SPILL VOTED KING OF THE HILL IN OVC; SE LEFT-HANDER NAMED PITCHER OF THE YEAR

Southeast Missouri junior Ryan Spille has been selected OVC Pitcher of the Year in voting by the league's head baseball coaches and sports information directors.

Spille was dominant on the mound this season in his first year at Southeast after transferring from Rend Lake (Ill.) Community College. Spille compiled a 9-1 with a 1.96 ERA in 87.1 innings of work.

Spille also set a Southeast single-season record with 114 strikeouts. He walked just 32 batters. He is just two victories shy of the Southeast season record and needs 20 more strikeouts to break the OVC mark for a season.

"It's real gratifying to see Ryan receive this award because of all of the hard work he has put in this year," said Southeast coach Mark Hogan. "He's had a tremendous season for us and has been one of the keys to the success we've had this year. The only thing he was lacking when he came here was confidence, and he's got that now."

Southeast placed five players on the OVC second team: second baseman Kyle Yount, shortstop Steve Lowe, outfielder Charlie Marino, utility player Jeff Bourbon and pitcher Jason Swearingen.

Yount, a junior, batted. 354 with five home runs and 29 RBIs; Lowe, a junior, batted .289 with five home runs and 25 RBIs; Marino, a junior, hit .325 with 45 RBIs and a league-leading 18 home runs; Bourbon, a freshman, batted .336 with seven home runs and 31 RBIs; while Swearingen, a senior right-hander, had a 7-5 mark with a 4.11 ERA. He walked just 14 batters in 92 innings and struck out 56.

Indian third baseman Darren Kinsolving was named honorable mention.

Eastern Illinois sophomore third baseman Matt Marzec was selected OVC Player of the Year.

Marzec missed nearly all of last season with a shoulder injury, but returned in 1998 to rank among the OVC leaders in several categories. He batted .383 with 15 home runs, 12 doubles, 49 runs scored and an OVC-leading 57 RBIs. He ranks third in home runs and fourth in batting average. He also committed just six errors in 112 chances.

Eastern Illinois head coach Jim Schmitz was also named OVC Coach of the Year after the Panthers finished first in conference play with a 17-6 record. Eastern Illinois, which was picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll, has a 34-14 overall record. Eastern Illinois led all OVC schools with five players on the all-OVC first team while Eastern Kentucky had four.

Murray State utility player Tony Delk was named to the first team after leading the conference with a .419 batting average.

The entire all-OVC teams can be found in Scoreboard on Page 2B.

Ryan Spille

Record: 9-1

ERA: 1.96

Innings: 87.1

Strikeouts: 114

Walks: 32