Redhawks get foot in door of tourney

No conference title was on the line at Capaha Field Saturday afternoon as Southeast Missouri State and Tennessee Tech played the final game of disappointing regular baseball seasons for each team.

But that didn't detract from what was at stake as the Redhawks and Eagles both fought for survival -- in the form of nailing down the sixth and final berth in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

What figured to be a suspenseful day filled with high drama instead turned into a virtual walk in the park for the Redhawks, who piled up a 19-2 lead after four innings and rolled to a 21-10 victory.

So now it's on to the league tournament for the Redhawks, who will have a chance to make amends -- if that's the right word -- after compiling their worst overall and conference records during 12 mostly successful seasons under coach Mark Hogan.

That the 2006 Redhawks struggled much of the year was not totally unexpected, since Southeast is by and large a young, inexperienced squad that relies on a host of freshmen and other first-year players.

Southeast -- which is 21-31 overall and 11-16 in OVC play -- has shown flashes of being a good team, and the Redhawks suffered more than their share of gut-wrenching losses.

With so much promising young talent on the roster --and with several touted recruits set to join the fold next season -- the future looks bright for Southeast.

But with the Redhawks playing some of their best baseball of the season right now --they'll enter the conference tournament that begins Wednesday in Paducah, Ky., having won four of their last five games -- they're certainly not about to start thinking about next year for a while.

In 2003, Murray State struggled during the regular season and barely slipped into the OVC tournament -- yet the Thoroughbreds captured the title to earn an NCAA regional berth.

The Redhawks hope history repeats itself this year.

We'll soon find out.

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New Southeast men's basketball coach Scott Edgar professes to be a huge baseball fan, and he took time from his busy schedule to attend parts of all three Southeast games against Tennessee Tech Friday and Saturday.

Edgar, who played both basketball and baseball in college, told me he and his staff are getting close to finalizing the Redhawks' 2006-07 schedule, so hopefully that will be released in the next few weeks.

The NCAA recently passed legislation allowing for more regular-season games each year, meaning the Redhawks will have 30 contests next season -- not counting the OVC tournament, if they qualify -- instead of the 27 they played last year, when they did not make the league tournament.

Southeast will have "money" games at Purdue and Iowa State next season, and Edgar told me Saturday that, because of the expanded schedule, the Redhawks are in the process of lining up a third such contest, possibly against a Southeastern Conference team.

Edgar also said that he recently found out who the Redhawks will open up against in the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. Their first game in that event will be against Drake.

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It's a shame, but Kerry Robinson's premonition -- if you can call it that -- came true almost exactly like he feared.

Robinson, the former Southeast baseball star, had been doing a solid job as the Royals' regular center fielder for nearly three weeks after being called up from Class AAA Omaha.

I interviewed Kerry Tuesday for a story centering on how excited he was to be getting ready to face the Cardinals -- not only the team the St. Louis native grew up rooting for, but also the one he played for from 2001 through 2003 -- during a three-game series that began Friday night in Kansas City.

But Kerry also told me that he was a bit concerned, because Shane Costa -- the Royals' touted young center fielder who began the season as their starter before going on the disabled list -- was about ready to return to Kansas City.

Although I didn't have the room to touch on it in the article, Kerry feared that he might be the player the Royals let go in order to make room for Costa's return.

Sure enough, before Friday's series opener, Kerry was designated for assignment as Costa rejoined the Royals and was immediately inserted into the lineup.

Kerry, who batted .274 in 16 games for the Royals, must pass through waivers before he can accept an assignment to Omaha.

I have no idea what Kerry's plans are, but if it's any consolation, the Royals still seem to think he could fit into their future plans.

At least that might be surmised from a quote by Kansas City manager Buddy Bell that was posted on the Royals' web site following Friday's moves.

"For us, the guy [Robinson] is a legitimate big leaguer," Bell said. "For us, I hope he's able to stay in the organization."

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It looks like Southeast athletics will be getting some extensive exposure in the St. Louis area next school year.

Radio station 1380 ESPN in St. Louis is said to be close to reaching an agreement with Southeast to broadcast all football and men's basketball games starting in the fall. The station will play the local River Radio feed of the broadcast.

Jeff Vernetti, 1380 ESPN's promotions director/producer, is a Southeast graduate and a former assistant sports information director at the university. His ties to Southeast no doubt played a major role in getting Southeast into the St. Louis market.

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Todd Pennington, one of the several Southeast products who have been playing minor league baseball the past few years, recently signed with the Gateway (Ill.) Grizzlies of the independent Frontier League.

Pennington, a pitcher, had been in the Cleveland Indians' organization since leaving Southeast following an All-American season in 2001. The Indians released him a few weeks ago.

The Grizzlies, a team in the metro St. Louis area that is scheduled to begin its season soon, features several other former Southeast players.

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If you're a baseball player who has completed your American Legion eligibility and you think you're pretty good, you'll have a chance to prove it over the next few days.

The Plaza Tire Capahas, the area's oldest amateur summer baseball team and among the oldest in the nation, will have tryouts at 1 p.m. today and 6 p.m. Tuesday at Capaha Field.

If you want to make the squad, you'll have to impress manager Jess Bolen, who will be entering his 40th season in charge of the squad.

A laughing Scott Edgar asked me during Southeast's doubleheader Friday if I could get him a tryout with the Capahas. I think he was joking, but you never know. Maybe he'll show Bolen what he's got.

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The NBA playoffs got off to a terrific start with several great first-round series.

But the second round has been even better, as three of the series will be decided in winner-take-all seventh games today and Monday.

Us basketball fans can only hope the rest of the postseason keeps up this spine-tingling pace.

There have been many brilliant individual performances to date, including by the Cavaliers' LeBron James.

James is one player who has certainly lived up to all his hype, which has not been easy, since there was so much of it when he came into the league from high school just a few years ago.

Barring injury, James appears destined to end up being rated among the greatest players of all time.

And to think, he's only 21.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.