Southeast Missouri State baseball team begins OVC tourney quest today

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team already has experienced being the No. 1 seed in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament and any expectations that come with being the team to beat.

When the Redhawks begin the six-team, double-elimination tournament as the regular-season champion today it will be with a different perspective after having their season end in the semifinals as the top seed a year ago.

Southeast will face the lowest seed of the winners of Wednesday night's first-round games at 7 p.m. today at The Ballpark in Jackson, Tennessee. No. 4 Tennessee Tech defeated No. 5 Jacksonville State 5-3. The second game of the night between No. 3 SIU Edwardsville and No. 6 Belmont got a late start due to rain delays.

"I think it's a different feel than what we had last year because last year kind of seemed like there were so many expectations put on that club that everybody was carrying big burdens around and feeling like, 'I can't mess this up,' whereas this year I think there's a little bit more of the sense that we've got to play loose; there's nothing to lose," Southeast coach Steve Bieser said, noting his team has been upbeat and positive since they hit the road for the tournament. "I think it's a sense of confidence that they know that if they play their best game that they are going to win and that's really kind of the message that I think us as a staff is trying to get through to the guys. We've kind of used the slogan all year long, 'It's not about them, it's about us.'"

Southeast won its first game of the tournament against Eastern Illinois last season before losing to Tennessee Tech and eventual tournament champion Jacksonville State for a disappointing end to its first championship season since 2002.

"I've heard some comments, even on the bus back from the banquet, that this is what we came here to do and stuff like that," Bieser said. "Just really positive comments that last year maybe we didn't hear things like that. I think maybe people were kind of keeping that inside. I think this year it's a little bit more outward that they're going to relax and just do the best they can do and play the best they can play, and I think they're confident that if that happens that good things are going to happen in the tournament."

The Redhawks only lost one conference series this season and posted a 33-21 record that included going 23-7 in OVC games. They lost six of their final 10 games of the season, including being swept by non-conference foe Indiana State in three one-run games. One of Southeast's wins during that stretch came against then-No. 21 Missouri.

Bieser remains confident in his team's ability as it heads into the tournament with the league's automatic berth to an NCAA regional on the line.

The Redhawks boast the second-best batting average in conference games at .324, behind only second-seeded Morehead State, which leads the nation in several offensive categories. Eight of Southeast's everyday players finished the regular-season conference schedule with a batting average above .300.

Southeast's team ERA of 3.94 is the best against conference opponents and the Redhawks have the OVC's pitcher of the year in junior lefty Joey Lucchesi, who is 7-1 in conference with a 2.13 ERA and league-best 77 strikeouts.

"I think the reason as a coach that you have to feel good about this team is because of the balance," Bieser said. "I don't look back at the wins and the losses so much over the last week or so; I think it's more about how we played. I think we played well. We didn't find ways to win and that's always concerning, but we were also playing a very good team that had some good pitching that was capable of shutting our offense down for an inning here and an inning there. I think just by the way we played that we are playing good, solid baseball, and I think that can carry over into the tournament."

Southeast will have a free tailgate in front of the stadium two hours prior to each of the Redhawks' tournament games.

The rest of the field

No. 2 Morehead St.

Record: 35-20, 20-10 OVC

The Eagles posted program records for overall (35) and conference (20) wins this season as they finished second in the standings in OVC Coach of the Year Mike Robinson's third year in charge. Morehead won 24 of its last 31 games, but is coming off a 27-7 loss to Murray State on Saturday, which allowed Southeast to lock up the conference championship outright. The Eagles lead the nation with a .334 batting average and .523 slugging percentage. Their 161 doubles, 680 hits and 471 runs also rank first nationally. They have seven every-day players that are batting higher than .315 and had eight players receive all-conference recognition.

Southeast won two out of three games at Morehead in mid-March.

Top Hitters: Chris Robinson .416 average, 74 runs, 67 RBIs, 23 doubles, three triples; Kane Sweeney .349 average, 56 RBIs, 13 home runs, 15 doubles; Brandon Rawe .353 average, 11 home runs, 22 doubles, 65 runs; Nick Newell .374 average, 57 RBIs, 27 doubles; Robby Spencer .344, 66 RBIs, 21 doubles.

Starting Pitchers: Luke Humphreys 4.83 ERA, 76 1/3 IP, 60 K; Craig Pearcy 7.45 ERA, 48 1/3 IP, five saves; David Calderon 8.81 ERA, 48 IP, 37 K

Relievers: Matt Anderson 6.97 ERA, 50 1/3 IP, 66 K; Brent Stoneking 4.70 ERA, 44 IP, 3 saves; Tyler Keele 3.90 ERA, 30 IP, four saves

No. 3 SIU Edwardsville

Record: 20-28, 19-11 OVC

The Cougars will compete in the postseason for a second year in a row in their third year of eligibility. SIUE won seven OVC series, with three sweeps, en route to 19 conference wins -- its most since joining the OVC. Southeast bested the Cougars in Edwardsville, Illinois, with a series win at the end of March.

