April 17, 2007

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - (Tuesday, April 17, 2007) Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (23-13) baseball will continue a seven-game road trip Wednesday with a game at Southern Illinois (23-12). The road game complete a home-and-home series between the Redhawks and Salukis, the first part of which was held last Tuesday at Capaha Field.

LAST WEEK: Southern Illinois hounded the Redhawks last Tuesday at Capaha Field, 7-2. Southeast committed four errors and allowed five unearned runs to score en route to the loss, just the sixth defeat at home this season. Redhawks staretr Phillip Riley was tabbesd with the loss as he work four and two-thirds innings, allowed five runs (one earned) on six hits, walked two and struck out one. Freshman Jim Klocke and senior Asif Shah each had two hits, and Shah drove in the only RBI for Southeast. For the Salukis, freshman outfielder Aaron Roberts led the squad with three hits; he also drove in one RBI and scored twice.

SERIES HISTORY: Southern Illinois leads the all-time series, 42-21-1. The last time the Redhawks deeated the Salukis was last season at Capaha Field when Southeast won 13-11.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Senior right-hander Phillip Riley will once again make the start on the mound for Southeast. He is 4-3 this season with a 2.22 ERA in 28.1 innings pitched. In seven appearances this season, four of which ar starts, he has given up 21 hits, 17 walks and struck out 27 batters. Meanwhile, the Salukis will tentatively start freshman right-hander Tyle Choate, who pitched one inning of shutout relief against Southeast last week. He is 2-1 with a 3.92 ERA in 20.2 innings this season. Choate has pitched in 11 games with three starts, given up 22 hits, eight walks and struck 15.

SCOUTING THE SALUKIS: Catcher Mark Kelly leads the Salukis at the plate with a .442 batting average, a mark that also leads the Missouri Valley Conference. Meanwhile, in his career against Southeast, Kelly is batting .415 (5-for-11) with two runs scored, two doubles and two RBIs in three games. Two other Salukis are also batting over .300: Aaron Roberts is batting .391, and Adam Hills is htiting for a .336 clip. Ian Reinhart has been the squad's top reliever, with a 2.66 ERA in 21 relief appearances.

RADIO: The game can be heard live in ESPN 1220 AM KGIR or via webcast available at www.espn1220.com. Erik Sean will call the play-by-play while Jess Bolen will provide color commentary.