Redhawks push back first pitch vs. Billikens

~ The Teams hope a delay in the start will give wet weather time to clear out

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team, coming off its first losses of the year, continues its nine-game homestand today when Saint Louis University comes to town.

First pitch at Capaha Field is set for 5 p.m. The game was originally slated for 3 p.m. but was changed due to the forecast of rain Monday night and this morning.

Southeast is 6-2 after dropping two of three over the weekend against North Dakota State. The Redhawks had won their first five games in a season for the first time since 1995.

The Redhawks bounced back after losing the first two games to North Dakota State by capturing Sunday's series finale 13-7.

"We wanted to win the series, but it was good to get that last one," sophomore second baseman Jason Blum said.

SLU is coming off a sensational 2012 campaign that saw it go 41-18 to set a school record for wins, capture the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season title and earn a No. 30 ranking by Collegiate Baseball.

The Billikens, who returned eight position starters and nine pitchers, are 4-2 so far this season despite having not played at home.

SLU opened the year by taking two of three at perennial power Oral Roberts. They have since split two games with Northern Kentucky and beat Northwestern.

"They're solid. We know they're going to pitch well against us and execute offensively," said Southeast first-year interim coach Steve Bieser, whose squad and SLU will complete their annual home-and-home season series March 19 in St. Louis.

Southeast lost both meetings to SLU last year, 22-11 in Cape Girardeau and 4-0 in St. Louis. The squads split their two games the previous season.

After today's contest, the Redhawks conclude their homestand this weekend when Oral Roberts visits for a three-game series Friday through Sunday.

ORU, in its first year in the Southland Conference, won the past 15 Summit League championships to earn NCAA regional berths each season. The Golden Eagles, off to a 3-4 start, went 46-15 last year.

The Golden Eagles' 15 consecutive league championships is the second-longest streak in NCAA history. ORU's 15 straight NCAA Regional appearances is the fifth-longest active streak in the nation.

"We know we're going to be tested. We know what we're getting into," Bieser said about Southeast's upcoming schedule.