Oak Ridge graduate Brett Thomas, a senior for SIUE, leads the team in saves this season.

Top hitters: Dustin Woodcock .323 average, .431 OBP, nine doubles, six home runs; Alec Saikal .315 average, 40 RBIs, 10 home runs, nine doubles; Keaton Wright .303 average, .411 OBP, 14 doubles, five home runs.

Starting pitchers: PJ Schuster 4.93 ERA, 73 IP, 67 K; Jarrett Bednar 7.26 ERA, 62 IP, 47 K; Ryan Daniels 8.32 ERA, 61 2/3 IP, 38 BB

Relievers: Brett Thomas 4.19 ERA, 38 2/3 IP, 34 K, six saves; Zach Malach 5.74 ERA, 42 1/3 IP, 37 K, four saves; Ryan Agnitsch 5.80 ERA, 54 1/3 IP, 32 K, one save

No. 4 Tennessee Tech

Record: 25-27, 16-14 OVC

The Golden Eagles were the only team in the conference to hand the Redhawks a series loss. They defeated Southeast 11-5 and 11-10 in the final two games of the season at Capaha Field. TTU avoided a sweep by Eastern Kentucky and kept its season alive with a 10-2 victory on the final day of the regular season.

Top hitters: Dylan Bosheers .333 average, 48 runs, 19 doubles, seven home runs; Tyler Brazelton .314 average, 466 OBP, 10 doubles; Ryan Flick .289 average, 10 home runs, 16 doubles, 57 RBIs

Starting pitchers: Chris Chism 4.66 ERA, 73 1/3 IP, 62 K; Evan Frailex 6.05 ERA, 74 1/3 IP, 41 K; Jacob Honea 8.36 ERA, 28 IP, 24 K

Relievers: Jeb Scoggins; 3.40 ERA, 45 IP, 51 K, 5 saves; Travis Moths 5.85 ERA, 52 1/3 IP, 56 K, one save; Cain Sloan 4.15 ERA, 26 IP, 30 K, three saves.

No. 5 Jacksonville St.

Record: 29-25, 15-14 OVC

A year ago the Gamecocks eliminated every team on its way to winning the conference tournament, including a 6-2 defeat of the Redhawks. JSU, which had four players named first or second-team all-conference and four to the all-freshman team, won two games against UT Martin to close out the season before its regular-season finale was rained out. Southeast swept the Gamecocks in their three-game series at Capaha in mid-April.

Top hitters: Paschal Petrongolo .361 average, 56 RBI, 16 doubles, six home runs; Ryan Sebra .340 average, 54 RBIs, 16 doubles, nine home runs; Gavin Golsan .300 average, 57 runs, 10 doubles, 37 stolen bases

Starting pitchers: Zachary Fowler 3.66 ERA, 86 IP 75 K; Jake Walsh 5.84 ERA 61 2/3 IP, 48 K; Tony Urban 5.93 ERA, 57 2/3 IP, 45 K

Relievers: Travis Stout 3.19 ERA, 31 IP, 13 saves; Justin Hoyt 1.86 ERA, 19 1/3 IP in 19 appearances, .185 opponent's average; Joe McGuire 2.78 ERA, 32 1/3 IP, 36 K, .221 opponent's average

No. 6 Belmont

Record: 27-27, 15-14 OVC

The Bruins boast one of the country's top offenses with the second-most home runs (69) and seventh-most runs (409), which is one spot behind Southeast. Belmont won once against Southeast in the final series of the season. The Bruins were shut out for the first time all season when the Redhawks defeated them 12-0 last Thursday in Nashville.

Top hitters: Drew Ferguson .380 average, 73 RBIs, 21 doubles, 12 home runs; Matt Beaty .378 average, 66 runs, 56 RBIs, 24 doubles, 10 home runs, 24 stolen bases; Tyler Fullerton .358 average, 53 RBIs, 17 doubles, 11 home runs

Starting pitchers: Dan Ludwig 4.67 ERA, 88 2/3 IP, 75 K; Patrick McGrath 4.65 ERA, 69 2/3 IP, .262 opponent's average; Aaron Quillen 3.93 ERA, 68 2/3 IP, 73 K, .238 opponent's average

Relievers: Matt Kinney 1.90 ERA, 47 1/3 IP, 53 K, six saves; Tyler Vaughn 5.44 ERA, 48 IP, 44 K; Josh Tubbs 5.59 ERA, 38 2/3 IP, 29 K, one save