Indians face first OVC test with doubleheader today

Southeast Missouri State University's baseball team has already played 19 games, but in reality, the Indians' season begins today.

It's not that what the Indians have done to this point is meaningless. But coach Mark Hogan and his players know that ultimately the season will be judged on how the Indians perform in the Ohio Valley Conference.

The OVC schedule kicks off today when Tennessee Tech visits Capaha Field for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. It will be Kohlfeld Distributing Day with free food and beverages provided by the local beer distributor.

Southeast and Tech will conclude their three-game series at 1 p.m. Sunday.

"Everybody's record is 0-0 going into this weekend," Hogan said. "This is when the games really start to mean a lot more."

The Indians, the defending OVC regular-season and tournament champions, were picked in the preseason poll to successfully defend their title. So far they have done nothing to dispute that, shaking off a slow start against rugged competition to win their last eight games and improve their record to 11-8.

"Our pitching has come around the last few weeks, and we seem to be clicking pretty good right now," catcher Tristen McDonald said. "I think we're ready for the conference."

Tech is 11-13, but the Eagles will be dangerous, Hogan said. They lost to Southeast twice to close out last year's OVC Tournament and returned many of their key players, as did the Indians.

"I think Tennessee Tech will be one of the better teams in the OVC," Hogan said. "They have some excellent players, and I expect a great battle this weekend."

In the most recent OVC statistics, Tech led the league in both batting average and earned-run average, which Hogan said indicates how much of a challenge the Eagles figure to present the Indians.

The Eagles have a robust .316 batting mark led by Casey Benjamin, the league's leading hitter at .473. He also is first in doubles with 11 and runs batted in with 29 as Tech averages better than seven runs per game. Benjamin has three home runs.

Carlos Martin is batting .405 with six homers and 26 RBIs, while Ryan Hay is at .378 with three homers, nine doubles and 23 RBIs. Three other Eagles are hitting .310 or better.

In the pitching department, the Eagles have a 4.88 ERA. Their top starters have been Doug Vincent (3-2, 3.55), Ben Downs (3-0, 3.77) and Dusty Eubanks (3-1, 4.64).

"They've got a very good lineup and outstanding pitching," Hogan said.

Southeast counters with a .292 batting average and a 5.51 ERA, both figures having improved dramatically during the current winning streak.

Batting above .300 are Zach Borowiak (.347, four homers, nine doubles, 21 RBIs); Aaron Fangman (.343); McDonald (.338); Brian Hopkins (.324, two homers, 14 RBIs); and Justin Christian (.314, four homers, 15 RBIs).

The Indians have the OVC's runaway wins and ERA leader in Tim Alvarez (7-0, 1.43).

Alvarez will start today's nine-inning first game, which is a change from previous years when OVC doubleheaders consisted of two seven-inning contests. The second games of league doubleheaders will still be seven innings and Sunday's series finales will continue to be nine innings.

Hogan said either Ryan Forsyth (2-0, 5.11) or Bill Clayton (0-2, 8.25) will start today's second game, with Jon Nourie (1-2, 7.71) to likely get the nod Sunday. Despite fairly inflated earned-run averages, Forsyth and Nourie have been solid in recent outings while the hard-throwing Clayton has struggled with some arm problems.

"It's very important to get off to a good start in the conference," Hogan said. "This is a big series for both teams and especially for us because we're at home."