OTAHKS CRUSH UTM, STAY PERFECT IN OVC

The acronym OVC doesn't stand for the Otahkian Valley Conference, but maybe it should -- at least during softball season.

Southeast's softball team improved to 6-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference with a dominating doubleheader sweep over OVC foe Tennessee-Martin Tuesday.

The Otahks (16-11) won the opener 8-0 in five innings and closed the twinbill with a 12-5 win. The injury-plagued Skyhawks fell to 3-25 overall and 1-4 in the OVC.

Such easy wins in the OVC are nothing new for Southeast.

The Otahkians have owned the conference this season and have won four straight conference titles. Last year, Southeast finished its season with a 16-2 OVC record. Since 1995, Southeast -- under the coaching of Lana Richmond -- is 86-13 in league play.

So far this season, the Otahkians have outscored their OVC opponents 37-9.

Southeast's one-two punch of starting pitchers Christine Engelhardt and Debbie Schmelz are certainly one of the keys to the team's OVC success.

Engelhardt (9-4) and Schmelz (7-7) combined for 8 2-3 innings of shutout ball during the two games, while Southeast's lineup pounded out 25 hits.

"I was feeling pretty good today," said Englegardt, who started the game with a 1.63 earned run average. "My catcher and I were working together really well.

"We've been turning it on pretty well. We've been picking it up with the bats."

Angie Godfrey pitched in relief of both games after the Otahkians obtained big leads. Godfrey encountered trouble in the second game and Schmelz re-entered as a stopper.

Englehardt struck out seven in just three innings of work Tuesday. She allowed no hits and walked one.

"We've got 10 games this week, so we've got a lot of games to play. Eight of them are in the conference," Richmond said. "We feel like we can win out in the conference ... My two senior starters have a lot of innings to pitch and we wanted them to pitch three innings."

Southeast's offense was as impressive as the pitching. In the first game, the Otahkians spanked 13 hits, scoring two runs in the first, one in the second, four in the third and another in the fifth.

Standout senior shortstop Jenny Oermann went 3-for-3 with a homer, two singles, two runs scored and two RBIs in the first game. Her two-run shot to left accounted for Southeast's runs in the first.

Southeast had its first six batters reach base in its four-run third.

In the second game, first baseman Jenni Gaines put on a show.

The junior infielder from St. Louis didn't play the first game, but went 3-for-3 with five RBIs in the second. She was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. The No. 8 batter also scored a run and stole a base.

"It's good to see her come out and hit the ball," Richmond said. "She struggled early in the season. But I thought we had a lot of people contribute."

Southeast scored five in the first, three in the third and four in the sixth. The Skyhawks scored two in the fourth and three in the fifth.

The big hit in the first was a bases-loaded, two-out double by Gaines that cleared the bases.

Gaines' two-run shot to left in the third seemed to bust the game open, but UTM -- which has a slew of players out with injuries including two pitchers -- took advantage of some errors and timely hitting in the fourth and fifth innings to cut the lead to 8-5.

Missy Rudy (2-15), one of only two pitchers available for UTM on Tuesday, suffered both losses. The other available hurler hasn't pitched in two years. Rudy allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 13 hits and a walk in the first game, while striking out one. In the second game, she allowed 12 runs (eight earned) on 12 hits and three walks.

In all, Rudy faced 62 batters in 10 innings and threw more than 190 pitches.

"I'm a little achy, but we'll make it," Rudy said. "We have another girl who can pitch, but she hasn't thrown in a couple years. We're trying to get her back in pitching shape so the rest of the season goes a little smoother."