PENNINGTON TIES SCHOOL RECORD FOR SINGLE-SEASON WINS IN SWEEP

Todd Pennington didn't think his stuff was all that hot Saturday afternoon.

But that didn't prevent the junior right-hander from tying Southeast Missouri State University's single-season record for victories.

Pennington, the national earned-run average leader for NCAA Division I, continued his remarkable year as he fired a three-hitter to lead the Indians past Tennessee Tech 3-1 in the first game of an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader at Capaha Field.

The Indians completed the sweep with a 7-3 victory, much to the delight of a season-high crowd of 2,033.

Southeast, which pushed its winning streak to seven games, improved to 32-14 overall and 13-4 in the OVC. The Indians solidified their hold on second place in the eight-team league but could gain no ground on Eastern Illinois, which swept Morehead State to move to a stunning 16-0 in conference play.

"It's very satisfying to sweep a good ballclub like Tennessee Tech and I just feel so good about the way we're playing," said Southeast coach Mark Hogan. "We're not making many mistakes, we're getting good pitching and timely hitting."

Pennington improved to 11-1 as he went all seven innings in the opener, striking out nine and walking three. His national-leading ERA actually rose just a bit, to 0.86 from 0.82 to start the day.

"I didn't really have my best stuff," said Pennington, who figures to have at least two more starts to try and break the single-season school victory record he now shares with Ryan Spille and Brian Harper. "I just tried to keep the ball down and let my defense do it."

While Pennington might not have been all that impressed with his work, it's a testament to just what kind of a season he is having when he can be at below peak efficiency yet still dominate one of the OVC's better teams.

And Pennington had to be as effective as he was to get the better of Bubbie Buzachero, Tech's flame-throwing right-hander who allowed just three hits and two earned runs in going the six-inning distance.

Buzachero (3-4), who fanned seven and did not walk a batter, was rarely clocked under 90 miles per hour and quite a few of his pitches got up around the 95 mph range.

"He's one of the better pitchers I've gone against," said an admiring Pennington, who added with a laugh, "I wasn't throwing nearly as hard as he was."

Said Hogan, "Game one was very intense, one of the better games I've been involved in. Their pitcher was really throwing the ball and what can you say about Penny. He's just phenomenal every time out."

Tech (25-26, 9-8 OVC) broke a scoreless tie in the fifth, but the Indians came right back in the bottom of the frame. Zach Borowiak led off with a double, was sacrificed to third by Jeff Bourbon and came home on a ground out by Vern Hatton.

The Indians went ahead for good with a two-run sixth. With one out, Denver Stuckey doubled, moved to third when Brian Hopkins reached on an error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Brad Beatty. Clemente Bonilla added some insurance with an RBI double.

Southeast's second-game star was Hopkins, the junior-college transfer left fielder who was in a miserable slump for the first half of the season but has climbed out of the hole nicely in recent weeks.

Hopkins went 4-for-4 including a leadoff home run on the first pitch he saw in the opening inning while scoring three runs and driving in two to spark the Indians' 10-hit attack.

"It was depressing for a while," said a smiling Hopkins of his average that hovered around the .100 mark for quite some time but is now up to .234. "I finally got some confidence."

Said Hogan, "I'm proud of Brian. The way things started, he could have really gotten down and never come out of it."

Bonilla, who regained the OVC batting lead from Tech's Ben Cunningham, also homered in the nightcap as he and Hopkins now have a team-high six each. Bonilla, the league's top hitter virtually all season, is at .409.

Beatty, the Indians' freshman sensation, had two second-game hits, as did Borowiak. Beatty is batting .367.

Brad Purcell (5-2) got the win, allowing three hits and three runs (two earned) in 4 2/3 innings. Jeffrey Hilz closed out the victory with 2 1/3 innings of one-hit relief.

Donnie Long (6-5) took the loss, allowing eight hits and five runs (four earned) in four-plus innings.