Redhawks hope to take flight after big victory

~ Southeast returns to OVC play today against Murray State.

Southeast Missouri State picked up the kind of win Wednesday night that the Redhawks hope will jump-start their season.

They'll begin to find out if that is the case this weekend.

The Redhawks, coming off their stirring 3-2 home triumph over Big 12 Conference leader Missouri that broke a seven-game losing streak, resume Ohio Valley Conference play against visiting Murray State.

There will be a 1 p.m. doubleheader today and a 1 p.m. game Sunday. Today's action was originally scheduled to start at 3 p.m., but concerns over problems with a bank of lights at Capaha Field necessitated the change.

Southeast (7-14, 0-3) and Murray State (7-18, 0-3) -- which has lost seven straight -- are tied for last place in the 10-team OVC, as they are the only squads without a conference win.

"It's a win we really needed, and hopefully it will be something we can build on and help get us going," Southeast coach Mark Hogan said of Wednesday's home victory.

Freshmen center fielder Daniel Schuh, whose one-out solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning -- his first collegiate homer -- beat the Tigers, believes the Redhawks are now ready to take off.

"We really needed that kind of win, and I think it's really going to help us," Schuh said. "We need to build on it."

While Hogan knows it's still very early in the conference race -- which consists of a 27-game schedule -- it's also not too soon to begin making some noise.

"There is such a long way to go, and it's way too early to panic," Hogan said. "By the same token, you don't want to get too far behind and have to play catchup the rest of the way. A good series would put us right back in the thick of things.

"We'd been finding ways to lose games, and the other night we found a way to win. Hopefully that will carry over."

Despite beating Missouri, the Redhawks have scored just 10 runs in their past seven games. They had only five hits against the Tigers, dropping their batting average to .217 as they continue to rank last in the OVC. Southeast is also last in runs scored with 80.

"Our pitching has been really good lately, so hopefully our offense will come around," said Hogan, whose squad has allowed nine runs in its past four games.

Southeast has just two players hitting above .235. Freshman Aaron Rave is eighth in the OVC at .362, while junior Dustin Pritchett is at .324,

Murray State has also not exactly been tearing things up offensively, as the Racers rank seventh in the OVC in batting average (.260).

The Racers have only two players hitting above .290, led by Central High School graduate Seth Hudson. The junior second baseman, who had a solid season last year, is sixth in the conference at .366. He leads the league in hits with 34. Also for the Racers, Jamie Leidolf is hitting .344.

Scheduled starting pitchers for Southeast this weekend are a trio of seniors: Jamie McAlister (3-4, 4.30 earned-run average), Anthony Maupin (1-3, 6.37) and Derek Herbig (1-1, 5.23).

All three were impressive during last weekend's OVC-opening series at Tennessee-Martin as Southeast allowed just six runs in three games. But the Redhawks lost all three.

Junior reliever Josh Parham (0-1, 2.31), a Jackson High School graduate, ranks fifth in the conference in ERA.

Murray State's primary starters so far have been Kalen Gibson (0-5, 4.85), Michael Perconte (2-2, 5.01) and Andrew Bishop (1-2, 6.82).