Redhawks' streak fell painfully short of 18

You've got to feel bad for the Southeast Missouri State softball team.

The Redhawks were two outs away from the program's first NCAA tournament berth since 1999.

But Tennessee-Martin hit a game-tying home run in the top of the seventh inning Saturday, then won 3-2 in eight innings to hand Southeast its first Ohio Valley Conference tournament loss.

That set up a winner-take-all final contest for the OVC tournament title and automatic NCAA bid, which the Skyhawks claimed with a fairly routine 4-1 victory.

But heartbreak aside, it was quite a bounce-back year for the Redhawks, who suffered through an 11-game losing streak that threatened to keep them out of the six-team OVC tournament for the third straight season.

Instead, Southeast regrouped to post a 17-game winning streak that is the second-longest in school history.

The Redhawks barely fell short of consecutive win No.18 with Saturday's extra-inning loss, then fell short of the NCAA playoffs.

Still, by going 29-21, the Redhawks finished second in the OVC regular season and tournament. With a young roster that featured just one senior, there is reason to be optimistic about the future of Southeast softball.

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The NCAA's Academic Progress Rate formula -- scores are calculated annually based on a four-year period -- can be a bit confusing.

Southeast fell short in its two major sports, football and men's basketball, resulting in scholarship reduction penalties announced by the NCAA last week.

But in reality, those teams won't be losing any scholarships.

Southeast football technically will be limited to 61.28 total scholarships (the NCAA Division I-AA maximum is 63), but because football is not fully funded in scholarships by the university, the penalty has no effect since the Redhawks already are a few scholarships below that 61.28 level.

Southeast men's basketball technically lost a scholarship, limiting it to 12 instead of the NCAA maximum 13.

But since the Redhawks were well below the scholarship maximum this year, that takes care of the penalty, although the squad still could be hit when pending NCAA sanctions for rules violations are announced.

The one bad thing about the APR, the way I see it, is that part of the scores are based on players remaining in their programs. That means a program's score is hurt when players leave -- even when they're in good academic standing and might be departing for legitimate reasons.

While the Southeast football and men's basketball programs were penalized for subpar APR scores, most of the university's teams fared well.

The men's cross country, gymnastics and volleyball programs received perfect 1,000 scores for the 2007-08 academic year.

Those three were among the 37 OVC sport programs that received perfect scores. Each OVC member had at least one program earn that distinction.

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The OVC program potentially hit the hardest by the APR -- and ranks among the most penalized in the country -- is Jacksonville State football.

JSU football is one of three sports programs nationwide facing an unprecedented ban from postseason play for its repeated shortcomings.

The university has filed a penalty waiver request, with a decision expected soon.

According to the Anniston (Ala.) Star, if JSU football's postseason ban is upheld, the team would be ineligible for the OVC championship, since the league winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.

The newspaper said JSU still would play a full conference schedule, with the games counting on everyone's record, but the Gamecocks would be ineligible for the title.

Considering JSU has been one of the OVC's premier football programs since joining the league in 2003, the situation is interesting to say the least.

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I'd never heard of the Consensus Draft Services FCS All-American team, but two Southeast football players were among 15 from the OVC selected to the 2009 preseason squad.

Southeast senior punter Doug Spada joined Murray State defensive end Austin Lane on the first team, while Southeast senior cornerback Eddie Calvin made honorable mention.

Spada, already a two-time All-American, should appear on just about every preseason list.

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Things just keep getting better for Matt Palmer, a Caruthersville native who pitched several summers for the Plaza Tire Capahas.

Palmer, a 30-year-old rookie with the Los Angeles Angels, notched his third win in as many starts Friday, 4-1 over the Royals.

Palmer (3-0), who gave up one run on two hits in 5 1/3 innings, has allowed one earned run in each of his last two outings.

Before this year, Palmer -- selected by San Francisco in the 31st round of the 2002 draft out of Missouri State -- had made three major league starts, all last season with the Giants. He had not recorded a victory.

Palmer would not be in the Angels' rotation -- or the big leagues, for that matter -- if not for several injuries to Los Angeles starters and the tragic death this spring of Nick Adenhart, the organization's top pitching prospect.

Palmer was called up from Class AAA Salt Lake because he was the only pitcher the Angels had at that level with major league experience.

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Those of you who follow high school basketball in the region may already have heard, but controversial former Bell City and Scott County Central coach David Heeb is returning to Southeast Missouri.

Heeb recently was hired to take over the Caruthersville boys program, which has had five coaches in the past five years and has experienced little success during that period.

Heeb spent the past two seasons as women's basketball coach at Robert Morris University, an NAIA program in Springfield, Ill.

A Scott County Central graduate, Heeb led Bell City to state titles in 2002 and 2004 before taking over at his alma mater. He was suspended in his second season at Scott County Central by the MSHSAA for violations of the state's undue influence regulations. He never coached the Braves again.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.