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Cape Girardeau, Mo. (May 17, 2002) - The Southeast Missouri State baseball team will conclude the regular season this weekend with a trip to Morehead, Ky. to take on the Eagles of Morehead State University.

Southeast is coming off two big victories against the University of Arkansas. Junior pitcher Tim Alvarez threw a complete game three-hitter to earn the first win, 5-1 and senior pitcher Brad Purcell picked up his 10th victory of the season in the second win, 5-4.

Morehead has won its last seven games in a row against out-of-conference foes in East Tennessee, Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne and Kentucky, but was swept in its last OVC action at the hands of Eastern Illinois. They sit at 8-9 in the conference and are fifth in the league going into the final weekend.

The Eagles are the top offensive team in the conference batting .339 which is ninth in the nation. They lead the conference in home runs with 120, a new OVC record, and scoring with 472 runs. They are seventh in the nation in scoring. Senior Bubba Lavender and junior Cary Page have been the story this year for the Eagles. Both broke school and OVC records for home runs in a season, with Page holding the current mark at 26. The two are second and third in the nation in home runs. Lavender has 23 and is second on the team in average with a .381 mark behind Casey Gilvin's mark of .399.

Morehead's pitching staff has been a different story, though. They have a team ERA of 7.81. They are led by Jason Keck who is 3-2 with a 5.79 ERA. Augie Cabral is 1-2 with a 6.14 ERA and Eddy Buyshelman is 3-4 with a 9.69 ERA.

Southeast's batting title race has heated up as junior third baseman Denver Stuckey has raised his average to within three points of leader, senior centerfielder Vern Hatton. Hatton sits at .369 while Stuckey is .366. Junior catcher Tristen McDonald overtook the home run race with his 7th at Arkansas, while Hatton still leads the team in RBI's.

Senior pitcher Brad Purcell moved his OVC leading record to 10-2 on the season with a 5-4 victory over Arkansas. Junior pitcher Tim Alvarez limited the Razorbacks to just three hits in earning his 5th win of the season and lowering his OVC-leading average to 3.00. Senior Brandon Smith has a 9-2 record and earned his third career save at Arkansas Wednesday.

The Tribe will next travel to Paducah, Ky. to participate in the OVC Tournament. They will be the No. 1 seed and will either play at 3 or 7 p.m. on Wednesday.