BILLIKENS VISIT INDIANS TONIGHT AT CAPAHA FIELD

Southeast Missouri State University's baseball team will look to avoid a season sweep at the hands of St. Louis University when the Indians play their final non-conference home game tonight.

The Indians (30-12 overall, 13-4 Ohio Valley Conference) and Billikens (17-29, 5-16 Conference USA) will square off in a 6 p.m. first pitch at Capaha Field.

In the only other meeting between the teams this season, SLU defeated Southeast 5-4 on April 12 in St. Louis.

"We lost a tough game at St. Louis earlier in the year," said Southeast coach Mark Hogan. "They are a very good club and we generally have good games against them. I look for another one (tonight)."

Andy Davidson is scheduled to be the Indians' starting pitcher against the Billikens.

Southeast, despite having just 16 hits in three games during last weekend's OVC series against Murray State, still has an impressive .312 team batting average.

Jeremy Johnson (.404), Kevin Meyer (.382), Darin Kinsolving (.362) and Charlie Marino (.327) are the Indians' leading hitters.

Johnson ranks high in several OVC statistical categories as he is second in hitting, second in home runs (12), fourth in runs scored (41) and tied for fifth in runs batted in (39).

Marino leads the OVC in home runs (14), is second in RBIs (50) and tied for fourth in stolen bases (16); Meyer is sixth in hitting (.382), third in doubles (17), second in runs scored (43) and tied for fourth in stolen bases (16); and Kinsolving is fourth in homers (11).

On the mound, Lanson Debrock is first in wins (9) and second in earned-run average (.274) while Tommy Thomas leads the league in strikeouts per nine innings (12.3).

Jeffrey Hilz had led the OVC in ERA (1.94) but he recently fell just short of the minimum innings pitched to qualify among the league leaders.

In the single-season school record department, Southeast is nearing a host of marks with eight regular-season games still to play.

As a team, the Indians are just 10 stolen bases away from breaking the record of 84, set in 1997. And the Tribe's home-run total of 66 is the fourth-highest in school history.

Also, Southeast is just three wins away from compiling the most victories in school history, the mark of 32 shared by the 1995 and 1998 squads.

Individually, Hilz is three appearances away from breaking the record of 23 held by four players; Meyer is four doubles away from breaking the mark of 20 held by LaMonte Collier; and Debrock is three wins away from breaking the mark of 11 held by Ryan Spille and Brian Harper.

SLU has a .289 team batting average, led by Mike Orrico (.344), Jim Bredenkoetter (.343), Nick Steiner (.335) and Eric Constable (.308). Steiner is the Billikens' top power hitter with nine homers.

Following tonight's game, the Indians will visit Tennessee Tech this weekend for a three-game OVC series.

Southeast will close out regular-season play the following weekend with a three-game home OVC series against Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels lead the league with a 15-3 record while the Indians and Middle Tennessee are tied for second at 13-4.