It has been 12 years since the Southeast Missouri State University baseball team (31-16) has won the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship, but with its conference record of 21-6 it is in first place and on pace to win it.
The Redhawks are one win away from clinching a share of the championship and two wins away from claiming the title outright. They will play their final conference series on the road against the reigning regular-season conference champions Tennessee Tech (36-13, 16-8 OVC).
"That's something right now that we feel very blessed to be in that position," coach Steve Bieser said. "We know that there is still a lot of work to be done and our guys are continuing to work hard every day to secure that No. 1 spot in conference that goes along with giving us the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. We know that everything will be on the line that last weekend and we've got to be ready for that competition there [at Tennessee Tech]."
Southeast was picked to finish sixth in the conference standings this season, as they were the year before by the OVC head baseball coaches.
"Lately, we've been that fifth/sixth seed and we've went in and played very well in the conference tournament," Bieser said. "The goal is to be playing your best baseball at the end of the year. We've got a system that we feel that keeps our players fresh, keeps them kind of motivated and the guys have done a great job of really staying locked in to the process."
In Bieser's second season as the coach for the Redhawks, he has compiled an overall record of 57-49 and an OVC record of 34-23.
Bieser and the team will compete in a record 20th consecutive OVC tournament and could compete in the NCAA baseball tournament if it wins the conference tournament. Austin Peay won last season.
"Our goal is to win a conference championship and play in an NCAA regional, something Southeast hasn't done here in a while," senior outfielder Derek Gibson said. "We have been blessed with a great community, campus and student body who has been behind us the whole way and we feel like they deserve a conference championship. We're going to do everything we can to bring it home to Cape."
Gibson and senior first baseman Matt Tellor have been a major part of the Redhawks success. They are leading the team in 11 categories.
Gibson currently ranks 10th in the country with his .404 batting average and is ranked sixth in the nation with 56 RBIs. He leads the team in batting average and hits (74).
Gibson also has a 21-game hitting streak that is the longest of any player in the OVC this season.
Tellor is two hits ahead of Gibson with 76 and has recorded 14 home runs, which makes him tied for fifth in the nation.
Tellor also ranks third in the nation with 60 RBIs.
Both Gibson and Tellor have each been named the OVC Player of the Week twice this season and junior pitchers Travis Hayes and Tyler Iago have been named OVC Pitcher of the Week.
Hayes and Iago have combined for 11 of Southeast's victories this season and both have struck out more than 80 batters combined.
"It's always a good feeling to have success and see a plan come together after countless hours of hard work and preparation," Gibson said. "I think it's a reflection of the type of group that we have. We have worked extremely hard to achieve a high level of play and we have been consistent throughout the season at finding ways to win ball games."
The final regular season game for the Redhawks will be in Fort Wayne, Ind., against IPFW (18-28) on May 17.
Four days later, the OVC Tournament will begin in Jackson, Tenn. The team hopes to be the No. 1 seed, which it has not been since 2002 when it won the regular-season championship.
"We obviously want to win the OVC tournament," Gibson said. "I think our focus right now is to win the regular season and get the No. 1 seed in the tournament, which essentially gives you the best chance to win because the one and two seeded teams both get a bye. Playing one less game is huge because of the impact on pitching and keeping guys fresh. We are extremely excited about the opportunity ahead of us."
