SE STILL IN HUNT TO HOST TOURNEY

Thanks to a three-game weekend sweep of Tennessee-Martin, Eastern Illinois has clinched its second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference regular-season baseball championship.

And the six teams that will make up the OVC Tournament field have been determined.

But that doesn't mean there still isn't plenty left to be decided as the OVC enters its final week of the regular season.

For starters, the team that will host the league tourney is still very much up in the air.

Even though Eastern Illinois is the regular-season champ -- the Panthers are done with OVC play at 17-7 and no other team can match that record -- the Panthers are not eligible to host the tournament because their field has no lights.

So the next-highest finisher with lights will serve as host. Only four of the OVC's nine teams are eligible and three of them will wage a spirited battle down the stretch.

Southeast Missouri State University is in second place in the league at 13-7, but Middle Tennessee is just a half-game back at 13-8 and Austin Peay is only a game behind at 12-8. All three of those squads play on fields with lights.

On paper, Southeast -- which hosted last year's tournament after finishing second behind Eastern Illinois in the regular season -- would appear to have an inside track to host again.

Not only are the Indians currently all alone in second place, they close out the regular season this weekend with a three-game home series against eighth-place Tennessee Tech, which is only 6-15.

Middle Tennessee and Austin Peay both appear to have much more rugged assignments. The Raiders hit the road for three games against fifth-place Eastern Kentucky, which is 12-9. The Governors also hit the road for three games against sixth-place Murray State, which is 11-10.

But nothing is ever won on paper. The Indians will still have to get the job done on the field if they want to have the tournament played in Cape Girardeau May 20-22.

Meanwhile, although the tourney field has been set, the seedings are still very much in the air, save for the fact Eastern Illinois has clinched the No. 1 seed.

But only 2 1/2 games separate the teams that are in second through sixth place, so no pairings will be determined until after all the weekend action is completed.

* Southeast saw its hopes for a first-ever OVC regular-season title dashed as the Indians lost two of three at Murray State over the weekend.

The best the Indians can finish in the league is 16-7 -- which would still leave them one-half game behind Eastern Illinois. Southeast had a game rained out earlier in the season and the OVC does not make up rainouts.

Southeast, 24-24 overall, will have two non-conference home games this week, facing Saint Louis tonight and Memphis Wednesday. Both contests are set for 6 p.m. starts at Capaha Field.