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April 12, 2007

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - (Thursday, April 12, 2007) The Ohio Valley Conference-leading Southeast Missouri State Redhawks baseball team embarks on a seven-game road trip beginning with a three-game OVC series this weekend at Samford. The Redhawks and Bulldogs will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday and conclude the set with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.

They continue on the road with a 3 p.m. grudge match at Southern Illinois on April 18 and another conference series at Austin Peay the following weekend.

Samford, last year's OVC regular-season champion, was selected by OVC baseball coaches as the preseason favorite to win the conference.  However, they have struggled in league play thus far with a 3-6 record.  Starting pitcher Josh Ehmke, who will pitch this weekend, was named the preseason favorite to win OVC Pitcher of the Year; he has a 5-3 record with a 4.96 ERA this season.

SOUTHEAST VS. SAMFORD: Southeast and Samford have split the all-time series at five games a piece. However, the Bulldogs have won four of the last five contests against the Redhawks. Last year, Samford won three of the four meetings, including two games at Capaha Field and one match in the OVC Tournament. At Paducah, Southeast fell 11-5 to Samford after the Bulldogs scored six runs in the first inning and three in the second. On April 15 at Capaha Field last season, the two squads battled for 15 innings until Samford finally prevailed 8-6 in the rubbermatch of the three-game weekend series. Gargis hit a two-run double in the top of the 15th that proved to be the game-winner. Southeast lost 6-5 in game one of the series but won game two 7-4. In the only three previous games at Samford in 2005, the Redhawks are 1-2. They won the second game of that three-game series, as well.

PAINT ME A BIRMINGHAM: Freshman third baseman Nick Harris surely looks forward to a weekend homecoming trip to Samford. Harris is a native of Alabaster, Ala., which is just 20 miles from Birmingham and the Samford campus. Samford, as did most Alabama schools, also recruited the freshman standout. Harris has been one of the top freshmen in the OVC this season, batting .328. He leads the conference with 38 runs scored and 81 total bases, ranks second with eight home runs, third in slugging percentage and tied for fifth in RBIs. He trails Samford third baseman Parker Gargis in the home run category; Gargis has 10 this season.

CONFERENCE PLAY: Southeast is off to one of its best starts ever in Ohio Valley Conference play with a 7-2 record through the first nine games of conference play. The mark ties the best SEMO start in the OVC, matching the 7-2 record accomplished by the 2002 and 2000 squads. Southeast is batting .306 in conference play this season with an OVC-leading 71 runs scored. By contrast, the Redhawks have hit .280 in non-conference games this season. The best record posted by Southeast against OVC opponents through twelve games is 10-2, also done in both 2002 and 2000.

BOOTHEEL BOMBERS: The 2007 Southeast squad has been one of the top power-hitting teams in the OVC and even the nation. With 30 home runs as a team this season, they are second only to Samford which has 31. The squad's .94 homers per game is tied for first in the OVC with the Bulldogs and ranks 44th in the nation, which is in the top 17 percent of all NCAA Division I teams. Additionally, Southeast leads the conference with a .447 slugging percentage.

YOUNG GUNS: The pitching staff continues to lead the OVC with a 3.87 team ERA. The weekend rotation remains one of the best in the OVC as all three weekend starters (Renfrow, Shah and Syberg) rank among the top seven among conference ERA leaders. Renfrow, who leads the league with a 1.72 ERA, also ranks 20th in the nation according to the NCAA's first baseball statistics report released on Wednesday. Southeast ranked 52nd nationally as a team in the category (see page 3 of notes for more info).

RADIO: All three games at Samford this weekend can be heard live on ESPN 1220 AM KGIR or via web cast available at www.kgir.com. Eighth year play-by-play announcer Erik Sean will call the game while Jess Bolen will provide color commentary.

GAMETRACKER: Live gametracker will be available courtesy of the Samford University Sports Information Department.  The gametracker can be accessed by visiting the Redhawks baseball schedule/results and selecting "Gametracker" in the event box to the right.