Southeast Missouri State's Moses voted OVC baseball player of year

Trenton Moses spent last year's Ohio Valley Conference baseball tournament rooting on his Southeast Missouri State teammates from the sidelines.

Moses, an Advance High School graduate, will enter this week's OVC tournament as the conference's player of the year after winning the award Tuesday night.

Southeast earned three other all-OVC selections, including fellow first-teamer Michael Adamson. Voting by the league's coaches and sports information directors was announced on the eve of the OVC tournament in Jackson, Tenn.

"It's pretty cool. It's a great honor," said Moses, Southeast's fourth OVC baseball player of the year and first since Clemente Bonilla in 2001. "I was pretty surprised. There are a lot of great players in the conference.

"Everybody was talking about it. I guess everybody knew it was down to a few guys. I don't even know what to say. ... The ultimate goal is still to win the [tournament] championship."

Moses, a junior third baseman, is second in the OVC in batting (.405), second in RBIs (51) and tied for third in home runs (11). He also is second in slugging percentage (.693) and on-base percentage (.502).

"I'm thrilled for him," said Southeast coach Mark Hogan, whose second-seeded Redhawks (32-20) received an opening-round bye and will play their first tournament game at 3 p.m. Thursday. "With all the great players in the conference, it's really impressive for him to get it. He's having a tremendous season."

Moses spent the 2010 season as a medical redshirt following shoulder surgery for a torn labrum that had him doubting whether he would be able to make it back.

"The summer was pretty tough," Moses said in late March. "I rehabbed pretty hard, but there was a lot of pain. You work for it, but you get to the point where you don't know if you'll play again."

Hogan said it's a testament to Moses' work ethic that he made it all the way back to rank among the OVC's elite players.

"To come back from what he went through, I'm really proud of him," Hogan said. "It's a great success story."

Moses, the first Southeast player to end the regular season hitting above .400 since 2003, has constructed his huge year despite an 0 for 14 start at the plate.

"He was hitting the ball hard early," Hogan said. "If he just gets four or five hits during that time, his average would probably be 20 or 30 points higher."

That's of no concern to the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Moses, who ranks among the OVC's top-fielding third basemen. He's just happy to be a part of the team again.

"Last year at this time I'm out here watching these guys in the tournament," said Moses, a three-time OVC player of the week this year who also was named national player of the week by three publications. "It feels great to be able to help them."

Other selections

Adamson, a senior left fielder, earned first-team all-OVC honors after making the second unit in 2010.

Adamson is seventh in the OVC with a .365 batting average. He also ranks first in runs scored (59) and third in hits (77) while adding 10 doubles, seven home runs, 36 RBIs and 14 stolen bases in 16 attempts. He has not committed an error in the field.

Making the second team were senior left-handed starting pitcher Jordan Underwood and senior left-handed reliever Logan Mahon.

Underwood is 5-0 with a 4.70 ERA. Mahon is 5-4 with eight saves and a 1.93 ERA. He is second in the OVC in saves.

"I'm really happy for all those guys," Hogan said. "They're having really good years and they deserve it."