Redhawks get final chance for victory against MVC team

~ Southeast will try to avenge last week's loss to Southern Illinois.

Although Southeast Missouri State is tied for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Redhawks have gone winless in six tries against Missouri Valley Conference opponents.

The Redhawks will get their final chance to break that string today when they play at Southern Illinois. The first pitch in Carbondale, Ill., is set for 3 p.m.

SIU is going for the series sweep of Southeast, after the Salukis beat the Redhawks 7-2 last Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.

Southeast's other meetings with MVC teams this year resulted in three losses to Illinois State and two losses at Missouri State.

The Salukis, 23-12 overall and a fifth-place 4-5 in the nine-team MVC, were swept over the weekend by nationally ranked Wichita State in a three-game home series

Southeast is 23-13 overall and 9-3 in OVC play, which has it deadlocked with Jacksonville State for the top spot in the 10-team conference.

The Redhawks have already matched their overall win total from last season and are off to their best 36-game start since the 2001 team began 24-12.

But, as well as the Redhawks have played most of the year, they had one of their worst performances against SIU last week. Southeast committed four errors, which led to five unearned runs for the Salukis.

"We've been very solid defensively most of the season, but that was one day where we just didn't bring our gloves," Southeast coach Mark Hogan said. "Hopefully we'll have a better performance this time against SIU, because they've got a very good club."

SIU is second in the MVC with a .303 batting average, and the Salukis were also among the ERA leaders before powerful Wichita State torched them for 37 runs in three games. That bumped SIU's ERA to a still-respectable 4.05.

Mark Kelly leads the MVC with a .442 batting average and ranks second in RBIs with 44.

Aaron Roberts is hitting .391, which places him sixth in the MVC.

Southeast, batting .281 collectively, boasts six .300-plus hitters, led by senior shortstop Robby Moore at .352.

A big weekend at Samford -- the Redhawks won two of three against the defending OVC regular-season champion -- has boosted freshman catcher Jim Klocke to .343.

Also above .300 for Southeast are senior second baseman Omar Padilla (.333), senior designated hitter/pitcher Asif Shah (.327), freshman third baseman Nick Harris (.319) and sophomore first baseman Matt Wagner (.315).

Shah leads the OVC with 38 RBIs, and Harris tops the league in runs scored with 38.

The Redhawks have the OVC's No. 1 ERA at 3.60, and they'll start one of their leading ERA men -- senior right-hander Phillip Riley -- against the Salukis for the second straight time.

Riley (4-3, 2.22), who has been Southeast's top mid-week starter, was tagged with the loss against SIU last week despite allowing just one earned run in 4 2/3 innings. He gave up six hits and five runs total.

Southeast did not have an earned run against the Salukis.

SIU is tentatively scheduled to start freshman right-hander Tyler Choate (2-1, 3.92). He pitched one inning of shutout relief against Southeast last week.