Christian makes presence felt in only season at Southeast

For a guy who was away from baseball last year, Justin Christian isn't doing too bad.

Christian, Southeast Missouri State University's senior transfer second baseman, has been able to fill the large shoes of departed star Clemente Bonilla -- and then some.

Along with providing stellar defense for Southeast's rock-solid infield, Christian is third on the team in hitting with a .369 average, third in home runs with 12, third in RBIs with 40, fifth in doubles with 10, second in runs scored with 50 and leads the squad in stolen bases with 15 while being thrown out just twice.

Christian also ranks among the Ohio Valley Conference's top 10 in seven major statistical categories, including second in stolen bases, fourth in runs scored, fifth in home runs and eighth in batting average.

"He's been a tremendous addition to our program," Southeast coach Mark Hogan said. "We needed a second baseman after Clemente graduated and Justin has been a perfect fit for us. He's not only been so solid defensively, but he's given us another really big bat. He's just been really good all year."

Christian, from San Mateo, Calif. -- which is near San Francisco -- is happy to be at Southeast (27-18) and he's thrilled to finally be playing baseball again after missing last season with a shoulder injury.

"I'm glad to be here and I'm really happy to be playing again at a high level," he said.

Christian started at the University of Auburn during the 2001 season, batting .259 and ranking second on the team in stolen bases with 18 as he helped lead the Tigers to an NCAA regional berth.

Christian left Auburn, where he had been hampered by a bad shoulder, following his junior year so he could return to California and pursue a professional baseball career. But the shoulder continued to cause problems, forcing him to sit out all of last season.

Then, figuring it would be good if he used his final season of collegiate eligibility, Southeast entered the picture. Christian said his coach at Skyline Junior College in California, which he attended before heading to Auburn, knew Southeast assistant coach Scott Southard and was familiar with the Indians' program.

"My junior college coach told me if I needed a good place to play, I should think about Southeast," Christian said. "I kind of came here on a whim, but the coaches here gave me a chance and I'm thankful for that. It's worked out well."

Christian said he isn't surprised that his batting average is more than 100 points higher this season than it was during his year at Auburn.

"With the injuries I had at Auburn, I couldn't nearly reach my potential. I played hurt there," he said. "It feels good to finally be healthy and contributing like this."

Although the Indians have been eliminated from repeating as OVC regular-season champions, Christian figures they have a strong chance to make the NCAA regional for the second year in a row. The OVC Tournament winner earns an automatic regional berth.

"I feel like we've got a good shot," he said. "I played in the regional in 2001 at Auburn and I know they made it here last year. It's always a big thrill and that's our goal."Tech, AP to decide title

Tennessee Tech (12-4) and Austin Peay (12-4-1) will decide the OVC regular-season title this weekend as they play a three-game series at Tech's field in Cookeville, Tenn.

Southeast (11-6) is in third place. The Indians close out the regular season this weekend with a three-game series at fourth-place Murray State (9-8). There will be a 1 p.m. doubleheader Friday and a 2 p.m. contest Saturday.

Even if the Indians win all three games and finish 14-6, either Tech or Peay is mathematically guaranteed of finishing ahead of Southeast by at least percentage points.

Despite Sunday's surprising loss to Morehead State, the Indians have won six of their last seven OVC games, which would usually have been enough to keep them in the title chase until the final weekend.

But Tech and Peay have been even better down the stretch. Tech has won five straight OVC games and eight of nine. Peay has won six consecutive league games since losing to Southeast on April 27, the finale of a series in which the Indians took two of three from the Governors.

"You've just got to hand it to those two teams," Hogan said. "We'd won six in a row in the conference but we never could get in first place because they kept winning."

In addition to taking two of three against Peay, the Indians beat Tech twice, with the third game of the series rained out. But the Indians stumbled some against several of the conference teams that have not fared well.

The six-team OVC Tournament will be played May 21-24 in Paducah, Ky.