Southeast Missouri State's Rippee named OVC Player of the Week for baseball

SOUTHEAST BASEBALL

Southeast Missouri State senior first baseman Ryan Rippee was selected the Ohio Valley Conference's Player of the Week on Monday after dominating at the plate over a four-game stretch.

It was the second week in a row that a Redhawk earned the honor after third baseman Hunter Leeper was tabbed player of the week last week.

Rippee hit .500 with 14 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .950 in four Southeast wins last week.

Of his 10 hits, three were doubles in an 18-10 victory against Harris-Stowe on Tuesday, which tied a school record for doubles in a game, and he also hit a home run in both Saturday and Sunday's games at UT Martin.

Rippee increased his batting average from .236 to .284 and holds the team lead in RBIs with 27.

The Redhawks scored 78 runs in their four wins and outscored UT Martin 60-14 in their three-game sweep to improve to 17-8 on the season and 9-0 in the OVC. They made program history by winning their first eight conference games for the first time ever.

In the series finale Southeast blasted eight home runs, which is the most any NCAA Division I team has hit in a single game this season.

The Redhawks have won their last seven games and host Division II Maryville in a midweek matchup at 5 p.m. Wednesday. They also host SIU Edwardsville for a three-game OVC series this weekend.

-- From staff report