March 15, 2007

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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - (Thursday, March 15, 2007) Southeast concludes an eight-game home stand this weekend with three games against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Friday's game between the Redhawks and Golden Lions has been moved up to 3 p.m. due to expected weather conditions on the evening. On Saturday, the two teams will conclude the three-game set with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Southeast is 2-3 through the first five games of the home stand thus far.

SOUTHEAST VS. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF: The Redhawks and Golden Lions will meet for the first time in school history this weekend. Arkansas-Pine Bluff is the third of four schools that Southeast will play this season for the first time. The Redhawks are 3-0 in their previous first-time meetings this year (two against Cleveland State, one versus Bethel College), and they will play Central Arkansas in two mid-week games next week. UAPB is the second school from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) that Southeast has played this season. The Redhawks won two of three games at Jackson State to start the season.

CHASING A LEGEND: In his 13th season at Southeast, head coach Mark Hogan heads into weekday games against Arkansas State and Saint Louis just 10 wins shy of tying the all-time coaching record at Southeast. He began the season 18 victories shy of the record held by the legendary Joe Uhls who tallied 373 wins in 25 seasons at the helf ot he Southeast baseball team. Hogan also owns the longest current streak of Ohio Valley Conference postseason baseball tournament appearances with 12; he has yet to miss an OVC Baseball Tournament in his tenure at Southeast. He would tie the all-time OVC record of 13 consecutive appearances if the veteran skipper can lead the Redhawks to the 2007 O'Reilly/OVC Baseball Tournament in Paducah, Ky.

START ME UP: The pitching staff ranks second in the OVC with a 3.47 team ERA, and it has been led by the starting pitching. Senior LHP Asif Shah, junior RHP Dustin Renfrow and freshman LHP Josh Syberg have been regular starters thus far. Meanwhile, senior RHP Phillip Riley, junior RHP Ivan Nails and sophomore LHP James Leigh have each made one start on the mound. The starters have compiled a 5-1 record with just a 2.34 ERA in 14 starts this season. They have also struck out 64 batters while yielding only 20 walks. Eight of the 13 starts on the mound this year have been "quality starts."

QUIET BATS: Offensively, the Redhawks have struggled this season: their .232 team batting average is the lowest in the Ohio Valley Conference. Since the opening series at Jackson State, Southeast has scored just 43 runs in 11 games (3.9 runs per game). At the plate, they are hitting just .220 with a team slugging percentage of just .311, translating to a 6-5 record over the last 11 games. The bats have especially struggled against left-handed pitchers, as Southeast has just a .200 batting average against lefties this season. In comparison, the team combined for a .276 batting average and .469 slugging percentage in the three games at Jackson State to start the season.

FANTASTIC FIRST: Southeast has scored more runs in the first inning than any other frame so far this season. They are outscoring their opponents 14-3 in the first inning and 12-3 through the first two innings (6-0 in the second). The squad is hitting .304 in its first two trips to the plate, including 10 doubles, two triples and three homers. In the other seven innings, Southeast has scored just 42 runs compared to their opponents' 55 runs. As a team, the Redhawks are batting only .207 in innings three through nine.

PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES: Much of the Redhawks offensive woes can be attributed to their performance at the plate with runners on base. Southeast is hitting only .251 as a team with runners on base, and .263 with runners in scoring position. The offense has stranded a total of 32 runners on base over the last four games. Furthermore, 19 of those runners left on base have been stranded in scoring position.

RADIO: Every Southeast baseball game can once again be heard live on the Redhawks Radio Network. Tune in to 1220 AM KGIR/ESPN or listen to the live webcast available at www.kgir.com Todd Bonacki will call the games this weekend against Arkansas-Pine Bluff while Erik Sean and Jess Bolen travel with the women's basketball team to Austin, Texas, for the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament.