Southeast Missouri State baseball team to face Arkansas State

Southeast Missouri State's injury-ravaged pitching staff took another hit Saturday when weekend starter Zack Smith suffered a finger injury that could sideline him for several weeks.

That's just the latest in a long line of injuries to hit Southeast hurlers, not only hampering the Redhawks for weekend Ohio Valley Conference play but severely limiting their mound options for mid-week nonconference matchups.

The pitching will be tested today when Southeast (15-14) visits Arkansas State (16-13) for a 6:30 p.m. nonconference game, the first of the two annual meetings between the squads. ASU comes to Cape Girardeau on April 16.

"One thing we've got to do with our pitching, we've got to be careful not to overwork people in nonconference because conference is still the most important thing for us," Southeast coach Steve Bieser said.

Bieser can only shake his head at the misfortune that has hit his pitching staff.

Southeast lost three key pitchers, including two anticipated conference starters, before the season even started after they had surgery. Several other hurlers have missed various amounts of time this year.

Then came Saturday's mishap, when Smith was hit on his throwing hand by a batted ball.

The senior left-hander suffered a small fracture to his left ring finger, which also required five stitches for a cut.

"He'll be out for a while," Bieser said. "It's been unbelievable with our pitching staff. It's been a tough year for our pitchers. We're snakebit."

Despite all the injury problems, pitching has actually been one of Southeast's strengths this season. The Redhawks have a respectable 4.82 ERA and their bullpen has been especially strong.

"I think our pitchers have done a good job, especially under the circumstances," Bieser said.

Southeast is coming off its first OVC series sweep since 2011 as the Redhawks won all three games against visiting Tennessee-Martin Thursday through Saturday.

The Redhawks improved to 7-5 in conference play as they moved up to fifth place in the 11-team league. They have their first three-game winning streak since beginning the season 5-0.

"We had a great weekend and hopefully it gets us going," Bieser said.

ASU comes into today's contest riding a six-game losing streak. The Red Wolves are 4-5 in league play, tied for sixth place in the 10-team Sun Belt Conference. They have a solid 4.10 ERA but are hitting just .267, compared to Southeast's .282.

The Red Wolves had a big season last year, going 34-23 overall and a second-place 19-9 in league play to finish a half-game out of first. They split their two games with Southeast, winning 10-5 in Jonesboro, Ark., and losing 5-3 in Cape Girardeau.

"They'll be a very tough opponent under any circumstances and especially with our pitching situation," Bieser said.

Following today's contest, Southeast resumes OVC play this weekend with a three-game series at seventh-place SIU Edwardsville (7-15, 5-7). Starting times are 6 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.