Redhawks slip to third in OVC baseball standings

While the Southeast Missouri State baseball team stepped out of Ohio Valley Conference play over the weekend, the OVC race heated up.

And now, with two regular-season series left for all the top contenders, fans should be in for quite a finish.

When Southeast left Cape Girardeau on Thursday for a three-game series at Nebraska, the Redhawks led the nine-team OVC by a half game over Murray State. Jacksonville State lurked just one game behind, with Tennessee Tech only two games back.

The Redhawks were hoping for some help that might expand their cushion. Instead, those other three squads went a combined 8-1 over the weekend, creating a logjam toward the top.

Murray State, which swept Eastern Kentucky, has taken over first place at 11-5.

Southeast (10-6) is a full game behind the Thoroughbreds in third place, percentage points behind Tennessee Tech (9-5), which swept Austin Peay.

Also in the hunt for the regular-season championship is Jacksonville State (10-7), which took two of three from Eastern Illinois. So the difference between first place and fourth place is just 1 1/2 games.

The Redhawks, who are scuffling a bit with five losses in six games after being swept at Nebraska, hope to get well this weekend when they close out their home schedule against last-place Austin Peay.

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While winning the OVC regular-season title is a great accomplishment, it's just as important to finish second as far as positioning for the conference tournament is concerned.

The top two seeds for the six-team tournament earn first-round byes, which can be a big advantage.

An opening-round bye could be especially vital this year. Although there are some quality pitchers in the OVC, few squads have significant depth.

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Congratulations to baseball standout Jim Klocke and volleyball star Molly Davis for taking top honors during Southeast's All Sports Year-End Celebration last week.

The dynamic duo was honored for being Southeast's senior male and female athletes with the highest career grade-point averages.

Klocke and Davis have been among the top players in their respective sports at Southeast the past four years. They also rank among the elite performers in school history.

In the classroom, Davis has a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA while Klocke is not far behind at 3.95.

I got to know Klocke and Davis fairly well the past four years while covering their stellar athletic careers.

I have come across plenty of classy individuals during my more than 25 years at the Southeast Missourian, but those two rank right up there on my all-time list.

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The reigning OVC men's basketball player of the year will be back to try and make it two straight top awards.

Morehead State center Kenneth Faried announced Friday that he has removed his name from NBA draft consideration and will return for his senior season with the Eagles.

Faried, an Associated Press honorable mention All-American, averaged 16.9 points and 13 rebounds per game as a junior. The 6-foot-8 Faried ranked second nationally in rebounding and in double-doubles, recording 25 in 35 games.

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I haven't covered a lot of high school baseball games this year but thoroughly enjoyed Thursday's contest between Woodland and host Advance, which Woodland won in nine innings.

Not only did I see a thriller, I had a lot of fun hanging out with recently elected Advance mayor Carl Ritter -- the former Southeast basketball great -- and some of his cronies.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.