Indians welcome new shot at No. 22 Missouri

Southeast Missouri State University will shoot for its third win over a nationally ranked baseball team this season when the Indians visit the University of Missouri today for a 6 p.m. non-conference game.

The Indians are 22-14 overall and 6-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference, good for third place in the eight-team league and just one game behind first-place Tennessee Tech.

The Tigers, 29-15 overall after defeating St. Louis 6-0 Tuesday night, are a fourth-place 12-8 in the Big 12 Conference. They are ranked 24th in the nation by Collegiate Baseball, although this week they dropped out of the Baseball America poll.

Earlier this season, the Indians beat both Alabama (ranked 22nd and 23rd) and Southern Mississippi (ranked 19th and 21st), although they lost two of three games in each of those series.

"It's always a big opportunity whenever you play a nationally ranked team," Southeast coach Mark Hogan said. "We won't face another team that's nationally ranked this year until we hopefully get to the NCAA regional, so a win over Missouri would be big."

Missouri defeated Southeast 9-8 earlier this season in Cape Girardeau. That game featured 12 walks by Southeast pitchers, along with two errors by the Indians' defense. The Tigers had just six hits compared to 11 for the Indians, but Missouri hung on for the victory after building an early 8-2 lead.

"The way we played them the first game is still a sore spot with our club," Hogan said. "But Missouri has a great club this year. They've really been playing well, and it will take everything we've got to beat them. It's a good rivalry, and it should be a good ballgame."

Southeast senior left fielder Brian Hopkins is riding a 13-game hitting streak that has helped his average climb to .399. Hopkins has 11 home runs and 37 runs batted in.

Another senior, second baseman Justin Christian, is coming off a .529 week that featured three home runs and nine RBIs. He has pushed his average to .377, along with nine homers and 33 RBIs.

A third senior, shortstop Zach Borowiak, is at .352 with seven homers and a team-high 40 RBIs.

Missouri, hitting .317 as a team compared to .310 for Southeast, is led by Jayce Tingler (.396) and Brad Flanders (.369). Flanders, Ryan Rallo and Cody Ehlers all have six homers to lead the way.

Freshman infielder Adam Garrett from Sikeston High School is batting a sizzling .457 in limited action for the Tigers.

On the mound, Hogan said either left-handers Jon Nourie or Stan Skakalski will start today. Nourie, a member of the Indians' conference rotation, was hampered by wildness and pitched just four innings Saturday at Austin Peay.

"We'd really like to get Nourie back on the mound," Hogan said.

Advance High School product Garrett Broshuis is a member of Missouri's conference rotation and has a 5-2 record. The sophomore was the winner in the earlier meeting with Southeast after working five innings.

mmishow@semissourian.com

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