Redhawks will fight weather, SDSU this weekend

Southeast Missouri State still hopes to get in its scheduled three-game weekend home baseball series with South Dakota State -- but that might not be possible.

Thursday's torrential rain has left Capaha Field "a mess," according to coach Mark Hogan, even with the tarp covering the infield.

The Redhawks (4-7) and Jackrabbits (1-6) were scheduled to play 1 p.m. contests today, Saturday and Sunday.

Hogan said there is no way today's game could start that early, and there is a good chance it might not even be played at all, although the forecast is for sunshine and no rain.

"We'll just have to see what we have when we pull the tarp off first thing in the morning," Hogan said. "If we do play, it wouldn't be until later in the day, maybe even at night."

If the teams can't play today, Hogan said there is the chance of a doubleheader Saturday and a single game Sunday, although the forecast for those two days is not good.

"We'll try our best to get in all three, since they're in town anyway after playing SIU," Hogan said. "We'll just have to play everything by ear as the weekend goes along."

The Redhawks have lost four straight games. The Jackrabbits are coming off their first win of the season, Wednesday's 9-7 triumph at Southern Illinois that earned them a split in the two-game series.

An inexperienced Southeast squad has struggled in most areas so far. The Redhawks are batting .224, their earned-run average is 5.59 and they have committed 26 errors for a sub-standard .940 fielding percentage.

"I'm seeing things typical of a young club. We're executing better in practice than in games," Hogan said. "But I'm not down on this group. We just need to keep getting out there and playing."

Freshman Aaron Rave leads the Redhawks with a .400 batting average along with 10 RBIs.

Softball hosts event

The Southeast softball team will host the Southeast Spring Classic, a four-team tournament scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Joining Southeast (4-6) in the field are Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis (1-9), Lipscomb (6-12) and Northern Iowa (4-9-1).

Saturday's round-robin schedule features IUPUI vs. Northern Iowa at 10 a.m., Southeast vs. Lipscomb at noon, Northern Iowa vs. Lipscomb at 2 p.m. and Southeast vs. IUPUI at 4 p.m.

Sunday's round-robin schedule pits Southeast vs. Northern Iowa at 10 a.m. and IUPUI vs. Lipscomb at noon.

Later Sunday, based on records, the top two teams will play for the championship at 4 p.m., and the next two squads will play for third place at 2 p.m., although Northern Iowa will play at 2 p.m. regardless because of travel commitments.

"It should be a good tournament," Southeast coach Lana Richmond said. "There's a chance of rain both days, but we've got a tarp and lights, and we're going to make every effort to play all the games."

Freshman Lauren Bradley leads Southeast in hitting with a .357 average, while freshman Jenn Monaghan and sophomore Michelle Summers both have three homers.

Tennis in home debut

The Southeast women's tennis team, which has posted five straight wins, will play its first home match 2 p.m. today against Arkansas State.

The Redhawks (5-3) will also be at home Sunday to face Northern Iowa at 10 a.m.

"We've been playing well and we're on a nice roll, but these will be two tough matches," Southeast coach Jay Pacelli said.

Gymnasts in Arizona

The Southeast women's gymnastics squad will face a rugged test tonight at the Arizona Quad in Tucson.

Host Arizona is ranked 15th nationally, while Denver is No. 19. Cal State-Fullerton and the Redhawks round out the field.

-- From staff reports