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Series Preview - Matthew Sturchio

Baseball WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Travel to Southeast Missouri for Three Game Series

Western faces SEMO for the second time in program history.


Western Illinois (0-4) at Southeast Missouri (2-2)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24 - 3 p.m.  |  SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25 - 2 p.m.  |  SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26 - 1 p.m.
Capaha Field  |  Cape Girardeau, Missouri

AUDIO: SEMO ESPN Radio (download SEMO ESPN app)           
VIDEO: None
LIVE STATS: Game One | Game Two | Game Three
GAME NOTES:  Western Illinois  |  Southeast Missouri

SOCIAL MEDIA:
@WIUBaseball  |  @SEMObaseball

PROBABLE PITCHERS:
Matthew Sturchio (Sr/RHP) vs. Clay Chandler (Sr/RHP)
Ian Koch (Soph/RHP) vs. Robert Beltran (Sr/LHP)
Javin Drake (Fr/RHP) vs. Justin Murphy (Sr/RHP)


LEATHERNECKS TRAVEL TO SEMO: Western Illinois travels to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Capaha Field for a three-game series at Southeast Missouri... The Leathernecks continue their 16-game stretch on the road to open the 2017 season... Western last (and only time) faced SEMO was March 1996, a three-game series loss.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: Southeast Missouri split its four-game opening weekend series in Arlington, Texas... SEMO beat UT-Arlington 4-3 and Stephen F. Austin 3-1 to open and close the weekend but lost to both teams once in-between... Tristen Gagan batted .333 as one of six Redhawks to start in all four games... Clayton Evans and Brian Lees both went 3-for-8 at the plate... Dan Holst hit a pair of triples... Three Redhawks had two RBI on the weekend... Nate Green (1 run/5.0 IP) and Clay Chandler (2 runs/6.2 IP) both earned the win in their start... Matthew Wade (2.2 IP, 1 H, 2K) earned a save in each of the two wins... Last year SEMO (39-21 overall) won the Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament championship but went 0-2 in the Starkville (MS) Regional.

SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL: Western was picked to finish fifth in the Summit League preseason poll... The Leathernecks started the 2016 conference season winning their first three series, but 10 Leathernecks who started early in the season suffered injuries that forced them to miss multiple games. Western ended up 11-19 and just missing on qualifying for the postseason tournament... Junior outfielder Roman Visintine was named one of six from the Summit League as a 'Player to Watch'.

MAKE IT THREE IN A ROW: Western Illinois is playing one of the more challenging non-conference schedules in the country. This weekend the Leathernecks will face their third straight opponent who qualified for the NCAA Regionals in 2016... Western opened with College World Series participant Texas Tech, followed by Regionals host Mississippi State. This weekend, Western travels to Southeast Missouri. The Redhawks won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament last year but went 0-and-2 at the Starkville Regional, hosted by Mississippi State... In two weeks, following the Southern Illinois series, Western will take on Wright State (Horizon League champion/Louisville Regional).

HIT FOR THE CYCLE, SORT OF: Sophomore Drue Galassi enjoyed a productive day at the plate on Saturday in a doubleheader against #14 Texas Tech and Mississippi State... He earned the start in game one batting seventh. After starting 0-for-2, Galassi lined a RBI triple in the seventh inning. During the ninth inning with two outs, Galassi turned on a 3-2 pitch and launched it well over the right field fence... In the nightcap against the Bulldogs, Galassi batted fourth. He doubled and scored in the fourth inning then singled and stole a base in the sixth.

FRESHMAN DEBUT: Three true-freshmen made their Leatherneck debut during the opening weekend... Connor Rektorski pitched a scoreless inning of relief... Austin Emanuel played in two games and started one. He was walked and hit by a pitch... Javin Drake came on in the finale and threw 3.0 innings, striking out five. He struck out five Bulldogs, the highest strikeout total by a Leatherneck pitcher on the weekend... Redshirt-freshman Ben Sellers also made his debut, throwing 4.0 innings of relief in game one versus Texas Tech.

D1BASEBALL.COM PLAYERS TO WATCH: According to the Preseason Summit League preview by D1Baseball.com, seniors Adam McGinnis (C) and Preston Church (LHP) were two of the top 10 prospects in the 2017 MLB Draft Class... Sophomore Deion Thompson was ranked fourth of the five prospects for the 2018 Draft... Freshman right-handed pitcher Javin Drake was one of five Impact Freshman chosen by the website.

