Morehead State Eagles Loom As Important Series For Softball Otahkians :: Southeast looking to put itself it good position for OVC Tournament in two weeks.

Southeast looking to put itself it good position for OVC Tournament in two weeks.

April 19, 2002

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Southeast (10-22, 7-10 OVC)
vs.Morehead State Eagles (9-26-1, 5-8-1)
April 20, 2002, 12:00 p.m. (DH)
April 21, 2002, 12:00 p.m.
Morehead, Ky. - University Field (500)
All-Time Series: Southeast leads 32-3.

About Southeast: A little more than halfway through the next to last week of the regular season, the Southeast Missouri softball team has taken care of the first part of business, winning two of its first three games of the week. Most recently, the Otahkians recorded their second shutout of the season, a 4-0 blanking of Eastern Illinois.

In that game, freshman pitcher Kelly Birk pitched her second complete game shutout in less than the week, a sparkling four hitter than propelled her to her fifth victory of the season. Her five victories are half the total of the Southeast team. Birk now has a team-low E.R.A. of 3.10.

Birk has also been doing it with her stick, as again for the second time in less than a week, she has a two-run hit double that ended up being the game-winning hit.

SS Dawn Piantino extended her hitting streak to six games, the second longest on the team behind Brooke Nett's seven game streak earlier in the year. Piantino leads the team in batting at .309.

Morehead State is currently on a five-game losing skid, including three in a row in the conference. Offensively, the Eagles are led by junior college transfer Toni Orr who is batting .321, the highest on the team. On the mound, Molly Cope leads the team in wins (6), E.R.A. (3.85), innings (121.2) and strikeouts (65).

Southeast leads the overall series 32-2, including five in a row. Last season, the Otahkians swept a three-game series at the completion of the regular season in Cape Girardeau.

After an Austin Peay victory over Tennessee State yesterday, Southeast sits in sixth place in winning percentage in OVC, although they are in fourth place in total victories. A sweep of Morehead would guarantee the Otahkians a place in the OVC Tournament and possibly a number four seed depending on what the rest of the league does this weekend and next week.