INDIANS LOOK TO SHAKE SLOW START

Southeast Missouri State University's baseball team may be down right now, but coach Mark Hogan insists the Indians are definitely not out.

The Indians -- plagued by injuries to several key players -- are saddled with a five-game losing streak that has their record at 2-8.

That's certainly not what Hogan had in mind for the Indians, who returned virtually every key member from last year's team that went 32-24 and won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament to advance to the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time ever.

But Hogan still has plenty of confidence in the Indians.

"We're going through a bad spell right now, but I still feel very good about this ballclub," he said. "We just need to win a few games and get our confidence going."

The Indians will have a chance to win some games this weekend when they have a three-game home series against Northern Illinois.

There will be a 1 p.m. doubleheader today, followed by a 1 p.m. single game Sunday.

"I think it's a big series for us," Hogan said. "It would be nice to get on a roll and start getting back closer to the .500 mark."

Three of Southeast's top players have been injured, including Charlie Marino, who is out for the season after suffering torn cartilage in his right knee. Marino set the Indians' single-season home run record with 21 last year.

Shortstop Steve Lowe is still hobbled by a hamstring injury while designated hitter Robert Kern has both a bruised wrist and an eye injury.

"We're like a M*A*S*H unit right now," Hogan said.

Despite having just a .258 team batting average through eight games, a few Indians are off to hot starts, led by Jeremy Johnson.

A junior center fielder, Johnson is hitting a team-high .447 with four doubles, two home runs and seven runs batted in.

The only other players batting above .300 so far are Phil Warren (.357) and Darin Kinsolving (.313).

In the pitching department, even though his record is 0-1, Lanson Debrock has the squad's top earned-run average at 2.81 in 16 innings.

Ryan Spille is 2-0 to account for both Southeast victories. He has a 3.10 ERA.

Northern Illinois is 1-2 after opening its season last weekend with a three-game series at Murray State.