Usually strong Otahks endure difficult times

Southeast Missouri State University softball coach Lana Richmond admits it's been a frustrating season, yet she said nobody is ready to throw in the towel.

"The players are still working really hard," Richmond said. "We're going to stay positive and see what happens."

Still, Richmond is virtually assured of suffering the first losing season in an ultra-successful 20-year coaching career with the Otahkians.

Entering today's Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader at Tennessee-Martin, the Otahkians are 8-21 overall and 5-9 in OVC play, which has them in sixth place in the eight-team league.

With 10 regular-season games remaining, along with possibly several games in the OVC Tournament -- the top six league squads qualify -- the Otahkians would have to virtually run the table to avoid their first losing record under Richmond.

Richmond is 617-351-2 with the Otahkians and last year she became just the 27th Division I softball coach to win 600 games. Southeast has won five of the eight OVC regular-season championships since softball became a conference-sponsored sport in 1994, never finishing with less than 16 OVC wins during that time.

"Losses are always tough for me to take," said Richmond, whose squad went 25-25 last year for her first non-winning record at Southeast. "I hate losing. But I tell the kids that we never give up. We try to get better each time out."

Southeast's problems this year actually began a short while after last season ended, when OVC Player of the Year Jenny Doehring decided to transfer with two years of eligibility remaining. Doehring was the Otahkians' top pitcher and second-best hitter in 2001.

Richmond knew pitching would be a major question mark. She hoped senior Kristen King and two freshmen, Kelly Birk and Rachel Van Fleet, could form a solid staff.

While all three have had their moments, Richmond said inconsistency on the mound has been the Otahkians' primary downfall. In a sport generally dominated by pitching, Southeast has a 3.71 team earned-run average to rank sixth in the OVC.

King, although she is just 1-8, has the squad's best ERA at 3.25, followed by Birk (3-7, 3.57) and Van Fleet (4-6, 4.31).

"I feel like our defense has been solid and we've hit the ball," Richmond said. "It's just a matter of our pitching being inconsistent, not getting the ball down, and pitching is the name of the game in fast-pitch softball.

"We're using two freshmen a lot. Normally you don't use freshmen that much so early. They're used to taking it by somebody up high on the high school level and here you can't do that. But they're two good looking pitchers and they've got bright futures here."

Another thing frustrating Richmond has been the Otahkians' inability to win close games. Six of their nine OVC losses have been by one run.

"That's been our story all year, so many one-run losses," Richmond said.

While Southeast's pitching has struggled, the Otahkians are second in the OVC in hitting with a .260 team batting average.

Senior Dawn Piantino, who entered this season with a .211 career average, is batting .302, with team highs of two home runs, eight doubles and 12 runs batted in.

And Richmond said Piantino has made a smooth transition from third base to shortstop, where she was moved because Brooke Nett had offseason shoulder surgery.

"Dawn hasn't missed a beat moving to shortstop," Richmond said. "She's been really solid offensively and defensively, and this is a kid who didn't really play very much until her junior year."

Nett, a junior who has been primarily playing second base to cut down on the distance of her throws, is also having a strong season with a .301 average.

"Brooke has been solid coming off the surgery," Richmond said. "She, Dawn and Courtney Eklund (.292, eight doubles) are hitting the ball extremely well."

Junior Katie Cerneka (.326) is the squad's leading hitter among players with more than five at-bats.

While Southeast is uncharacteristically not a factor in the OVC title chase, Richmond said she and her players have definitely not given up on the season. The Otahkians stand a good chance of finishing at least sixth -- they could realistically climb as high as third -- which would get them into the league tournament.

"Our goal is to make the tournament, and once we do, anything can happen," Richmond said. "I told them, even if we go in as the sixth seed, we'll be the most feared sixth seed around. Nobody will want to play us."