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Cape Girardeau, Mo. (April 25, 2002) - The Southeast Missouri State Indians baseball team will look to lengthen its lead in the OVC this weekend as they play host the the Governors of Austin Peay in a very crucial conference series. The teams will play two games on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. and one on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m.

The Indians are coming off a dramatic win over the No. 16 Cowboys of Oklahoma State, Tuesday 5-3. Pitchers Brandon Smith and Tim Alvarez combined to limit the Cowboys to a season-low five hits and three runs. Senior second baseman Clemente Bonilla had a record three doubles in the game on the way to a 4-4 afternoon.

Austin Peay comes into the series having taken two of three from Morehead State last weekend. They were scheduled to play a game against Memphis, but it was cancelled due to inclement weather. The pre-season OVC favorite is struggling to stay over .500 and is in fourth place in the current conference standings.

The Govs are sixth in the league in hitting behind the leagues fourth best hitter, A.J. Ellis. Ellis is batting .381 on the season with five home runs and 26 RBI's. Michael Johnson has nine homers and 48 RBI's, and leads the team in slugging with a .507 average.

Peay's pitching staff is anchored by two strong starters. Mike Weel, the pitcher of the year two seasons ago, is 6-2 with a 3.55 ERA and leads the team with 55 strikeouts. Tony Mathews is 4-2 with a 5.67 ERA and has 31 strikeouts on the season. Casey Callaway leads the team with 19 appearances and has 32 strikeouts compared to eight walks and has an anemic 2.06 ERA.

Senior catcher Tristen McDonald is still maintaining his stronghold on the team batting average lead wit ha .364 mark. He is second in homers wit h three and first in RBI's with 28. Senior center fielder Vern Hatton is leading the team in runs (32), hits (46), doubles (12), triples (7), total bases (78), slugging percentage (.605), and hit by pitch (6). He continues to be second in the nation in triples per game. Senior second baseman Clemente Bonilla is leading the team in on base percentage wit h a .444 mark. Bonilla has also raised his average from a season-low mark of .212 earlier in April to its high now of .295.

Senior Brandon Smith recorded his seventh win of the season Tuesday against OSU. He is now 7-1, the best record in the league. Senior Brad Purcell continues to be the best pitcher in the league as he has a league-low 2.81 ERA, is first in innings pitched wit h 67.1, and is second in games started with 13. Junior Tim Alvarez lowered his ERA to 2.05 with his performance against OSU.

After this series, the Tribe will travel to Saint Louis to take on the Billikens on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and then will go to Cookeville, Tenn. next weekend and have a three-game series against the Eagles of Tennessee Tech.