Renfrow earns third OVC pitching award

~ The Southeast right-hander collected another pitcher of the week honor.

Southeast Missouri State's Dustin Renfrow has become the first Ohio Valley Conference baseball player since 2005 to win the league's pitcher of the week award three times in one season.

A peek at his statistics gives ample reason why.

Renfrow has the OVC's best ERA, a 1.47 mark that figures to rank in the top 10 or 12 nationally when the updated NCAA Division I statistics are released later this week.

Renfrow, who last week was ranked 20th nationally with a 1.76 ERA, received his latest conference award Monday, two days after he fired a nine-inning shutout at Samford.

That was part of a week that saw the junior right-hander throw 10 1/3 scoreless innings, including a short relief stint against Southern Illinois.

"Dustin has been fabulous for us all season, and this past week was just another example," Southeast coach Mark Hogan said. "He has certainly deserved to win this award three times."

Renfrow helped Southeast's series at defending OVC regular-season champion Samford get started on a strong note Saturday night.

After the start of the series opener was delayed six hours by rain, Renfrow fired his second nine-inning shutout of the season as the Redhawks won 4-0. He allowed six hits and two walks while tying a season high with six strikeouts.

"He gave us a tremendous performance and really helped us get that big series started on the right foot," Hogan said.

The Redhawks wound up taking two of three from the Bulldogs and are tied for first place in the OVC with Jacksonville State.

Southeast (23-13, 9-3) has matched its overall win total from last season and is off to its best 36-game start since the 2001 team began 24-12.

"It's gratifying to see the type of baseball we're playing," Hogan said.

Renfrow has been a big part of it, even though his record is just 3-0, thanks to six no-decisions. Renfrow has allowed 50 hits and 12 walks while fanning 29 in 61 1/3 innings.

"He could easily have quite a few more wins, but he's usually starting against the other team's No. 1, so runs are sometimes hard to come by," Hogan said. "He's certainly pitched well enough to be 6-0 or 7-0 or whatever."

Renfrow is in his first season at Southeast after transferring from Jefferson College in Hillsboro, where he went 8-2 with a 2.41 ERA last year.

A native of West Plains, Mo., the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Renfrow was selected by Arizona in the 39th round of the 2005 baseball draft following his freshman season at Jefferson College.

"Dustin has been a great addition to our staff," Hogan said. "A lot of times there is an adjustment period from junior college to Division I, but he's been great from day one."

Renfrow is part of a revamped pitching rotation that has helped the Redhawks rebound from last year's subpar season.

Senior left-hander Asif Shah (5-0, 2.26 ERA) and freshman left-hander Josh Syberg (4-1, 2.83) round out Southeast's conference rotation.

While Renfrow leads the league in ERA, Shah ranks third and Syberg is seventh. Shah and Syberg are also tied for second in the conference with 54 strikeouts apiece.

Only Shah was in the program last year and he was primarily a mid-week starter, going 2-3 with a 5.95 ERA. Shah is also one of the Redhawks' top hitters, with an OVC-leading 38 RBIs.

"Those three guys have really done the job for us all year, along with several others on the staff," Hogan said.

Southeast leads the OVC with a 3.60 ERA, which should rank among the top 40 nationally this week.

"Our pitching has been tremendous," Hogan said. "You see it game after game after game. They keep us in just about every game."

Southeast steps out of conference Wednesday when it visits Southern Illinois for a 3 p.m. game in Carbondale, Ill.