OTAHKIANS ATTEMPT TO REPEAT AS OVC TOURNAMENT CHAMPS

Southeast Missouri State University softball coach Lana Richmond expects quite a battle as the Otahkians shoot for their second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship this weekend.

Play will be held today and Sunday in Morehead, Ky.

The Otahkians won their third consecutive OVC regular-season title this year as they finished league play with a 20-5 record (Southeast is 29-20 overall).

Expected to give Southeast a tough challenge are several teams, including second-seeded Tennessee Tech (20-9 in the OVC) and third-seeded Eastern Illinois (19-11). Tennessee Tech won the OVC tourney in 1995.

"It should be a tough tournament," said Richmond. "The top four teams have all beaten each other. But I think Tech, Eastern Illinois and us are pretty much the top three teams and it's just going to come down to who's hitting and executing."

Rounding out the tournament field are Tennessee-Martin (15-11), Middle Tennessee State (14-12), Eastern Kentucky (14-13), Morehead State (11-19) and Austin Peay (5-14).

Southeast will open the double-elimination tournament at 9 a.m. today against Austin Peay. Other first-round matchups pit Tennessee Tech vs. Morehead State, Eastern Illinois vs. Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee-Martin vs. Middle Tennessee.

The semifinals will be played at 2 p.m. today. The winner's bracket final is set for 11 a.m. Sunday, with the championship game scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday.

The winner of the OVC Tournament will advance to the NCAA Tournament play-in series against the champion of the Mid-Continent Conference. The best two-out-of-three series will be held May 8-9 at the site of the Mid-Continent champion and the winner will earn a spot in the NCAA tourney.