April 27, 2007

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - (Friday, April 27, 2007) Southeast continues a six-game homestand with a three-game OVC series this weekend against the Eastern Illinois Panthers. The Redhawks (25-17, 10-5 OVC) host fifth-place Eastern Illinois (17-19, 7-7 OVC) for a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday is Redhawks Republican Day at the Ball Park hosted by College Republicans, and Kohlfeld Distributing and Health Facilities Rehab are the game sponsors. The conference set wraps up Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: The Redhawks dropped a pair of midweek games at home to the Memphis Tigers Tuesday and Wednesday. Southeast fell 12-6 Tuesday, and on Wednesday they allowed a season-high 19 runs in the 19-8 loss. Freshman Jim Klocke (St. Louis, Mo./Vianney HS) was 3-for-4 Wednesday, including his second home run of the season, a two-run shot over the wall in right-center. SEMO has scored 30 runs over its last three games dating to Sunday's contest at Austin Peay, but opponents have scored a total of 45 during the three-game stretch.

Senior Asif Shah leads the OVC with five complete games.

AGAINST THE OVC: Southeast's 10-5 OVC record through 15 conference games is its best since 2003 when they had the same record through this point. The 10-5 mark bests the 15-12 record posted against non-conference opponents. Strangely though, Southeast as a team is batting .278 against both OVC and non-OVC foes. However, the difference has come on the mound and in the field. The team ERA against conference opponents is 3.82 compared to a 4.78 "earnie" against the non-conference teams. Southeast has also fielded for a .971 percentage in league play, better than its .959 defensive average in non-league contests.

APRIL FOOL'S: The month of April has not been kind to the Southeast baseball team, who has amassed a 7-10 record during the month. The Redhawks can finish .500 during April at best with a three-game sweep of EIU this weekend. Since the turn of the calendar, the Redhawks are batting .260 and averaging 5.8 runs scored per game. Meanwhile, the pitching staff has an ERA of 5.84 in the 17 games played this month, and the staff's overall ERA has increased from 3.52 to the current 4.44 mark.

Dustin Pritchett had three hits and four RBIs agianst Eastern Illinois in the OVC Tournament last season.

HOME SWEET HOME: Southeast has historically enjoyed success at Capaha Field as they have finished with a home record above .500 each year since making the jump to Division I. This season is no different as the Redhawks have twice as many wins at home as they do losses. In the friendly confines of Capaha, the Redhawks hit, pitch and field better than when on the road (.281/.275, 3.81/5.32, .968/.957). Southeast has particularly fared well against the OVC at home with a 5-1 conference home record. They are just 5-4 in away OVC match-ups.

SOUTHEAST VS. EASTERN ILLINOIS: Southeast leads the all-time series against Eastern Illinois, 21-17. Last year they lost two of three games to the Panthers on the road as EIU swept both games of the Saturday doubleheader, 7-6 and 5-1. However, the Redhawks salvaged game three of the weekend series, 4-3, and had their revenge gainst the Panthers in the O'Reilly/OVC Tournament in Paducah, Ky. In the first round of the tournament, No. 6 seeded Southeast Missouri shocked No. 3 Eastern Illinois 7-6. Outfielder Dustin Pritchett (Kennett, Mo./Forest Park CC) was 3-for-4 against EIU in the tournament with a double, four RBIs, one run scored and a stolen base. The last time the Panthers traveled to Cape Girardeau in 2005, SEMO swept the series by scores of 9-4, 7-2 and 5-3.

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 in the games against Eastern Illinois this weekend while Jess Bolen will provide the color commentary.