MOTHER NATURE DELAYS OVC TOURNEY

The hopes of both Southeast Missouri State University and Middle Tennessee to advance into the winner's bracket final of the Ohio Valley Conference baseball tournament were put on hold Thursday night -- at least temporarily -- by Mother Nature.

Squaring off in the finale of four games played on the opening day of the six-team event at Capaha Field, Southeast and Middle Tennessee were barely under way in what looked like a dandy winner's bracket semifinal when forces beyond their control took over.

With Southeast's Darin Kinsolving leading off to start the bottom of the second inning, word came that a tornado warning had been issued. As one might expect, tournament officials halted play and the field was covered.

"There's really nothing you can do about it," said Southeast athletic director Don Kaverman. "Our only choice was to stop the game and allow everybody to get to a safe area."

At the time of the delay, which came at 8:50 p.m., the game was scoreless and neither team had yet had a runner reach base.

Lanson Debrock, the starter for second-seeded Southeast (35-15), had retired the first six batters he faced. Jeff Parsons, the starter for third-seeded Middle Tennessee (34-21), had fanned two of the three Indians he faced in the opening inning.

The squads finally resumed play at 10:20 p.m. after a delay of 1:30. As the Southeast Missourian went to press, Southeast led 2-1 after six innings.

Both Debrock and Parsons picked up where they left off prior to the delay with exceptional pitching.

Southeast took a 1-0 lead shortly after play resumed as Phil Warren hit a one-out solo home run in the second inning. Middle Tennessee tied things in the fourth with two outs as Josh Pride singled and Bryan Peck delivered an RBI double. Southeast went back up 2-1in the sixth on a two-out homer to right by OVC Player of the Year Jeremy Johnson. It was Johnson's league-leading 19th home run of the season.

Thursday's three other tourney games were all down-to-the-wire affairs. In the most `lopsided' of the trio, top-seeded Eastern Kentucky (30-25) moved into the winner's bracket final by pulling away late for a 5-2 win over fourth-seeded Austin Peay (32-26).

Things couldn't have gotten any closer in the two elimination contests that kicked off the action Thursday as Austin Peay used a game-ending grand slam to stun fifth-seeded Murray State (20-31) 8-7 and Middle Tennessee held off sixth-seeded Eastern Illinois (22-33) 4-3.

Today's schedule will feature three games, beginning at noon as Austin Peay takes on the Southeast-Middle Tennessee loser in an elimination contest.

At 3:30 p.m., Eastern Kentucky will play the Southeast-Middle Tennessee victor in the winner's bracket final. Then at 7 p.m., there will be another elimination game, after which the original six-team field will be sliced to two squads for Saturday's championship round.

Following is a rundown of Thursday's three games that were completed:

Eastern Kentucky 5

Austin Peay 2

Corey Eagle was rock solid to lead OVC regular-season champion Eastern Kentucky into the winner's bracket final.

Eagle (9-6) pitched eight innings for the win, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out nine and walking four.

"Corey has got a lot of heart," said Eastern Kentucky coach Jim Ward. "He's a great competitor and he's been throwing the ball well."

Tony O'Donnell (6-5) pitched well in defeat as he allowed eight hits and four runs in 7 1/3 innings. He fanned six and walked three.

The Colonels broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fourth inning as Gabe Thomas doubled and scored on a two-out single by Brad Sizemore.

Eastern Kentucky added two insurance runs in the eighth, the first coming in Lee Chapman's solo home run.

Chapman, Thomas and Aaron Williams all had two of the Colonels' nine hits.

Joseph Peer delivered three of Austin Peay's six hits while A.J. Ellis added two.

"It was a really good game. All the games have been. It's a great showcase for the OVC," Ward said. "Winning that first one is huge for us. You get in that loser's bracket and it's really tough."

Austin Peay 8

Murray State 7

It would be hard to imagine a more thrilling finish than what transpired in this tourney-opening contest that rudely ended the season for Murray State.

The Thoroughbreds, who trailed 4-0 after three innings, had rallied to take a 7-4 lead behind the brilliant relief pitching of Jason Glosser, who appeared poised to close out the victory.

But the Govs loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, then Ben Fuller lofted a 1-2 pitch over the right-field fence for a game-ending grand slam.

Glosser who came on in the third inning in relief of ineffective starter Chris Gray, hurled six shutout innings before faltering in the ninth. Glosser (4-3) allowed six hits while striking out 10 and walking two.

Austin Peay reliever Klint Rommel (2-1) got the win as he hurled the final 2 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and two runs (one earned).

Govs' starter Mike Weel, the OVC Pitcher of the Year, gave up five hits and five runs (two earned) in 6 1/3 innings.

The Govs helped the Thoroughbreds rally in the seventh as Murray State scored six runs, but only two were earned thanks to three Austin Peay errors.

Austin Peay had 12 hits, led by Lance Wampler with three and Buddy Dubois with two. Wampler and Ellis hit solo homers for the Govs.

Billy Moore and Garner Byars both had two of Murray State's eight hits. Justin Varitek and Woody Winchester each added two RBIs.

Middle Tennessee 4

Eastern Illinois 3

This elimination game also featured a down-to-the-wire finish as the contest ended with Eastern Illinois having the bases loaded in the top of the ninth.

Brad Howard, Middle Tennessee's third hurler, needed just one pitch to end things as he got Keith Laski on a ground ball with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth. Raiders' shortstop Wes Whitehead made a nice play in the hole and flipped to second baseman Josh Renick for the force.

Dewon Brazelton (7-3) pitched eight strong innings for the win as he allowed nine hits and three runs while fanning three and walking two.

Nick Albu (5-4) suffered the loss. He gave up eight hits and four runs in 6 1/3 innings. Scott Metz hurled 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Bryan Peck gave the Raiders an early advantage with a three-run first-inning homer, boosting his OVC-leading RBI total to 71. But Middle Tennessee's only other run came as the result of an Albu balk in the sixth.

The Panthers chipped away with single runs in the third, sixth and ninth before their rally fell just short.

Kris Lammers and Justin Links both had three of Middle Tennessee's eight hits.

Chris Martin and Dave Pohlman each had two of Eastern Illinois' nine hits.

OVC Baseball Tournament

(at Capaha Field)

Thursday's Results

Game 1 -- Austin Peay 8, Murray State 7

Game 2 -- Middle Tennessee 4, Eastern Illinois 3

Game 3 -- Eastern Kentucky 5, Austin Peay 2

Game 4 -- Southeast Missouri 2, Middle Tennessee 2, 8 inn., suspended

Friday's Results

Game 4 -- Southeast Missouri x, Middle Tennessee x, completion of suspended game

Game 5 -- Austin Peay vs. Game 4 loser

Game 6 -- Eastern Kentucky vs. Game 4 winner

Game 7 -- Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 loser

Today's Games

Championship

1 p.m. (Game 8) -- Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner

(If Game 8 winner has one previous tournament loss, then Game 9 will be played 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 8)