Redhawks visit OVC preseason favorite Samford

~ Southeast enters the series in a tie for the conference lead.

Samford has not yet lived up to its billing as the Ohio Valley Conference preseason baseball favorite.

Southeast Missouri State coach Mark Hogan expects that to change soon enough -- although Hogan would rather not have it happen this weekend.

Hogan's Redhawks, who are tied for first place in the OVC, visit defending conference regular-season champion Samford for a three-game series. There will be a 1 p.m. doubleheader today and a 1 p.m. contest Sunday.

"Their record might not show it yet, but they've got an excellent club, the club that the coaches in this league picked to repeat as champions," Hogan said. "Their backs are kind of against the wall, and I know we're going to get their best shot this weekend."

Southeast (21-12, 7-2) was picked just sixth in the OVC preseason poll, but the Redhawks have matched their best nine-game OVC start since joining the league in 1992.

"I'm obviously pleased with where we're at right now, but there is still a lot of baseball left to be played," Hogan said. "We've got six OVC series left, so a lot of things can happen."

The Bulldogs (16-17, 3-6) are in eighth place among 10 OVC teams, although they are coming off their first conference series win of the season, taking two of three from Austin Peay last weekend.

"I'm sure they'll come in with a lot of confidence after winning two from Austin Peay, which always has a very good club," Hogan said.

A stagnant offense has been Samford's primary downfall so far. The Bulldogs are hitting just .241 -- last in the OVC -- and in their nine conference games they are even worse at .230.

The Bulldogs have scored a league-low 148 runs, averaging less than five runs per game, although they lead the conference with 31 home runs.

Samford boasts only two .300 hitters in sophomore shortstop Michael Marseco, who is ninth in the OVC at .366, and senior third baseman Parker Gargis (.312), who has a league-high 10 homers.

"Those are two proven hitters for them," Hogan said. "And they've got other good hitters."

The Bulldogs' pitching has been better than their hitting, with a 4.78 ERA that places them third in the conference.

Senior right-hander Chandler Tidwell (2-3, 2.75) and senior left-hander Josh Ehmke (5-3, 4.96) have been Samford's top conference starters.

Tidwell has the OVC's fourth-best ERA, while Ehmke has not yet flashed the form that made him the 2006 OVC pitcher of the year.

Samford also has the conference saves leader in senior righty Joseph Edens, who has nailed down eight of the Bulldogs' victories.

"Their pitching staff is excellent," Hogan said.

But, based on statistics, Southeast currently has the top pitching staff in the OVC as the Redhawks lead the way with a 3.87 ERA.

Southeast's three conference starters rank first, third and seventh in ERA, led by tough-luck junior righty Dustin Renfrow (2-0, 1.72), who has six no-decisions. He will start today's nine-inning opener.

Senior lefty Asif Shah (4-0, 2.59) will go in today's seven-inning nightcap and freshman lefty Josh Syberg (4-1, 3.09) will take the mound in Sunday's nine-inning series finale.

Syberg has the most strikeouts in the OVC with 51, while Shah is second with 49.

"Those three guys have been tremendous for us all season," Hogan said. "They've given us good starts just about every time out."

Shah, statistically one of the nation's top two-way players, leads a Southeast offense that carries a .287 batting average to rank sixth in the OVC.

Shah is hitting .354 with a league-best 37 runs batted in. He also has five homers, which is tied for fifth in the conference.

Senior shortstop Robby Moore matches Shah with a .354 average.

Also above .300 for the Redhawks are senior second baseman Omar Padilla (.342), sophomore first baseman Matt Wagner (.336), freshman third baseman Nick Harris (.328) and freshman catcher Jim Klocke (.313).

Southeast is second in the OVC with 30 home runs -- one behind Samford -- led by Harris, whose eight homers rank second. He also leads the league with 38 runs scored.

Wagner is tied for fifth with five homers and ranks third with 31 RBIs.

"We've gotten pretty good production up and down the lineup, with several of our guys have very good offensive numbers," Hogan said.

Overall, most of the raw numbers appear to favor Southeast this weekend -- but Hogan knows better.

"I know they're going to come at us hard," Hogan said. "We're going to have to play very well, but if we do, then I like our chances of coming out of it in pretty good shape."