Hogan closes in on another milestone

Southeast Missouri State baseball coach Mark Hogan is approaching another milestone.

But rather than getting worked up about his impending 400th win at Southeast, Hogan said he is focused on keeping the Redhawks toward the top of the Ohio Valley Conference standings.

Southeast (11-9, 3-1) will try to do that this weekend when Murray State (10-11, 1-4) visits Capaha Field for a three-game series. There will be a 1 p.m. doubleheader today and a 1 p.m. contest Sunday.

The Redhawks sit in second place in the 10-team OVC, while the Thoroughbreds are eighth.

Hogan, who last year became the winningest baseball coach in Southeast history, is two victories shy of 400 at the university.

Hogan, 398-331-1 in his 14th season at Southeast, soon will become just the seventh coach in OVC history to reach the 400-win plateau.

"Those are landmark things and I'm appreciative of it," said Hogan, a Cape Girardeau native who played baseball at Southeast. "I think everybody knows how much I've enjoyed coaching here. It's been special.

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Southeast coach Mark Hogan watched Tony Spencer at the plate during a game earlier this season at Capaha Field.

"But those kinds of things will mean a lot more later. Right now I'm not worried about 400. I'm more worried about trying to get some wins in this series and trying to stay up toward the top of the OVC."

Hogan doesn't expect that to be easy this weekend, even though Murray State is off to a sluggish OVC start with only one victory in five games.

The Thoroughbreds are coming to town with a two-game winning streak as they captured a pair of nonleague contests from Belmont this week.

"I'm wary of them," Hogan said. "They're coming off two good wins and they always play us well. We seem to always have good games with them.

"I know they're not off to the start they want, and they'll try to come in here and get some conference wins."

Murray State's strengths appear to be pitching and defense.

The Thoroughbreds are fourth in the OVC with a 4.66 ERA, and they rank third in the league with a .964 fielding percentage. Their 28 errors are the second-fewest in the conference.

Murray State's three primary starting hurlers all have respectable numbers.

Sophomore right-hander Chris Craycraft is 2-1 with a 3.22 ERA, while sophomore left-hander Daniel Calhoun (1-2, 3.67) and senior right-hander Mike Perconte (1-3, 4.45) round out the Thoroughbreds' rotation.

Craycraft is a transfer from the University of Kentucky, where he redshirted as a freshman last season.

Offensively, the Thoroughbreds are seventh in the OVC with a .266 batting average.

The Thoroughbreds are last in the OVC in home runs with four and doubles with 21, but they have a league-high 11 triples. Their 116 runs are the third-fewest in the conference.

Sophomore Wes Cunningham is the OVC's No. 2 hitter at. 407, while sophomore Kyle Tiernan is tied for ninth at .360.

Southeast leads the OVC in fielding percentage at .966, as the Redhawks have committed a league-low 25 errors.

The Redhawks are third with a .283 batting average and fifth with a 4.70 ERA.

Sophomore Jim Klocke is the OVC's No. 7 hitter at .373, while junior Matt Wagner (.346) is 13th and freshman Trenton Moses (.345) 14th.

Also above .300 for the Redhawks are junior college transfer Justin Wheeler (.338) and sophomore Nick Harris (.308).

Wagner and juco transfer Tyrell Cummings are tied for the OVC home run lead with six, as the Redhawks have a league-high 29 homers. They are third in runs scored with 152.

Cummings, batting .290, is tied for second in the conference with 29 runs batted in. He leads the league in RBIs per game.

"I feel like we're finding a lot of the answers. Guys are getting in a groove," said Hogan of his squad's offense, which started the season slowly, but has come on in recent weeks.

Junior left-hander James Leigh (5-1, 2.40) leads the OVC in wins and is fourth in ERA.

Senior right-hander Dustin Renfrow (2-1, 3.00) has the OVC's seventh-best ERA, while sophomore lefty Josh Syberg (0-2, 5.92) rounds out Southeast's conference rotation.

Leigh normally starts Southeast's first game of an OVC series, but he will not be on hand today because of a death in the family. He will return to pitch Sunday's contest.

"He was really close to his uncle who passed away suddenly," Hogan said. "I totally understand that. His family comes first."

Hogan said Syberg likely will start today's opener, followed by Renfrow in the nightcap. Hogan doesn't want Renfrow to start the first game in case he is needed to close things out.

OVC champs in town

Many of the players from the 1998 Southeast baseball team that earned the program's first OVC title and first NCAA Division I regional berth will be on hand this weekend to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their accomplishments.

The squad will be recognized on the field between games of today's doubleheader.

That squad was led by, among others, Ryan Spille, Charlie Marino, Kyle Yount and Jeremy Johnson.

Spille was the OVC pitcher of the year and a second-team All-American. He went 11-2 with a 2.72 ERA.

Marino set Southeast's single-season home run record with 21. He also led the squad with 51 RBIs and was second with a .333 batting average.

Yount was Southeast's top hitter at .351, while Johnson batted .332 with a team-leading 19 doubles. He was second with 45 RBIs and had 13 homers. Johnson is Southeast's career hits leader.

"I can't wait to see them," Hogan said. "It will be a great celebration for a group that came in and did it [win an OVC title, qualify for regionals] first."

Noteworthy

• River Eagle Distributing, as today's game sponsor, will provide free food and beverages.