INDIAN ENGINE STILL PURRS AFTER MAJOR OVERHAUL

After Southeast Missouri State University's baseball team lost the bulk of its offense and one of its top pitchers from last year's squad that won a school-record 37 games, some people probably expected the Indians to come back down to earth this season.

Instead, the Indians are humming right along, once again contending for the Ohio Valley Conference title. And they could even threaten that record total of victories from last year before it's all said and done.

The Indians improved to 30-14 by sweeping a three-game series at Austin Peay over the weekend. With eight regular-season games left along with at least two contests in the OVC Tournament, continued hot play could push the Indians past last year's win total.

"It's been one of the most gratifying years I've had because of the talent we lost and the odds that were against us," said Southeast coach Mark Hogan. "We lost some tremendous talent from last year, but we had some key guys returning and my assistant coaches Jeremy Tyson and Scott Southard just did a great job in recruiting."

Southeast banged out a school-record 92 home runs in going 37-17 last year. Only 20 of those homers returned this season, along with no .300 hitters after five sluggers who batted between .333 and .408 used up their eligibility.

"We had to restructure our offense, but it's been real exciting," Hogan said. "It was kind of like in 1998 when we basically had a new group with a few holdovers, but the team just really jelled and we wound up making the (NCAA) regionals.

"It's been an exceptional year so far and it probably wasn't expected. You could understand why people might think we'd be down a little, with the numbers we put up last year."

The Indians survived early with strong pitching and defense but over the last month the offense has really started to come around.

"We felt the defense would be okay and we felt the pitching would be better overall (than last year). That has proven out," said Hogan. "Then we knew it would be a question of our offense. We struggled some early but now the hitting has really come around."

Southeast has led the OVC in earned-run average virtually all season, the current mark being 3.64. Offensively, the Indians were toward the bottom of the league for quite a while but now they're near the top at .305.

The pitching staff -- as everybody who follows the team knows -- has been headed up by Todd Pennington, who is having a phenomenal season.

After two fairly non-descript college campaigns, the junior leads the nation with an 0.82 ERA while compiling a 10-1 record as he has virtually locked up OVC Pitcher of the Year honors. Pennington is 10-1, having allowed just 38 hits in 77 innings, with 100 strikeouts.

"The key for Todd is he's got command of three pitches," Hogan said. "But really, the numbers he's putting up, it isn't explainable. It's just ridiculous."

Pennington, who has a string of 25 consecutive scoreless innings, was named OVC Pitcher of the Week for the fourth time on Monday. In 12 innings last week, he went 2-0, allowing no runs and three hits while fanning 17.

Relief ace Jeffrey Hilz (5-1, two saves, 2.74 ERA) is having another impressive season after being named OVC Rookie of the Year in 2000.

While none of the other Southeast hurlers have eye-popping numbers, most have been solid, including No. 2 starter Brad Purcell (4-2, 4.89), who had a strong performance at Austin Peay. Greg Lunski (4-2, 4.60) and Andy Davidson (0-0, 3.38) also pitched well at Austin Peay and Mark Frazier (3-0, 4.21) was solid early but has not worked as much lately.

Hogan is still hoping that Tommy Thomas (3-7, 4.71), the Indians' top returning starter from last season who has struggled recently, will return to form and give Southeast another strong arm to go with Pennington and Purcell in the regular rotation.

Offensively, returning regulars Clemente Bonilla (OVC-leading .407, five home runs, 31 RBIs), Zach Borowiak (.331, 33 RBIs), Denver Stuckey (.310, 4 homers), Jeff Bourbon (.299, five homers, 46 RBIs) and Shane Allen (.270) are all putting up anywhere from exceptional to solid numbers, with Allen coming on strong after a slow start.

First-year regulars -- all junior-college transfers -- who have progressed well after starting slow are Vern Hatton (.321, five homers), Tristen McDonald (.275, five homers, 32 RBIs) and Brian Hopkins (.210, five homers).

"We've believed in those guys since Day One, but it just takes time," said Hogan.

The biggest offensive surprise has been true freshman Brad Beatty (.366, four homers), who is among the OVC's leading hitters.

"Brad is having an unbelievable season, especially for a freshman," said Hogan. "We recruited him as a position player and a pitcher. He's got a great arm and he'll end up being a good closer for us, but offensively in practice he just kept banging the ball so we had to find a spot for him."

The Indians have also gotten timely spot play from Brice Nicholas and Matt Baldwin, the former hitting .300 in limited at-bats.

"Really, just about everybody has contributed," said Hogan. "Things have fallen into place for us and we just have to try and keep it going."

The Indians, in second place in the OVC with an 11-4 record, are off until Saturday, when Tennessee Tech visits Capaha Field for a 2 p.m. doubleheader. The three-game weekend series will be Southeast's final home action of the season.

Southeast is still in the running for the OVC title, although Eastern Illinois (14-0) is setting a torrid pace with only six league games remaining for each team.