Defeat of league favorite is a boost

It was just one game, but Southeast Missouri State University's baseball team made a major statement Saturday.

Sure, the Indians entered the opener of their key three-game series with Austin Peay in first place in the Ohio Valley Conference, but they had not yet faced the Governors, the preseason OVC favorite.

And not only was Austin Peay favored to capture the league's regular-season title, the Govs received seven of a possible eight first-place votes, the other going to Eastern Illinois.

So even though Southeast was picked to finish second out of eight teams, no other conference coach thought the Indians would capture the championship.

But Saturday's wild 14-9 victory stamped the Indians as the clear OVC squad to beat, even though there is still about half of the conference season left to play and a lot of things can happen.

However, the Indians now have at least a three-game lead in the loss column over every other league foe, including the Govs, whose backs are against the wall heading into today's 1 p.m. doubleheader.

Southeast coach Mark Hogan said he has all kinds of respect for the Govs and he expects them to come out like pit bulls after losing Saturday.

Which should make for quite an exciting day of baseball at Capaha Field.

The baseball team is on the road next weekend and the softball team competes in the OVC Tournament away from home, so Friday and Saturday should be a perfect opportunity for Southeast sports fans to come out and support the school's track teams as they host the OVC Championships.

The OVC track & field meet doesn't come to Cape Girardeau often -- it was last here in 1995 -- so it would be a shame if more than a handful of local fans didn't show up at the Abe Stuber Complex to support the home squads.

Southeast's men and women are both expected to be in the hunt for conference championships, although neither team will be favored.

A nice home-track advantage sure couldn't hurt the Indians and Otahkians in their quest for titles.

And one side note to next weekend's meet:

He'll never seek the spotlight, but Tim Rademaker is truly one of the unsung heroes in area track and field.

The longtime Southeast physical education instructor has been a guru to pole-vaulters on all levels for a number of years, working particularly closely with Southeast and local high school athletes.

Jaret Willi, Southeast's current standout vaulter, credits Rademaker with much of his development.

A really nice guy, the humble Rademaker prefers to stay in the background and let others take credit, but he definitely deserves plenty of it as well.

Former Southeast assistant men's basketball coach Anthony Beane, who was an assistant at Illinois State the past three years, has been hired in a similar position at Saint Louis.

The Blues' goaltending was maligned much of the season, but Brent Johnson sure silenced the critics during St. Louis' impressive first-round playoff win over the Blackhawks.

A hot goalie can carry a team a long way in the playoffs. It'll be interesting to see just how long Johnson can stay on fire, particularly when the Blues start facing better competition.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.