TEAM NOTES:
• Western struck out 48 times in the four games and walked 14 times.

• Fifteen different players started a game on offense.

• Ian Koch (5.2 IP), Connor Rektorski (1.0) and Sam Cottingham-Beard (2.0) all did not allow an earned run.

• Ian Koch recorded two pickoffs during his start against Mississippi State. He had just one pickoff in his team-leading 12 starts last year.

• Mitch Ellis recorded a hit in all four of his games in his Leatherneck debut. He finished .357 at the plate with a double and two runs scored.

• Cord Church carried over his hitting streak from 2016, and is currently riding a five-game streak. He hit in both games in Starkville.

• Senior Preston Church returned to the mound in a relief role. The preseason 2016 Summit League 'Pitcher of the Year' made only five starts last year before missing the rest of the year with an injury. He gave up one run on two hits in 1.1 innings.

• Junior J.T. Baksha also returned to the mound after missing all but the first three weekends last year with an injury. He got the ball in the season opener against #14 Texas Tech and worked 3.0 innings.

• Junior Pete Minella missed the entire 2016 season with an injury. He returned over the weekend and threw 1.2 innings of relief.

• Senior Chris Tschida made his first-ever start in the outfield during the season-opener. He also made his first start at first base since his freshman year... Tschida is currently riding a 104 consecutive starts streak (152 in his career).

• Chris Tschida moved to within 14 hits of tying for 10th place all-time. He is nine games shy of tying for 10th place in that career category.

• Adam McGinnis missed both games of the doubleheader on Saturday after getting hit by a pitch on his hands during Friday's game. The senior returned to the line-up Sunday and went 2-for-5 with a RBI and run scored.

• Eleven different Leathernecks have at least two hits this year.

• Drue Galassi and Dave Dobrinich each had a three-game hitting streak after last weekend... Galassi's five hits matched his total in 12 games played last year... Dobrinich finished with three hits and reached base in all four games. He had nine hits during his 36 career games played heading into the 2017 campaign.

• Nate Westfahl bounced back after a rough first inning (five runs allowed) in his first start as a Leatherneck, and limited Mississippi State over his next five innings.




 
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Players Mentioned

J.T. Baksha

#34 J.T. Baksha

LHP
6' 0"
Sophomore
L/L
Cord Church

#17 Cord Church

OF
6' 2"
Senior
R/R
Preston Church

#24 Preston Church

LHP
6' 3"
Senior
L/L
Sam Cottingham-Beard

#42 Sam Cottingham-Beard

RHP
6' 2"
Junior
R/R
Dave Dobrinich

#30 Dave Dobrinich

OF
5' 11"
Junior
L/L
Drue Galassi

#13 Drue Galassi

INF
6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
L/R
Ian Koch

#23 Ian Koch

P
6' 4"
Sophomore
R/R
Adam McGinnis

#12 Adam McGinnis

C
5' 10"
Senior
R/R
Pete Minella

#26 Pete Minella

LHP
6' 2"
Sophomore
L/L
Ben Sellers

#36 Ben Sellers

INF/P
6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
L/L
Matthew Sturchio

#2 Matthew Sturchio

P
5' 9"
Senior
R/R
Deion Thompson

#33 Deion Thompson

INF
6' 1"
Sophomore
R/R

Players Mentioned

J.T. Baksha

#34 J.T. Baksha

6' 0"
Sophomore
L/L
LHP
Cord Church

#17 Cord Church

6' 2"
Senior
R/R
OF
Preston Church

#24 Preston Church

6' 3"
Senior
L/L
LHP
Sam Cottingham-Beard

#42 Sam Cottingham-Beard

6' 2"
Junior
R/R
RHP
Dave Dobrinich

#30 Dave Dobrinich

5' 11"
Junior
L/L
OF
Drue Galassi

#13 Drue Galassi

6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
L/R
INF
Ian Koch

#23 Ian Koch

6' 4"
Sophomore
R/R
P
Adam McGinnis

#12 Adam McGinnis

5' 10"
Senior
R/R
C
Pete Minella

#26 Pete Minella

6' 2"
Sophomore
L/L
LHP
Ben Sellers

#36 Ben Sellers

6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
L/L
INF/P
Matthew Sturchio

#2 Matthew Sturchio

5' 9"
Senior
R/R
P
Deion Thompson

#33 Deion Thompson

6' 1"
Sophomore
R/R
INF