The Eastern baseball team will enter OVC play once again this weekend against the SIUE Cougars after a week of nonconference play.  

The Panthers are on a two-game winning streak after beating Bellarmine and Saint Xaiver, putting them in first place in the OVC standings with a 3-0 record and a 19-7 overall record. 

SIUE is in sixth place in the conference with a 2-4 record. The Cougars are on a three-game winning streak after taking the series against UT-Martin and securing a win over Saint Louis.  

Belmont is currently in second place with a 5-1 OVC record and a 19-10 overall record after losing to Western Kentucky Tuesday evening. The Bruins will have a three-game home standing against Tennesse Tech this weekend.  

Southeast Missouri and Morehead State are both 4-2 in conference play. The Redhawks are on a two-game winning streak and the Eagles are on a one-game losing streak after dropping the last game of a three-game series to the Golden Eagles.  

The Redhawks will take on Murray State in a three-game home series this weekend while the Eagles will step away from conference play to take on Presbyterian in a three-game series.  

Austin Peay is in fifth place with a 3-3 record after dropping the last game of a three-game series against the Redhawks and losing to nationally ranked Vanderbilt. The Governors will take on the Skyhawks in a three-game series in Tennessee this weekend.  

The bottom half of the conference does not appear to be as promising. The Golden Eagles are 1-2, putting them in seventh place, and the Racers and the Skyhawks are 1-5. 

The Golden Eagles sit atop of the conference standings for team batting with an overall average of .308. The Bruins take second place with an average of .286. 

The Panthers lead the conference in team pitching with a 3.70 ERA in 26 games. The Bruins also take second place in this category with a 4.45 ERA.  

Panther left-hander Trevor Nicholson is having a stellar senior season. Nicholson leads the conference with 61 strikeouts, 22 more than second place Hayden Wynja for the Racers.  

Nicholson ranks 8th nationally out of 50 pitchers for his ERA. The Panthers overall rank 27th nationally out of 50 teams for their 3.70 ERA.