Southeast Missouri State baseball team to host SIU Carbondale

~ Southeast looks to build a winning streak in the final game of its homestand

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team will shoot for its first two-game winning streak since late February.

Southeast concludes a five-game homestand when regional rival SIU Carbondale visits for a nonconference matchup at 5 p.m today.

"It's not a conference game, but hopefully we can get a win and start building some momentum," Southeast senior Kody Campbell said.

The Redhawks have not had much momentum for some time. They have lost 14 of their last 16 games and 20 of their last 24.

Southeast (9-24) salvaged a victory in the three-game series against Eastern Kentucky with a 9-7 win on Saturday.

The Redhawks, 2-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference, are last in the 10-team OVC but have 18 of their 27 conference games remaining.

"We've still got a lot of games left to make up ground," said Southeast junior ace pitcher Shae Simmons, who notched Saturday's victory and has both of the Redhawks' OVC wins.

SIU (18-14) is off to a 5-4 start in the Missouri Valley Conference, which has the Salukis fourth in the standings among the league's eight teams.

"They've got a really good program and they're having a nice season," Southeast coach Mark Hogan said.

The Salukis have a .301 batting average and a 4.76 ERA.

Junior first baseman Chris Serritella leads SIU in batting (.396), home runs (7) and RBIs (35).

Serritella, who earned first-team all-MVC honors as a sophomore in 2010, redshirted last year after breaking a bone in his wrist before the start of the season. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 31st round but elected not to sign.

"He's a tremendous player," Hogan said.

Today marks the first meeting in the annual home-and-home series between the schools. Southeast visits SIU on April 24.

Southeast won both matchups last year, 11-4 in Cape Girardeau and 14-8 in Carbondale, Ill. The Salukis lead the all-time series 46-26-1, but the Redhawks have won the last three meetings.

"It's been fun playing them over the years," Hogan said.

Southeast returns to OVC action Friday when it opens a three-game series at Morehead State.