Redhawks will make final OVC preparations on road

~ The southeast baseball team will play two games against Arkansas-Little Rock

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team has one final nonconference tuneup before beginning Ohio Valley Conference play.

Southeast (7-5) hits the road to face the University of Arkansas-Little Rock (8-3) in a two-game series. There will be a 6 p.m. contest today and a 3 p.m. first pitch Wednesday.

The Redhawks kick off their OVC schedule this weekend with a three-game series at first-year league member Belmont, the defending Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season and tournament champion.

"Every game is important. We want to win," first-year Southeast interim coach Steve Bieser said. "But they are tuneup games. We want to make sure we're ready going into conference play."

Southeast has lost five of its last seven games against strong competition after a 5-0 start.

The Redhawks dropped two of three to North Dakota State, lost a single game to Saint Louis University and dropped two of three to Oral Roberts over the weekend. All those contests were played at home.

"The games we've played the last two weekends against very good teams will simulate what we'll see in the conference," said Bieser about the series against North Dakota State and Oral Roberts. "They've helped us get ready."

UALR has won three straight and six of its last seven. The Trojans are playing their first 13 games at home, concluding with the series against Southeast.

The Trojans already have faced one OVC squad, sweeping SIU Edwardsville in a three-game series by scores of 2-1, 2-0 and 13-1.

UALR went 26-28 last year, including 12-18 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans split a two-game series against Southeast in Cape Girardeau, the Redhawks taking the opener 10-7 and UALR romping 16-2 in the finale.

"They'll be another solid ballclub," Bieser said.

As will Belmont (9-3), picked to finish second in the 11-team OVC after going 39-24 last year.

"They're a very good program. They've got three very good arms they're going to run out against us," Bieser said.

Southeast ranks high in several OVC team statistical and individual categories through the early part of the season.

The Redhawks are first in runs scored with 80, first in home runs with nine, third in batting average at .288, third in ERA at 3.91 and third in fielding percentage at .967.

Four Southeast players rank among the league's top 15 in batting average, led by true freshman right fielder Clayton Evans. He is tied for 10th at .355.

Junior center fielder Cole Bieser is 13th at .348, while junior left fielder Derek Gibson and sophomore second baseman Jason Blum are tied for 14th at .341.

Sophomore third baseman Andy Lennington, who is batting .340, leads the OVC with 15 RBIs. He and Blum are tied for first with five doubles, while Lennington is tied for second with 16 hits and two triples.

Blum is first with 14 runs scored and tied for second with three home runs.