Southeast Missouri State's Gibson repeats as OVC Player of the Week in baseball

~ The Southeast baseball player again drew the OVC Player of the Week award

Southeast Missouri State senior Derek Gibson has been an integral part of the Redhawks' 6-0 start in Ohio Valley Conference play.

Gibson has preyed on conference pitching through the first two series sweeps, and Monday he was named the OVC Player of the Week for the second consecutive week after the Redhawks went 4-0 and extended their winning streak to seven games.

The outfielder/designated hitter went 10 for 16 (.625) with 10 RBIs in the four wins. He scored six runs, and his hits included two doubles and a home run.

Gibson was 8 for 12 in the Redhawks' three-game sweep of Eastern Kentucky with nine RBIs.

He also provided the game-winning run with a home run in a 6-5 nonconference victory over Missouri State earlier in the week.

Gibson is batting a league-best .652 in OVC action, and his overall .463 batting average also leads the conference. He has 15 RBIs in conference play and 22 overall in 67 at-bats. In OVC play, he has an .870 slugging percentage and an OPS of 1.513. He currently has a 12-game hitting streak.

The Redhawks have a two-game lead in the OVC standings over Tennessee Tech, Jacksonville State, Murray State and SIU Edwardsville. All four of those teams are 4-2 in conference play.

Southeast (13-6 overall) will open a four-game homestand today against Saint Louis University (10-8) at 5 p.m. The Redhawks will host Morehead State in a three-game OVC series that begins Friday.