Redhawks see home opener fall victim to weather

~ Southeast will host Mid-Continent on May 4 instead of today

Area fans will have to wait a little longer to get their first look at the re-tooled 2010 Southeast Missouri State baseball team.

The Redhawks, coming off a promising season-opening series at Auburn, were supposed to open their home schedule today against Mid-Continent, an NAIA program from Mayfield, Ky.

But, because of several weeks of wet weather and cold temperatures, coach Mark Hogan said Capaha Field is not ready for today's game. The postponed contest will be made up May 4.

"We'd really be pushing it because the field has been so wet, and they're [Mid-Continent] close enough so they can come here at a later date," said Hogan, whose squad has not been able to get on Capaha Field since official practice began. "The dirt portion of the infield hasn't been dry since January because of all the stuff we've gotten.

"It freezes overnight and the temperatures have been too low to thaw it out. This time of the year, it's just something you have to deal with in this part of the country."

Southeast is scheduled to host IPFW in a three-game series Friday through Sunday. Hogan is hopeful it will be played, but if temperatures remain too low he said those contests could be in jeopardy.

Whenever the Redhawks do open their home slate, Hogan believes fans will like what they see from a team that has 19 newcomers on its 35-player roster, including 13 junior college transfers. Many of the juco products already have played key roles.

The Redhawks began the season over the weekend by winning one of three games at Auburn of the Southeastern Conference.

Southeast claimed Friday's opener 13-8, then nearly captured the series Saturday before Auburn rallied with three runs in the bottom of the 10th inning to prevail 9-8. The Tigers won 6-1 Sunday.

"I was encouraged by what I saw. There were bright spots all over the field for us," Hogan said. "Most of the things we did wrong were mental and can be corrected. I think our fans are going to enjoy this ballclub."