INDIANS CHALK UP 19-1 WIN

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Don't be surprised if Morehead State's baseball team tried to get Southeast Missouri State University's Indians a police escort out of town Sunday.

The Eagles likely wanted to see the Indians leave their community as soon as possible.

Southeast completed a totally dominating weekend of Morehead by posting a 19-1 romp Sunday afternoon.

That result came on the heels of Saturday's doubleheader sweep by scores of 10-2 and 12-2. So all told, the Indians outscored the Eagles 41-5 in the crucial Ohio Valley Conference series.

The surging Indians have now won six straight OVC games and eight of their last nine league contests. They are 12-5 in OVC play as they remained in a virtual tie for first place with Eastern Illinois, which is 14-7. Austin Peay was upset by UT-Martin as the Govs fell out of a first-place tie; they are now 11-6.

Southeast also improved its overall record to 23-22 -- marking the first time the Indians have been above .500 since the first game of the season.

"It was just total domination this weekend," said Southeast coach Mark Hogan. "We had great play on our part and it was really exciting."

Particularly exciting is the fact the Indians, who were way down in the league pack just a few weeks ago, now stand a solid chance of bringing home their first-ever OVC regular-season title.

And Southeast, the defending OVC Tournament champion, also stands a solid chance of hosting the conference tourney for the second year in a row.

"We have an excellent chance to win the OVC outright and host the tournament again," said Hogan, whose squad has six OVC games remaining. "There is still a lot of baseball to be played and we just have to keep up what we've been doing."

Shortstop Steve Lowe had a monster game Sunday, hitting a grand slam, a three-run homer and a double. He finished with eight runs batted in on the day to give him 11 in the three-game series, during which he went 7-for-8.

A host of other Southeast players also enjoyed stellar days as the Indians banged out 17 hits, giving them 44 for the weekend.

Jeremy Johnson, the OVC's leading hitter who began the day at .417, had three hits, including his eighth homer of the season. He also had three RBIs.

Kyle Yount had three hits and two RBIs while Clement Bonilla Jr. and Darin Kinsolving added two hits apiece. Brad Hoehner contributed two RBIs.

Chad Bogenpohl was the winning pitcher as he had his third straight strong performance. Bogenpohl (3-1) went seven innings, allowing four hits and one run. He struck out two and walked one.

Brandon Smith hurled a perfect eighth while Lanson Debrock gave up one hit in a scoreless ninth.

Morehead (19-25, 5-13 OVC) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but Southeast tied it with an unearned run in the second, then went ahead for good with three in the third. Lowe's grand slam in the fourth made it 8-1 and the rout was on.

The Indians will visit Missouri Tuesday night for a non-league game.