Premature end comes to successful Southeast season

The Southeast Missouri State baseball season didn't end the way the Redhawks hoped, but they showed some grit during last week's Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

Southeast dug itself a major hole by falling in Thursday's opener 8-2 to Jacksonville State. That loss marked six consecutive tournament defeats for the Redhawks, including dropping their first two games each of the past two years.

The Redhawks rebounded for a respectable showing instead of suffering a similar fate for the third straight season.

Southeast bounced back Friday to beat Tennessee-Martin 12-7 and Tennessee Tech 6-1 before being eliminated Saturday by Jacksonville State 15-12.

The second-seeded Redhawks finished third in the six-team, double-elimination event in Jackson, Tenn. Not really what they had in mind when they entered the tournament as one of the favorites but at least not the disaster of the last two years.

Tournament play aside, the Redhawks finished second in the nine-team OVC's regular season and their 34-22 final record tied for the third-most victories in program history. Only two Southeast squads have won more games, the 2000 and 2002 clubs that notched 37 wins apiece.

The 2011 Redhawks posted other notable achievements, especially their league-record 17th straight OVC tournament appearance. That's every season Mark Hogan has coached his alma mater.

This year also marked Southeast's ninth season with 30 or more wins under Hogan, who recently notched his 500th career victory at Southeast.

The Redhawks will face plenty of questions next season. They lose 18 seniors, many of them among their top players.

But Hogan has faced similar reloading situations in the past and generally has succeeded in producing a solid product, so I wouldn't expect the 2012 Redhawks to fall off the map completely, if at all.

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Last week's release of the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate scores meant good news for the Southeast men's basketball team.

Coach Dickey Nutt's Redhawks were hit with no penalties -- none of the university's sports were -- so they'll be allowed the maximum 13 scholarships for 2011-12.

That's in contrast to the previous two years when APR sanctions limited the Redhawks to 12 scholarships.

There are 13 scholarships already accounted for heading into the 2011-12 season. But the status of Nate Schulte, who missed much of this past season with a blood clot, remains in the air.

And Nutt has said that his son Lucas could revert to walk-on status if the Redhawks need to free up an additional scholarship.

The official spring signing period recently ended, but the Redhawks still can add a player before the fall semester begins.

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The Plaza Tire Capahas open another season Friday when they host Valmeyer, Ill., in an 8 p.m. first pitch.

Jess Bolen enters his 45th season as manager with an astounding 1,384-372 record.

The Capahas had another strong campaign last year, going 26-12 and qualifying for their 29th straight NBC World Series.

I'll have a season preview of the team later this week, but here's a bit of advance notice on some special festivities surrounding Friday's opener.

It will be Jess Bolen Night at Capaha Field to honor the team's manager who was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Ceremonies start at 7:30 p.m. All former players are invited to join in and they should be on the field by 7:25 p.m.

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I gave kudos last week to Cape Girardeau native and Central graduate Michael Minner for leading the Charleston baseball team to its first district title.

Many more kudos are in order for Minner and the Blue Jays, who have continued their historic season with their first final four berth.

Charleston advanced to the Class 2 semifinals by beating Valle Catholic, the state's top-ranked squad, 1-0 on Thursday behind the pitching of James Naile.

I've been told Naile, who ranks among the region's premier players, was recruited heavily by Southeast as a pitcher but turned down the Redhawks' scholarship offer to sign with Parkland Junior College so he also could play in the field.

Charleston reaching the final four means this week's state tournament will feature a Southeast Missouri representative in three of the four classes.

Oran is making its 10th semifinal appearance in Class 1, while Kennett made the Class 3 field for the first time.

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Cape Girardeau native Jordan Coons -- he's the son of former area coach Bob Coons, who spent time at Chaffee and Central -- played a major role in leading the nationally ranked Coastal Carolina baseball team to its fifth straight Big South tournament championship and automatic NCAA regional berth.

Coons pitched seven scoreless innings in just his third start of the season to help Coastal Carolina beat Gardner-Webb 6-1 on Saturday for the Big South tournament title.

Coons, a graduate of Jefferson City High School where he played for his father before attending Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Mo., is 5-3 with a 1.21 ERA during his first season at Coastal Carolina.

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Jackson native and former Southeast track All-American Jim Lohr coached the MICDS girls track team from St. Louis to its first state title over the weekend. The squad won the Class 3 championship.

Marty Mishow is a sports reporter for the Southeast Missourian