Southeast closes regular season with three games vs. Memphis

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team is looking to gain some momentum before next week's Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

It won't be easy.

A strong Memphis squad visits Capaha Field for a three-game nonconference series beginning at 7 p.m. today as both teams wind up their regular seasons.

The squads will also square off at 7 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday on Senior Day.

Southeast's four seniors in their final seasons of eligibility -- pitchers Bobby Hurst, Trevor Kill, Zack Smith and Tony Zerrusen, who all joined the program last year as junior college transfers -- will be honored prior to Saturday's first pitch.

"They'll be a very tough opponent, probably one of the better teams we've faced this year," Southeast coach Steve Bieser said of the Tigers.

Memphis is 32-21 overall and 14-10 in Conference USA. The Tigers are second in the nine-team league, although that could change as other conference squads conclude their seasons this week.

The Tigers come to Cape Girardeau having lost two straight, which came immediately after a six-game winning streak.

"It's a big series for us," Southeast sophomore Nolan Fisher said. "They're a good team and we need to win a couple to get some momentum going into the tournament."

The Redhawks are 22-30 overall and 13-17 in OVC play, which has them locked into sixth place in the 11-team league.

Southeast, despite losing nine of its final 10 OVC games and 10 of its past 12 contests overall, did enough to secure its OVC-record 19th straight conference tournament berth.

The Redhawks will be the sixth seed for the six-team, double-elimination event in Jackson, Tenn. They will play at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the second of two first-round games against the No. 3 seed that has not yet been determined.

"We're looking forward to the tournament, and hopefully we can play well in this last series," Bieser said.

Memphis, looking to build momentum entering the Conference USA tournament, has played three OVC teams this season. The Tigers beat Tennessee-Martin 18-4 and Murray State 5-0 before losing to Austin Peay 9-2 Tuesday in their most recent outing.

The Tigers are led by an exceptional pitching staff that boasts a Conference USA-best 2.81 earned-run average.

Memphis' top three starters, who are all projected to start against Southeast, have an ERA of 2.52 or lower and all are allowing less than a hit per inning.

Memphis carries a .270 batting average and a solid .970 fielding percentage.