INDIANS PULL A SHOCKER; SE TO OPEN TOURNEY WITH WICHITA ST.

Kansas -- specifically Wichita -- will be the next stop for Southeast Missouri State University's history-making baseball team.

The Indians, making the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time ever, were Monday assigned to the Midwest Regional hosted by Wichita State.

Southeast's opening-round foe Thursday will be the powerful host squad, which is ranked second and third in the two major national polls. The teams will square off at 7 p.m. at Eck Stadium in the last of three first-round games in the six-team, double-elimination event.

Wichita State, which has one of the nation's most tradition-rich programs, is 55-5, including a perfect 33-0 record at home. The Shockers are the regional's top seed. Southeast, the sixth seed, is 32-22.

"Wichita State is an outstanding club, a very seasoned club. They're just tremendous," said Southeast coach Mark Hogan. "But the good thing is that anything can happen when you tee it up for nine innings."

Hogan and his team joined school officials and fans at the Holiday Inn to watch Monday afternoon's pairings show broadcast live on ESPN.

The eight six-team regionals that make up the 48-team NCAA field were revealed and, when Southeast's name was flashed on the screen, the crowd at the Budweiser Tap Room cheered loudly.

"It's great to have all these people out here," said Hogan. "We've had tremendous fan support all year and the team and I certainly appreciate it."

Other games Thursday in the Midwest Regional will be No. 3 seed Arizona State (34-21) vs. No. 4 Arkansas (37-19) at 11 a.m. and No. 2 Georgia Tech (38-20) vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State (38-19) at 3 p.m.

There will be three more games Friday. If Southeast wins Thursday, it would play the loser of Arizona State-Arkansas at 3 p.m. If the Indians lose Thursday, they would face the loser of Georgia Tech-Oklahoma State at 11 a.m.

The tournament will continue Saturday and conclude Sunday. The winner, along with the winners of the other seven regionals, advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. May 29-June 6.

"It's just great to get this program on the level I've always dreamed about and which I thought was possible," said Hogan, who is in his fourth season as the Indians' coach. "This is just a wonderful time for our baseball program and this group of young men. It's a lifetime experience for these guys."

Hogan said he's particularly excited to be going to Wichita because he spent the summer of 1989 in that city as the pitching coach for the Wichita Broncos, one of the nation's premier amateur teams that features many of the country's top college players.

"We played at that (Wichita State's) field every home game," Hogan said. "It's exciting for me personally and it's a great baseball community so the crowds should be tremendous."

Southeast and Wichita State have met twice on the diamond previously, both games coming last year. After losing the opener of that two-game series in Wichita 11-4, the Indians pulled off a 14-6 upset.

"We played there last year and had a stunning upset, one of the biggest wins our program has had," said Hogan. "I know they (Wichita State) won't be afraid of us, but I think they'll respect us."

The Indians have, in fact, played four of the other five regional teams over the past two years, including Georgia Tech earlier this season. The Yellowjackets swept a three-game series from Southeast.

"We've played every one of these teams the last two years except Arizona State, so at least we're somewhat familiar with the programs," said Hogan. "And we'll be somewhat familiar with our surroundings out there, which is good."

Wichita State will certainly provide quite a challenge for Southeast. The Shockers of longtime coach Gene Stephenson lead the nation in batting average at .375 and they have blasted 121 home runs. The Shockers also own one of the nation's top earned-run averages at 3.95.

All nine regulars for the Shockers bat at least .325, with three over .400, led by Pat Mangess at .467. He also has 21 homers and 99 RBIs. Jeff Ryan is at .454 with 23 homers and 105 RBIs.

"I know coach Stephenson well and I have a tremendous amount of respect for his program," Hogan said. "Obviously they have some great hitters. But it's a great opportunity for our ballclub."

Pitcher Jason Swearingen, the Indians' lone senior, said, "This is going to be real exciting, something we've been working for all year. Wichita State is a great team, but like coach Hogan said, anything can happen."

Stanford, the nation's top-ranked team all season, joined Wichita State as one of the eight No. 1 seeds across the country. Stanford will be the host team for the West Regional.

The other top seeds are Miami, Atlantic I; Florida State, Atlantic II; Rice, Central; Southern California, East; Florida, South I; and Louisiana State, South II.

* The Southeast Booster Club is chartering a bus for the trip to Wichita. The bus will leave from the Show Me Center at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

There is no charge for the bus but each fan will be responsible for the cost of their hotel and food.

For more information or to reserve a spot on the bus, call 651-2252. There are only a limited number of bus spots available, so anyone interested should call as soon as possible.