INDIANS, EAGLES SPLIT OVC DOUBLEHEADER

Pitching was the name of the game as the Southeast Missouri State University baseball team split two seven-inning contests Saturday afternoon against Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee Tech at Capaha Park.

The Indians dropped the opener 6-3 as Tech coach David Mays earned his 500th career win. In the second game, Southeast got the benefit of a controversial balk call in the fifth inning that scored the eventual winning run in a 3-2 victory.

On the day, only five pitchers were used between the two teams as the Indians' record went to 6-13 overall and 2-3 in the OVC. Tech is now 13-8 overall and also 2-3 in conference. The two team's meet again today at 1 p.m., in the rubber game to decide the series.

Cape Girardeau native David Michel (2-4) pitched all seven innings for the Indians in the second game. Michel said he knew the importance of that contest.

"If you lose two on Saturday, your whole weekend's shot," said Michel. "I knew we had to have a good game to at least get a split, so I wanted to go out and throw a lot of strikes and use my defense."

Michel did just that, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out five. Only one of the Eagles' two runs was earned.

Michel's performance outshined an equally solid pitching performance by Tech junior Jason Brooker (2-2). The Eagles' lefthander also went the distance, striking out five and allowing three earned runs in six innings of work.

The biggest run of the game came in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Indians leading 2-1. Jeremy Johnson led off the inning with a single and moved to third with two outs. Brooker went to a full windup, rather than pitch from the stretch. Noticing this, Southeast coach Mark Hogan had Johnson bluff a steal of home.

"I just told Jeremy to fake a steal of home," Hogan said. "He made a nice dash and usually when a (pitcher's) standing there on the rubber and they catch somebody (running) with their peripheral vision, they have to do a great job of stepping off (the rubber) or it's a balk."

Brooker noticed Johnson coming down the line and quickly stepped off the rubber and tossed the ball into his catcher at home. But the home plate umpire ruled Brooker had already begun his windup and called a balk, allowing Johnson to score and put the Indians up 3-1.

Mays argued the ruling to no avail and was still upset about the call following the game.

"He (Brooker) was in a windup (position) and when he looked around to check the runner, (Johnson) was going," said Mays. "So he just stepped back off the rubber and threw (the ball) in.

"The umpire said (Brooker) started forward, but he hadn't even started anything. It was a crucial call in a close ball game."

Tech got that run back in the sixth inning, but that was all the scoring Michel would allow, striking out three of the final four batters he faced to end the game.

Hogan had two pitchers ready in the bullpen but admitted it was Michel's game to win or lose in the seventh.

"I didn't have any doubt about letting David pitch (the last inning)," Hogan said. "He was within his pitch count and he also had great command. He's a finisher."

Southeast first baseman Mike Miller ripped a two-out bases-loaded single past a diving second baseman to plate the Indians' first two runs in the third inning after the Eagles had taken a 1-0 lead in the top half of the inning. Five different players collected the Indians' five hits.

In the first game, Tech pitcher Mark Maberry (5-0) went all seven innings for the win and ripped a solo home run over the left-centerfield fence to lead the Eagles to victory.

"It feels good going against an OVC team," Mays said of his milestone win. "We'd have liked to been at home for it, but we'll take it anywhere it happens."

Trailing 4-1 in the fourth inning, the Indians touched Maberry for two runs before the Eagles' pitcher regained control. LaMonte Collier knocked in a run with a two-out single to make the score 4-2.

"I left some breaking stuff up early," Maberry said. "LaMonte hurt me in the third but we kept working and came out on top."

Talley Haines (1-2) started for Southeast and took the loss, allowing four runs in less than three innings. Hogan, calling Maberry the "top pitcher in the league," knew his team was in for a tough battle before the game.