2004- A season of ups and downs

For a variety of reason, it wasn't a typical Southeast Missouri State University baseball season under coach Mark Hogan.

But the way the Indians finished -- coming up just one victory short of their third NCAA Division I regional berth since 1998 -- made up for a lot of their early struggles and offered plenty of promise for next year.

The Indians ended with a 29-28 record -- including a 15-11, fourth-place tie in the 10-team Ohio Valley Conference -- marking their eighth winning season in 10 years under Hogan, who has a 308-233-1 mark at his alma mater.

Hogan, whose only losing season at Southeast came in 1997 -- the Indians finished at .500 in 1999 -- led the Tribe to OVC tournament titles and regional appearances in 1998 and 2001.

Southeast very nearly made it three OVC tournament crowns and regional berths last weekend in Paducah, Ky. After dropping their OVC tournament opener, the Indians came all the way out of the loser's bracket to force a final title game, where they lost to Jacksonville State 5-1.

"We had a lot of ups and downs, but we ended up having a lot of good things happen," Hogan said.

The ups and downs were caused by several things: one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules; a new-look lineup after graduation took virtually all of the previous season's top players; and injuries that kept the Indians' top two projected starting pitchers -- Bill Clayton and Jon Nourie -- out virtually the entire year.

"It was a tough season in a lot of respects, but I think the character of the ballclub really showed at the end," said Hogan, whose squad won 11 of its final 16 games.

Considering that the Indians had just three seniors -- and only third baseman Gary Gilbert among that group was a starter -- Hogan figures the outlook for next season is bright, particularly if Clayton and Nourie can bounce back from their injuries.

"We did a lot of growing up this year, with all the new guys, which is just the way it fell after graduating so many players," Hogan said. "We've got a very good nucleus coming back, and the way we ended the year was a very good experience for our program."

Southeast's lineup was dominated by junior-college transfers in their first year with the program and many of them turned in strong seasons.

Left fielder Eric Horstman led the squad in batting average (.368), hits (84), runs scored (61), triples (five), on-base percentage (.443) and stolen bases (13, in 17 attempts). He also had 19 doubles, two home runs and 31 RBIs.

Horstman etched his name in the Southeast record book for a single season, tying for second in runs scored, ranking third in hits, and tying for fourth in doubles and triples.

Shortstop Ernie Bracamonte was second in batting (.354), led in RBIs (51), tied for first in home runs (eight), was second in runs scored (52) and added 11 doubles. His 81 hits are tied for the third-most in school single-season history.

Center fielder Frankie Montiel was third in batting (.352), led in doubles (22) -- the second-highest single-season total ever at Southeast -- and slugging percentage (.568) while adding five homers and 42 RBIs.

Horstman and Montiel were both second-team all-OVC while Bracamonte made honorable mention.

Another junior college transfer who batted better than .300 was first baseman Freddy Lopez (.318), who tied for the team lead with eight homers and added 33 RBIs.

Freshman outfielder Brent Lawson (.297, three homers, 17 RBIs) had a solid rookie season while juco transfer outfielder Bryan Kurt (.286, 18 RBIs), junior designated hitter Eric Hoffman (.262, seven homers, 30 RBIs), juco transfer catcher Brady Noll (.247, five homers, 22 RBIs) and juco transfer second baseman Bo Jenkins (.246, six homers, 11 doubles, 33 RBIs) all were up and down but had their moments, although Hoffman likely won't return because of lingering knee problems.

Gilbert, the lone senior regular, overcame a slow start and finished up strong by hitting .333 with five homers, 15 doubles and 43 RBIs.

In the pitching department, junior reliever Brad Smith was sensational, going 3-2 with 11 saves and a 2.48 earned-run average. He shattered school single-season records for saves and appearances (30) while also breaking the career saves mark in just one season. Smith was Southeast's only first-team all-OVC selection.

Without Clayton and Nourie, three juco transfers were the Indians' primary starters. Left-hander Derek Herbig (5-4, 3.72) ranked high nationally in strikeouts per nine innings, while right-handers Anthony Maupin (8-7, 6.01) and Mike Fitch (5-5, 6.33) were extremely durable.

Maupin's 103 1/3 innings rank sixth in school history for a single season and his 15 starts are tied for fifth. Fitch's 96 2/3 innings are the ninth-most at Southeast and his 14 starts are tied for 10th.

Junior right-hander Ryan Forsyth (4-2, 5.89) was a valuable spot starter and reliever for the second straight year, as was left-hander Stan Skakalski (3-0, 8.01), one of the squad's three seniors, although Skakalski had arm problems much of the season and missed the last few weeks.

Freshman reliever Matt Carter (1-1, 6.92) was thrown into the fire because of Southeast's thin staff and showed promise for the future.

"I think we have a lot to look forward to," Horstman said. "I think Clayton and Nourie could have taken us to another level with their experience, but hopefully they'll be back healthy next year."