INDIANS IN NEED OF PERFECT SERIES AGAINST COLONELS

With the way Eastern Illinois has started Ohio Valley Conference baseball play, Southeast Missouri State University's Indians can hardly afford any slips if they want to remain in contention for the regular-season league title.

That's why Southeast coach Mark Hogan knows just how important this weekend's three-game series against visiting Eastern Kentucky is.

The squads will have a 2 p.m. doubleheader today, followed by a 2 p.m. single game Sunday, with all the action at Capaha Field.

"With what Eastern Illinois is doing, we really can't afford a loss," said Hogan. "It's a really important series for both teams."

Eastern Illinois has put some serious heat on the rest of the OVC by shooting out to an 8-0 conference start. The Panthers don't play a league series this weekend, so their record will remain intact.

Austin Peay is 3-0, with Southeast and Tennessee Tech both 4-2. Peay and Tech hook up this weekend in a huge series.

Eastern Kentucky is right behind the Indians at 4-4, so the Colonels also can't afford to slip if they have any hopes of defending their OVC regular-season championship.

"They're kind of in the same boat we are in that they need wins to keep some kind of pace with Eastern Illinois," Hogan said. "That's why it should be a really interesting series."

Southeast is 20-10 overall while Eastern Kentucky is 11-17. The Colonels have struggled big time with their pitching staff, featuring a team earned-run average of 7.06, but Hogan pointed out that they have several capable arms at the top of the rotation.

Offensively, EKU has a collective .278 batting average, led by John Myles (.357) and Gabe Thomas (.340). Kiley Vaughn is the squad's top power hitter with seven home runs while Thomas has five.

"They're the defending conference champions and they'll have a very good ballclub," said Hogan. "They'll give us all we want and it's going to be a big challenge for us."

Southeast is led offensively by the OVC's top hitter, Clemente Bonilla (.430), along with Zach Borowiak (.365) and freshman Brad Beatty (.341), who is having an impressive rookie season.

Bonilla entered the week ranked 19th nationally in batting average while he is ninth in the nation in doubles per game. He has 15 doubles on the season.

In the pitching department, the Indians continue to lead the OVC with a 3.38 ERA, topped by Todd Pennington's league-best 1.20 mark that is 11th nationally.