SOUTHEAST IN MIDST OF OVC TITLE HUNT

Southeast Missouri State University's baseball team must be wary of a potent Morehead State offense as the Eagles visit for a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series.

The squads will have a 2 p.m. doubleheader today and a 2 p.m. single game Saturday. The normal Saturday-Sunday format for OVC play was moved up a day because of Easter.

"It's another big series for us, but in conference play, they're all big," said Southeast coach Mark Hogan.

Southeast is in a tight four-way race at the top of the nine-team OVC. The Indians, 25-10 overall, are 9-2 in league play and technically in first place by percentage points.

But the Indians actually trail second-place Eastern Kentucky, which is 12-3, by one game. Middle Tennessee and Murray State, both 8-3, are tied for third place.

While Morehead, 17-18-1 overall, is in eighth place with a 2-10 OVC record, the Eagles boast the league's top hitting team as they have a .332 batting average. Ten Morehead players who have started at least 14 games are batting .300 or better.

"They're a very talented offensive club," said Hogan of the Eagles. "They've got good hitters up and down their lineup and it's going to be a big challenge for our pitching staff."

The Eagles boast hitters who rank third and four, respectively, in the OVC in Jason Kennedy (.390) and Mike Reichert (.389).

But while the Eagles have thrived offensively, pitching has been another story. Morehead ranks eighth in the OVC in earned-run average with a 6.50 mark. Eddy Bushelman has been the Eagles' most reliable starter with a 5-3 record and a 4.46 ERA.

"Pitchingwise, I don't think they've been as happy as they would like," Hogan said. "But offensively, they're very good. And they're really a fiery ballclub. They play very hard."

Southeast, which has gotten back on track with five straight wins after previously having lost three in a row, has been equally proficient at the plate and on the mound.

The Indians are second in the OVC in batting with a .321 average and they lead the league in pitching with a 3.98 ERA. Southeast's mound statistics were actually much more impressive earlier in the week as the Indians had a 3.59 ERA prior to Wednesday's wild 19-17 win over Southern Illinois.

"I really feel good about our ballclub right now," said Hogan. "We struggled for a few games, but you're going to have that kind of ebb and flow in a long baseball season. We seem to have gotten back on track and getting to 25 wins at this point is very sweet."

After seeing their offense slump for a while, the Indians' attack has exploded in recent games. Jeremy Johnson, the OVC's second-leading hitter, has his average back up over the .400 mark at .405.

Kevin Meyer (.381) and Darin Kinsolving (.377) rank fifth and sixth in the league, respectively. Also above .300 are Charlie Marino (.341) and freshman Zach Borowiak (.301), while Clemente Bonilla (.297), Jeff Bourbon (.293) and Shane Allen (.274) are not all that far off.

Yet another solid Southeast offensive player, Phil Warren (.329), has missed the last several weeks with a broken hand but he appears to be getting close to returning.

Marino, who has belted six home runs in his last five games, leads the OVC with 13 long balls and Kinsolving is second in the league with 11.

As a team, Southeast has 58 homers, by far the most in the conference. Johnson (nine), Meyer (seven) and Bourbon (six) have all contributed greatly to that total.

"Our offense struggled for a while, but that's going to happen when you play so many games," said Kinsolving. "We've broken out pretty well and hopefully we can keep that up."

In the pitching department, relief specialist Jeffrey Hilz leads the OVC with a 2.08 ERA. With a 6-1 record, Hilz is also tied for second for the league lead in wins and he has recorded two saves.

Southeast's top three starting hurlers all rank in the top 10 in OVC ERA. Today's starters will be Dan Huesgen (3-3, 3.40 ERA) and Lanson Debrock (7-1, 3.30), with Tommy Thomas (4-1, 3.96) scheduled to go Saturday. Debrock leads the league in victories.

"It should be an exciting series," said Hogan. "We're sitting in a nice position (in the OVC), but things are really tight and there is a lot of baseball left to be played."

After having played three of their first four OVC series on the road, the Indians will have three of their last four conference series at home. Since the Indians are 15-2 at Capaha Field, the schedule certainly figures to favor them the rest of the way, but Hogan was quick to point out that nothing can be taken for granted.

"We've been playing real well here and it's nice to be able to sleep in our own beds and not have to travel," he said. "But you can't take anybody lightly. We're expecting a tough series."

* One of this weekend's biggest OVC series features Murray State hosting Middle Tennessee in a battle of prime title contenders.

Other weekend league series have Eastern Illinois visiting Eastern Kentucky and Austin Peay traveling to Tennessee-Martin.

Eastern Illinois (7-7) is in fifth place in the league, followed by Tennessee Tech (5-6), Austin Peay (3-9), Morehead and Tennessee-Martin (0-10).