Southeast baseball team to host OVC front-runner Tennessee Tech

As far as the Ohio Valley Conference baseball standings are concerned, Southeast Missouri State has saved the best for last.

At least the Redhawks will be facing what the standings say is the OVC's best squad during their final conference series of the season.

Tennessee Tech visits Capaha Field for a three-game set beginning at 5 p.m. today. There will also be contests at 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday as the Redhawks kick off a six-game homestand to end the regular season.

Saturday's contest originally was scheduled for a 2 p.m. start but has been moved back three hours due to Southeast's graduation that day.

The Eagles (33-14, 19-5) lead the 11-team OVC by one game over Austin Peay and Jacksonville State in a tight battle for not only the regular-season championship but also to see which two squads receive the first-round byes for the six-team conference tournament.

"They're a really good team and they're having a great season," Southeast coach Steve Bieser said about the Eagles. "We look forward to the challenge of testing ourselves against the first-place team in our conference."

Southeast (22-27, 13-14) isn't challenging for one of the conference's top spots, but the Redhawks are in good shape to extend their OVC record of 18 consecutive league tournament appearances.

The Redhawks are in sixth place. They lead seventh-place Morehead State by just one game on the loss side but by 2 1/2 games overall. The Eagles have six conference contests remaining.

"We're in good shape, but we don't want to take anything for granted," Bieser said. "We don't want to have to worry about the last weekend, and we don't want to back into the tournament."

Tech wasn't supposed to be in its current position. The Eagles were picked just sixth in the OVC preseason poll after missing out on the conference tournament last year.

But the Eagles have exploded, led by a high-powered offense, solid pitching and an air-tight defense.

The Eagles boast the OVC's top offense, leading the league in batting average (.300), runs (330) and home runs (45).

Three players in particular are having huge offensive seasons for the Eagles.

Junior college transfer Daniel Miles is batting a team-leading .365 to go along with 10 homers and 44 RBIs.

Junior Zach Stephens is hitting .330 with 11 homers and 56 RBIs. Stephens, a preseason All-American and the OVC preseason co-player of the year, already has 39 career home runs.

Brandon Thomasson, another juco transfer, is at .301 with 12 homers and 49 RBIs.

Miles is the OVC's third-leading hitter. Thomasson, Stephens and Miles rank 1-2-3 in home runs, while Stephens, Thomasson and Miles rank 1-3-4 in RBIs.

The Eagles rank ninth nationally in slugging (.463) and 10th in home runs per game (0.96).

"They're definitely one of the best offensive teams we've seen all season long," Bieser said.

Tech has the OVC's No. 4 ERA at 4.73.

Senior Tristan Archer is the Eagles' top starter with a 7-4 record and a 3.62 ERA.

Sophomore closer Seth Lucio is 3-1 with 10 saves and a 1.02 ERA.

Tech also features the OVC's top defense with a .979 fielding percentage that is 10th nationally.

"They're very good in all phases," Bieser said.

Tech comes to town riding a rare two-game losing streak -- tied for its second-longest skid of the season, behind a three-game slide -- after dropping two nonconference contests at Western Carolina last weekend.

That came after the Eagles had won their previous six games.

Southeast has lost six of its last seven OVC games and three straight OVC series. The Redhawks have won only two of their last nine games overall.