SOUTHEAST SEES GAME CANCELED BY GOOD WEATHER

Because of a scheduling gamble that backfired on Southwest Missouri State's part, what had been shaping up as an attractive two-game series between the Bears and visiting Southeast Missouri State University has turned into a one-shot affair.

The squads will square off at 5 p.m. today in Springfield, Mo. Wednesday's originally scheduled game will not be played.

Southeast coach Mark Hogan, while disappointed about having the series cut in half, said he fully understands the situation SMS found itself in.

College baseball teams are limited to 56 regular-season games under NCAA rules. Many teams in the Midwest schedule a few more games than that because it's very rare when a season is played that doesn't include at least a few weather cancellations.

But, as luck would have it, the Bears have had no games wiped out by inclement weather this year, meaning they got into a situation where they were forced to cancel a game. And Wednesday's contest turned out to be that one.

"It's unfortunate because we were really looking forward to playing them twice," said Hogan. "But it's understandable. A lot of teams schedule more than the 56. You never think you're going to get them all in.

"For example, we had a three-game series at Creighton (early in the season) snowed out. But we basically have just scheduled right at 56, although we usually end up getting in about 51 or 52."

The in-state rivals are both having impressive seasons, fueled by strong pitching staffs.

SMS, 26-14 overall and a second-place 14-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference, has a 3.66 team earned-run average the exact same mark as the Indians, who have an identical 26-14 overall record and are a second-place 8-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

"They're an excellent ballclub," Hogan said. "They've been getting votes (in the national polls)."

In the most recent NCAA Division I statistics from last week, the Bears had three of the nation's top 40 pitchers in earned-run average. Bob Zimmerman (6-1, 1.80) was No. 23, with Brad Ziegler (7-0, 1.94) No. 24 and John Rhienecker (3-3, 2.14) No. 39.

Southeast boasted last week's No. 3 hurler in national ERA in Todd Pennington (8-1, 0.97), who just might be at the top when the weekly statistics are released today after hurling six shutout innings Wednesday against Southern Illinois.

The Bears have four key players with ties to Southeast Missouri. Ben Margalski, their second-leading hitter at .358, plays for the Cape Girardeau Capahas in the summer, as does pitcher Matt Palmer (3-3, 4.77), who is from Caruthersville, Mo.

Matt Gardner, a product of Hayti, Mo., and Greg Mathis from Steele, Mo., both have seven home runs to lead the team, along with Ryan Howard. Gardner is No. 1 on the Bears in runs batted in with 38 and he's batting .322. Mathis is second in RBIs with 37 and he's hitting .279.

Southeast continues to be led offensively by Clemente Bonilla, who is batting .417. Also above .300 are freshman Brad Beatty (.359), Zach Borowiak (.335), Denver Stuckey (.316) and Vern Hatton (.314).

The Indians, who will resume OVC play this weekend at Austin Peay, are now a full five games behind league-leading Eastern Illinois after the Panthers swept yet another conference series over the weekend. Their three wins over Tennessee Tech puts them at 14-0.

Eastern Illinois has just six OVC games left while Southeast has nine remaining. The Indians would need something of a minor miracle to capture the OVC regular-season championship.

"You've got to hand it to Eastern Illinois. It's just unbelievable what they've been doing," Hogan said. "I can't remember another team running through the league like this.

"We're not out of it (contention for the regular-season title), but we definitely need some help."

The Indians play at Eastern Illinois on the final weekend of the regular season, but for that series to truly matter they would have to be within no more than three games of the Panthers.

Otahks to host Mizzou

The Southeast softball team, now tied for first place in the OVC and in control of their own destiny in the race to host the conference tournament after taking two out of three at Eastern Kentucky over the weekend, will face the University of Missouri today in a 3 p.m. doubleheader at the Southeast Softball Complex.

Missouri, which has been strong in the past, is suffering through somewhat of a down year. The Tigers are 25-24 overall and just 4-9 in the Big 12 Conference.

Southeast, 19-20 overall, is 12-4 in the OVC and tied with Eastern Kentucky. Tennessee Tech is a game behind the leaders at 11-5, which is important as far as the Otahkians are concerned.

In the event of a tie, Southeast owns the tie-breaker with Eastern Kentucky because of winning the season series from the Colonels. The Otahkians lost the season series to Tennessee Tech, so the Golden Eaglettes would own the tie-breaker over Southeast.

While all three contenders still have plenty of conference action left, if the Otahkians win the rest of their games, they can finish no worst than tied for first place with Eastern Kentucky and would host the OVC Tournament early next month.

The Otahkians' remaining league schedule features two games at both Tennessee-Martin and Austin Peay and a three-game home series against Morehead State.