AP Sports Preview

MARION, Ill. (Interstat) — The Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship gets underway Tuesday, May 19, with a familiar matchup as seed Southern Indiana faces seed Morehead State at 1:30 p.m. CDT at Rent One Park.

The fifth-seeded Screaming Eagles (27-27) meet the fourth-seeded Eagles (31-22) in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament. The forecast for game time is unavailable.

Southern Indiana carries momentum into the postseason after a 14-9 win over Lindenwood on Saturday. First baseman Patrick McLellan starred in that victory, going 3 for 4 with a home run and six RBIs. The senior has been inconsistent, however, recording hits in five of his last 10 games while collecting two homers and eight RBIs over that stretch.

Morehead State counters with right-hander Connor Davis, who has been dominant in his last two outings. The pitcher tossed 4.0 scoreless innings with four strikeouts in a 7-6 win at Tennessee Tech on Saturday, following a 6.0-inning shutout performance against Western Illinois on May 10.

The Eagles swept a three-game series at home from the Screaming Eagles on April 24-26, winning by scores of 4-3, 6-5 and 17-13. Davis appeared in the series finale, allowing one earned run over 1.2 innings.

Morehead State has won four straight games entering the tournament. Southern Indiana has won two of its last three.

An Interstat game simulator projects a 7-4 victory for Morehead State.