In 2003, Murray State struggled during the regular season and barely slipped into the Ohio Valley Conference tournament -- yet the Thoroughbreds captured the title to earn an NCAA regional berth.

Southeast Missouri State's Redhawks don't see why they can't do the same in this year's OVC tournament, which begins today at Brooks Stadium in Paducah, Ky.

"I think we have as good a chance as anybody, maybe better, because we've got nothing to lose. Nobody expects us to do anything," senior pitcher Derek Herbig said. "We know we can play with anybody in the league."

The sixth-seeded Redhawks (21-30, 11-16 OVC) play third-seeded Eastern Illinois (31-22, 17-10) at 6:30 p.m. today as the six-team, double-elimination event kicks off.

The tournament champion earns an automatic NCAA regional berth.

"We're going into the tournament hot," senior shortstop Jordan Payne said. "I think we've got as good a chance as anybody."

Southeast's rocky regular season ended on the right foot as the Redhawks beat Tennessee Tech in Saturday's finale to nail down the league tournament's last spot. A loss would have kept them out of the event for the first time in coach Mark Hogan's 12 seasons.

The Redhawks enter the tournament having won four of five games for just the second time all year.

"It hasn't been an easy year for us," Hogan said. "We've got a lot of young guys getting their first taste of Division I baseball and they've had to grow up in a hurry.

"But I'm proud of the way the guys hung in there, and I like the way we finished the season to get into the tournament. Now the slate's clean and we're looking forward to seeing what we can do."

Hogan likes the fact Southeast's offense, which struggled mightily during the first part of the season, has picked up considerably in recent weeks.

After being mired with a team batting average of .217 around the time conference play started, the Redhawks are now up to .269.

Southeast still ranks last in the 10-team OVC in hitting, but just barely, and the Redhawks are actually sixth in league play at .285.

"We've kind of found things offensively up and down the lineup," Hogan said.

Eastern Illinois is the OVC's top-hitting team at .305, and the Panthers rank fourth in conference play at .307.

The Panthers also have a decided edge on the Redhawks in team earned-run average -- 4.59 to 5.21 -- and Eastern Illinois is the OVC's top-fielding team with a .969 percentage, compared to .956 for Southeast.

In addition, the Panthers won two of the three regular-season meetings between the squads during a series in Charleston, Ill. -- yet Hogan likes the first-round matchup.

"I think we match up well with them, and I'm glad we're playing them," Hogan said. "I have a lot of respect for their ballclub, and they're very solid, but I don't think they're a dominant-type team."

The Panthers feature the OVC's top hitter in Erik Huber, who is batting .400, including .423 in conference play, which ranks second. But Eastern Illinois has a league-low 11 home runs.

Southeast features .300-plus hitters in Omar Padilla (.337), Levi Olson (.329) and Dustin Pritchett (.317), while a host of other Redhawks have come on in recent weeks.

Padilla (.368), Olson (.343), Pritchett (.341), Jordan Payne (.333) and freshman Andrew Graham (.306) are all above .300 in conference play. Payne has seven of the Redhawks' 30 homers to lead the way.

"I think we're going to keep hitting, and if our pitching comes through, I think we've got a good chance," Payne said.

Hogan said Anthony Maupin (6-5, 5.12 ERA), who has been the Redhawks' most consistent starter, will get the ball in today's tournament opener.