Southeast baseball's scalding offense eager to attack Red Wolves

~ Southeast ranks fifth in the nation with a .357 batting average

The Arkansas State University baseball team has been rolling since losing 6-4 at Southeast Missouri State on March 24.

ASU will try to avenge that defeat today when the squads finish their annual season series in Jonesboro, Ark. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

The Red Wolves have won nine of 11 since falling at Southeast. They are coming off a three-game Sun Belt Conference sweep of Louisiana-Monroe.

ASU is 21-11 overall and 11-4 in the Sun Belt, which has the Red Wolves just percentage points out of first place.

The Red Wolves rank second in the 11-team league with a 3.75 ERA and are third with a .328 batting average.

"They've got an excellent club," Southeast coach Mark Hogan said. "We had a really good game with them a few weeks ago, and I expect another one."

Southeast is 20-11 overall and a first-place 7-2 in the nine-team Ohio Valley Conference. The Redhawks have won 14 of 17.

The Redhawks lead the OVC and rank fifth nationally with a .357 batting average. They are 10th in home runs with 49.

Southeast hit two homers in its season opener then went 10 games without a home run before catching fire.

Junior right fielder Louie Haseltine is tied for sixth nationally with 13 home runs. He has homered in four straight games and 11 of 13.

Junior third baseman Casey Jones leads the OVC and is eighth nationally with a .447 average.

Junior left fielder Michael Adamson leads the OVC with 17 doubles and is batting .421.

Senior All-American catcher Jim Klocke, batting .375, has a 19-game hitting streak, the longest by an OVC player this season.

The Redhawks, after playing 17 of their last 20 games at home, begin a stretch tonight that has them playing 10 of 11 contests on the road.

Southeast resumes its OVC schedule Saturday at Tennessee-Martin.

Klocke named finalist

Klocke has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates who were announced earlier this season.

The award, which stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, focuses on the complete student-athlete on and off the field. Each candidate was chosen based on four criteria -- classroom, character, community and competition.

Nationwide voting runs through May 31 to determine the recipient of the award, which will be announced in June at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. Fans can vote online, with votes from fans, coaches and media combined to determine the winner.

Klocke, an Academic All-American as well as an All-American on the field, ranks in the top five in several offensive and defensive categories on Southeast's all-time list.