BRIEFLY: SEMO BASEBALL AT MISSISSIPPI STATE TODAY

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Southeast Missouri State University's baseball team will face one of its toughest challenges of the season today and Wednesday when the Indians play at perennial national power Mississippi State.

Games both days will begin at 3 p.m.

The Indians are off to a 2-3 start after winning two out of three against visiting Bradley over the weekend. Southeast had opened the season the previous weekend by dropping two games at Memphis.

Mississippi State, ranked seventh by Collegiate Baseball prior to the season, are 1-2 after losing two games to South Alabama over the weekend.

"These games will be a tremendous challenge for us," said Southeast coach Mark Hogan, a former graduate assistant at Mississippi State.

Senior infielder LaMonte Collier is off to a sizzling start for the Indians with eight hits in his first 10 at-bats (.800 average).

On the down side, sophomore infielder Lance Craft suffered a severe injury to the middle finger of his throwing hand during a practice last week and is out indefinitely.