March 30, 2007

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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - (Friday, March 30, 2007) Southeast Missouri State Redhawks baseball head coach Mark Hogan is just one win away from tying the all-time wins record at Southeast. The legendary Joe Uhls, who coached the Southeast baseball team from 1960 to 1984 currently holds the record of 373 wins as Southeast baseball head coach.

The Redhawks travel to Murray State for a three-game conference series this weekend when Hogan will have the opportunity to tie and break the all-time mark. Southeast and the Thoroughbreds will play a doubleheader on Saturday, with the first game scheduled for 1 p.m.; the second game will begin approximately 30 minutes upon completion of the first. The series wraps up with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.

Hogan, in his 13th season as head baseball coach at Southeast, has amassed 372 wins at the helm of the Redhawks, including a 17-7 start this season. He has an overall record of 372-305-1 while at Southeast.

Hogan, who has also held head coaching positions at Lurleen B. Wallace Community College and West Alabama University (formerly Livingston University), has tallied 757 career wins between his three stops and a remarkable 757-562-3 career record.

SERIES HISTORY: Southeast leads the all-time series against conference foe Murray State, 34-32. Last season at Capaha Field, the Redhawks shutout the Thoroughbreds in all three games of the weekend series (1-0, 5-0, 7-0). Second baseman Omar Padilla had a hit in each of the three games as he finsihed the weekend series 4-for-11 with a double, a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored; he also stole a base. The last time the two teams played at Murray, Ky., was in 2005 when the `Breds won the series two games to one. Murray State won the first and third games of that series by a score of 7-6, while Southeast won the second game of the Saturdya doubleheader 15-10.

RECORD BREAKERS: Speaking of records, Southeast scored 27 runs against Freed-Hardeman on Wednesday, a new school high. The previous record of 24 had been accomplished twice before in the program's history, last against William Woods on March 21, 2001. Meanwhile, the Redhawks also tied an NCAA record, becoming the eighth team to ever hit three grand slams in one game. Asif Shah, Phillip Riley and Nick Harris each hit a slam against the Lions. Another school record was also set with the help of Freed-Hardeman, who scored 16 runs in the contest: 43 total runs was the most runs ever scored by both teams in Southeast history. The previous record was 38, set in 1977 when Southeast defeated Missouri-Rolla 22-16.

START ME UP: The pitching staff ranks first in the OVC with a 3.49 team ERA, and it has been led by the starting pitching. Senior LHP Asif Shah, junior RHP Dustin Renfrow and freshman LHP Josh Syberg compose the weekend rotation, and they all rank in the league's top six in ERA. Renfrow and Shah are second and third in the conference with a 1.66 and a 2.14 ERA, respectively. Syberg ranks sixth with a 2.67 earnie. Meanwhile, senior RHP Phillip Riley has been a regular midweek starter, and is just oe inning shy of qualifying for the league leaderboard; he would rank third with a 1.96 mark. The starters have compiled a 11-1 record with just a 2.47 ERA in 24 starts this season.

HARDWARE STORE: A southeast player has claimed one of the weekly Ohio Valley Conference awards in five of the six weeks they have been issued, including this week. Senior Asif Shah was named Co-Player of the Week on Monday along with Clay Whittemore of Jacksonville State. Shah hit .444 (8-18) at the plate, with two doubles, one home run, 12 RBIs and five runs scored. He was also successful in two stolen base attempts. Shah became the first baseball player in OVC history to win both a Player and Pitcher of the Week award in the same season; he won Pitcher of the Week honors on Feb. 26. Other Redhawks award winners include Matt Wagner (Player, 2/19) and Dustin Renfrow (Pitcher, 3/5 & 3/19).

GETTING OFFENSIVE: Ever since scoring 32 runs in three games against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Redhawks have soared offensively despite starting the season batting .231 through the first 15 games. Southeast has recorded double-digit hits in seven of its last nine games played, and the offense has raised the team batting average 63 points to .294 over the last nine games. Meanwhile, they have scored 117 runs (13.0 rpg) over the same stretch, nearly double their total of 64 runs through the first 15 contests this season. Southeast now ranks fourth in the OVC in team batting average, and its 181 runs scored is most in the league.

RADIO: Every Southeast baseball game can once again be heard live on the Redhawks Radio Network. Tune in to ESPN 1220 AM KGIR or listen to the live webcast available at www.espn1220.com Erik Sean will call the play-by-play from Murray, Ky., on Saturday and Sunday while Jess Bolen will provide the color commentary.