Southeast Missouri State baseball team will lose key seniors, possibly junior Simmons

JACKSON, Tenn. -- The Southeast Missouri State baseball team, which saw its season end Saturday with a third-place finish at the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, had just six seniors.

Those will represent some huge losses and coach Mark Hogan also anticipates losing another vital player before the 2013 campaign.

Hogan said he fully expects ace junior pitcher Shae Simmons to be selected in the upcoming amateur draft. If that happens, Hogan said he will be surprised if Simmons doesn't sign and pass up his senior season.

"I would anticipate Simmons going," Hogan said.

Simmons (7-4) pitched a career-high eight innings during Thursday's 4-3 victory over Austin Peay that put the Redhawks into Friday's winners bracket final.

Hogan said Simmons, a Scott City High School graduate who won his seventh consecutive decision, was clocked at 95 miles per hour several times and his fastball was consistently clocked in the 90s.

"Throwing like that, I think he could go fairly high," Hogan said.

Southeast's two senior stars, All-American third baseman Trenton Moses and shortstop Kenton Parmley, are also draft possibilities.

Moses is expected to be drafted and Parmley has a shot. Both seemed uncertain just moments after their college careers ended Saturday.

"We'll see what happens. You don't know for sure," Moses said.

Said Parmley: "I really don't know what to expect."

Southeast's other four seniors, first baseman Kody Campbell from Oran High School, catcher Jesse Tierney, second baseman Taylor Heon and relief pitcher Ryan Prickett, were also major contributors.

"Our seniors passed on the tradition of our program to our younger guys, and I'm forever grateful for that," Hogan said. "We had a great senior group."

Gibson leads

Sophomore left fielder Derek Gibson was Southeast's top hitter in the tournament among players with more than two at-bats.

Gibson batted .400 (6 for 15) in the four games. He ended the season as the Redhawks' third-leading hitter at .338, behind only Moses (.408) and Parmley (.363).

Campbell batted .375 in the tournament (6 for 16), followed by Parmley (.333, 6 for 18) and redshirt freshman right fielder Andy Lennington (.316, 6 for 19).

True freshman DH Ryan Barnes batted .375 in eight at-bats and redshirt freshman outfielder Jason Blum got hits in both his official at-bats as a pinch-hitter. Blum normally starts but couldn't in the tournament because of a hamstring issue.

Parmley had both Southeast home runs in the tournament.

AP rebounds

Top-seeded, defending champion Austin Peay rebounded nicely from Thursday's upset loss to sixth-seeded Southeast in the Governors' tournament opener.

The Govs bounced back to win three straight games, including two Saturday.

After eliminating Southeast 10-6 in the losers bracket final, the Govs (37-22) beat fourth-seeded Eastern Illinois 7-0 in the championship round to force today's if-necessary title contest.

Kacy Kemmer, making just his second start of the season, was knocked out by Southeast after retiring only three batters.

Kemmer came back to start against Eastern Illinois (29-28) and fired a five-hit shutout, the first tournament shutout since 2009.

Today will mark the first time since 2005 that the if-necessary game has been needed.