OVC Tournament teams at a glance

Southeast Missouri

Seed: NO. 1

N RECORD: 32-17, 16-5 OVC

Coach: MARK HOGAN (243-182-1 IN 8 YEARS AT SE)

N BATTING AVERAGE: .310

earned-run average: 4.77

N HITTERS TO WATCH: Vern Hatton .378, 7 HR, 8 3B, 16 2B, 51 RBIs; Denver Stuckey .373, 5 HR, 13 2B, 33 RBI, 18-22 SB; Tristen McDonald .353, 8 HR, 12 2B, 42 RBIs; Brian Hopkins .339, 6 HR, 11 2B, 29 RBIs, 10-13 SB; Zach Borowiak .317, 4 HR, 14 2B, 29 RBIs; Clemente Bonilla .317, 1 HR, 15 2B, 33 RBIs, 44 BB

Pitchers to watch: BRAD PURCELL 10-2, 3.02 ERA; BRANDON SMITH 10-2, 1 S, 4.15; TIM ALVAREZ 5-1, 1 S, 2.88.; DONNIE FULLER 2-1, 5.31; MARK FRAZIER 3-5, 4 S, 5.36

N NOTEWORTHY: This is the Indians' first OVC regular-season championship; Hatton is among the national leaders in triples; Purcell and Smith are tied for the league lead in wins; Bonilla is the OVC's all-time leader in walks.

Eastern Illinois

Seed: NO. 2

N RECORD: 23-24, 12-8 OVC

Coach: JIM SCHMITZ (228-185 IN 8 YEARS AT EIU)

N BATTING AVERAGE: .295

earned-run average: 5.36

N HITTERS TO WATCH: Pete Pirman .401, 9 HR, 14 2B, 41 RBIs, 11-12 SB; Ben Duke .361, 9 HR, 10 2B, 34 RBIs; Tim Aurrichio .312, 5 HR, 11 2B, 22 RBIs; Brett Pignatiello .307, 11 HR, 32 RBIs; Brian Nickell .262, 8 HR, 32 RBIs

Pitchers to watch: SCOTT METZ 3-5, 5.61; PETE MARTIN 5-4, 5.65; MICAH GRAY 4-3, 6.37; NICK ALBU 3-3, 2 S, 3.89; NATHAN STONE 1-2, 4 S, 4.26

N NOTEWORTHY: Panthers are the defending OVC regular-season champions; Pirman is the league's leading hitter.

AustinPeay

Seed: NO. 3

N RECORD: 29-25, 12-9 OVC

Coach: GARY MCCLURE (428-421-3 IN 15 YEARS AT AP)

N BATTING AVERAGE: .300

earned-run average: 5.58

N HITTERS TO WATCH: A.J. Ellis .368, 8 HR, 12 2B, 38 RBIs; Chris Hyde .324, 4 HR, 15 2B, 36 RBIs; Travis Beech .323, 4 HR, 16 2B, 26 RBIs, 16-21 SB; Michael Johnson .317, 17 HR, 72 RBIs, 25-31 SB; Joseph Peer .305, 2 HR, 22 RBIs, 23-28 SB; Frank Kunich .258, 7 HR, 12 2B, 35 RBIs

Pitchers to watch: MIKE WEEL 9-3, 3.96; TONY MATHEWS 6-3, 5.09; STEPHEN PEW 4-4, 3 S, 6.23; KLINT ROMMEL 2-3, 4 S, 4.10; CASEY CALLAWAY 2-2, 1 S, 2.57

N NOTEWORTHY: Governors have stolen 112 bases -- by far the most in the league -- and been caught just 36 times; Ellis was born in Cape Girardeau and lived there until he was 12.

Murray State

Seed: NO. 4

N RECORD: 19-31, 10-11 OVC

Coach: MIKE THIEKE (205-260-2 IN 9 YEARS AT MSU)

N BATTING AVERAGE: .277

earned-run average: 6.59

N HITTERS TO WATCH: Brett McCutchan .340, 7 HR, 12 2B, 37 RBIs; Garner Byars .318, 1 HR, 4 3B, 26 RBIs, 15-16 SB; Todd Satterfield .307, 1 HR, 17 RBIs, 10-15 SB; Mike Voyles .300, 5 HR, 13 2B, 35 RBIs; Andy Mazzier .269, 6 HR, 22 RBIs

Pitchers to watch: KYLE PERRY 5-5, 4.79; CRAIG RINGWALD 4-3, 7.13; JESSE RHOADES 3-8, 8.44; GORDON DUGAN 2-2, 2 S, 5.54; RICK MCCARTY 1-3, 3 S, 6.84

N NOTEWORTHY: Byars, a center fielder, is a standout running back for the football team; Ringwald is a Cape Girardeau Central High School graduate.

Tennessee Tech

Seed: NO. 5

N RECORD: 26-25, 9-11 OVC

Coach: AARON CARROLL (59-55 IN 2 YEARS AT TT)

N BATTING AVERAGE: .317

earned-run average: 6.50

N HITTERS TO WATCH: Jake Allen .391, 4 HR, 13 2B, 4 3B, 34 RBIs, 10-12 SB; Cole Helms .369, 4 HR, 16 2B, 41 RBIs; Casey Benjamin .354, 2 HR, 31 RBIs; Ryan Hay .327, 7 HR, 11 2B, 41 RBIs; Carlos Martin .316, 3 HR, 27 RBIs; Mike Meihls .309, 10 HR, 16 2B, 44 RBIs

Pitchers to watch: DOUG VINCENT 8-2, 1 S, 3.43; BEN DOWNS 5-4, 5.60; DUSTY EUBANKS 5-3, 5.76; COLE HELMS 3-4, 1 S, 7.38

N NOTEWORTHY: Under interim coach Carroll, the Eagles won the OVC Tournament championship last year as the No. 3 seed, after which Carroll was promoted to permanent coach.

Morehead State

Seed: NO. 6

N RECORD: 29-25, 9-11 OVC

Coach: JOHN JARNAGIN (171-212-1 IN 7 YEARS AT MSU)

N BATTING AVERAGE: .343

earned-run average: 7.92

N HITTERS TO WATCH: Bubba Lavender .392, 24 HR, 11 2B, 68 RBIs; Casey Gilvin .387, 8 HR, 11 2B, 35 RBIs; Cary Page .359, 26 HR, 10 2B, 71 RBIs; Kevin Matuszek .357, 20 HR, 17 2B, 73 RBIs; Will Renaker .347, 14 HR, 13 2B, 44 RBIs; David Hughes .337, 8 HR, 19 2B, 41 RBIs

Pitchers to watch: JASON KECK 4-2, 5.82; GREG WOOD 3-1, 6.61; CASEY CAMPBELL 3-5, 7.00; EDDY BUSHELMAN 3-4, 9.69

N NOTEWORTHY: Eagles set an OVC single-season record for home runs with 125 as Page and Lavender both broke the all-time single-season individual mark.

-- Marty Mishow