Southeast will play Purdue in doubleheader today

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team gets another chance to take down a program from a major conference this weekend.

Purdue visits Capaha Field for a four-game series beginning with today's 1 p.m. doubleheader.

One game originally was scheduled for today, at 2 p.m., but because of anticipated bad weather Saturday -- when a noon doubleheader was slated -- the series schedule has been revamped.

The schedule for the remainder of the weekend after today is undecided. A 1 p.m. contest had been slated for Sunday to close out the set.

The Boilermakers (1-3) finished second last season in the Big Ten regular season and tournament.

"They'll be a real good team from a big conference," senior first baseman Matt Wagner said.

Southeast (3-1) won two of three last weekend at then-16th ranked Alabama for the first series victory over a top-20 Division I squad in school history.

"These first two series, we've been looking forward to them all year," junior catcher Jim Klocke said.

Southeast coach Mark Hogan said the Boilermakers are much better than their current record indicates.

Two of Purdue's first three losses came in extra innings to traditionally strong squads Michigan and Notre Dame. Another defeat was by two runs to South Florida.

Purdue was 32-26 overall and 21-10 in the Big Ten last year.

"They're similar to us in that they've got a lot of guys back from last year," Hogan said. "I think we're going to get a top-notch club in here.

"It should be a real competitive series. Having Purdue here in late February, it doesn't get much better than that."

Purdue returned five of its top six hitters from last year's team that batted .309.

Purdue also welcomed back its top slugger in junior Dan Black, who led Purdue with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs while batting .320.

Junior Jonathan Lilly batted .425 last year in limited plate appearances, while full-time starters Brandon Haveman and Ben Wolgamot hit .379 and .368, respectively. Both are seniors.

Haveman is off to a .368 start this season while Lilly is next at .364. Leading the way is senior Alex Jaffee (.400).

Black is hitting .273 with one of Purdue's two homers.

The Boilermakers also returned their top starting pitcher in junior right-hander Matt Bischoff, who went 6-3 with a 3.96 ERA. He allowed six runs in five innings during his lone start this season.

"They'll have a good team. We have to be ready for them," senior right fielder Tyrell Cummings said.

Junior college transfer Kyle Gumieny is the probable starter for the Redhawks in today's opener. He was solid in his first Southeast appearance, allowing two runs in five innings at Alabama as he took the loss in the opener.

Either senior left-hander James Leigh or junior college transfer left-hander Greg Hendrix likely will get the ball in today's second game.

Leigh notched one of the wins at Alabama with 7 1/3 dominant innings of one-run ball. Hendrix allowed three runs in 2 2/3 innings at Alabama, but was not involved in a decision during his first Southeast appearance.