot different from whenever it's just practice to now all of a sudden everything counts. I think guys have pressed a little bit, and just trying to get them to relax and get them back into the right frame of mind will go a long ways for this group."

The three-game series against the Colonels originally was slated for Cape Girardeau but was moved to the entirely artificial turf field at SIUE due to field conditions at Capaha Field.

The series starts with an 11 a.m. game Saturday. Game 2 will be played at 2 p.m. Sunday and Game 3 at 1 p.m. Monday.

"It's one thing to have them scheduled on the road and have to go play [somewhere else], but it's another thing when you've got them scheduled at home and you've got to scramble all week, and the focus becomes, 'Where are we going to go play?' as opposed to the preparation," Bieser said. "Guys have just not been able to focus and everybody's kind of up in arms about what's actually going to happen each weekend, 'Where are we going to end up and are we going to get to play?'"

Southeast has only played one series at home -- its season opener Feb. 13 and 14 against Bowling Green -- which is the only series win the Redhawks have secured.

Bieser said he has noticed a change in his players' approaches at the plate since that series, which has led to fewer baserunners.

"We didn't stay as aggressive as we could've been with the bats, and I thought we just got to the point where we started getting behind in counts and then just really putting the ball in play softly," Bieser said. "One of our goals is just to really get back to pitch discipline and looking for our pitch, and when we get our pitches, just kind of being ready for it and putting a good swing on it and not being so tentative in the box. We worked on that for the last two weeks, and I think guys are starting to get that feel back because before the season started, in our practices, guys were really swinging it well, feeling good."

Senior second baseman Jason Blum, the Redhawks' leadoff hitter and a staple on the base paths, is out with a fractured pinky he suffered during a series vs. Illinois State on Feb. 21, which hasn't helped the offense.

Blum, who batted .318 through the first seven games and is expected to be sidelined for at least another week, did not play in the Redhawks' last series. He'd started every game since his sophomore season until last weekend.

"Probably the biggest key is we need to get Blum back in our lineup," Bieser said. "He's what makes our lineup go. He's a veteran in that lineup, and he really helps everybody around him in the lineup."

Freshman Trevor Ezell replaced the senior in the lineup and at second base, and junior shortstop Branden Boggetto has held down shortstop duties solely as junior Andy Lack, who was expected to share time, fractured his tibia in the week leading up to the start of the season. Lack could be back shortly after the start of April.

"It was an area in the middle that we felt we had a lot of depth, and then we already sustained two injuries there right in the middle of the infield," Bieser said. "That's a tough position. Not just anybody on your team can go play shortstop or second base at a high level."

The Redhawks will make one change to their lineup to start conference play: junior pitcher Joey Lucchesi will get the nod for Monday's start in place of senior pitcher Ryan Lenaburg, whose ERA is 6.59 after losing his last two outings.

Junior Alex Winkelman (0-1) and senior Travis Hayes (2-1) will remain as the 1-2 starters, respectively.

"Ryan's been really good with his fastball, but just hasn't had that second or third pitch to get him very deep in the games as a starter, and typically his second or third time around the lineup is where he would get hurt," Bieser said. "I think Ryan is really throwing his fastball as well as he's ever thrown it, so putting him in the bullpen and getting everything going again could be of benefit for him as well as for the team, because I think he can be a stopper out of the bullpen and help add some depth in the bullpen.

"From a bullpen standpoint, Matthew Wade has really kind of come on and shown that he deserves the opportunity as a closer. I think we're starting to piece together and get more defined roles in our bullpen, and I think that's going to help the bullpen as well. Alex Siddle is throwing the ball really well, Greg Mosel ... those are guys we were counting on to do a good job out of the bullpen and haven't disappointed."