Around the Ohio Valley: May 17

The conference just wrapped up the OVC softball tournament hosted at UT Martin this past weekend. Great weekend of competitive softball, and if you missed it, Jacksonville State came away as champions! Here is a link to the article:

Jacksonville State wins 2010 OVC Softball Tournament

Here are some more headlines from around the league in this weekend's Around the Ohio Valley:

• Austin Peay Women's Tennis lost 4-0 to 13th Ranked Georgia Tech in the NCAA regional, in the Gov's first ever NCAA Championship appearance.
• Eastern Illinois senior Erin O’Grady turned in the best performance of her career setting the school record in the steeplechase with a time of 10:44.45 at the Louisville Cardinal Twilight for the Panters' last meet of the season.
• In the program’s first ever appearance in the NCAA men’s tennis championships, Eastern Kentucky fell to nationally-ranked Louisville Saturday afternoon, 4-0. The OVC champion Colonels had their 11-match winning streak snapped and conclude the year 18-9 overall.
• The Jacksonville State softball will face Georigia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Regional, after beating No. 1 ranked UT Martin in 5 innings in the OVC championship game; With an 11-3 win over Eastern Kentucky Sunday, the baseball team secured a spot in the 2010 OVC baseball tournament.
• Morehead State's Drew Lee broke the career record for doubles and homered, but it wasn't enough as Morehead State dropped game one of Saturday's doubleheader at Murray State 7-5.
• Murray State's Bryan Propst delivered a two-run home run to left field to cap off a four-run seventh inning as the Breds rallied for a 7-5 victory over Morehead State in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Reagan Field. Wes Cunningham had an RBI triple down the right-field line, his sixth of the season tying the single-season record Noonan led the offense with three hits, while Cunningham, Moore, Hodskins and Tiernan each collected two hits each.
• With its win over Austin Peay Sunday, the Southeast Missouri baseball team punched its ticket to the 2010 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. This year marks the 16th-straight where the Redhawks have made the OVC Tournament. Jim Klocke tied the school's all-time career RBI record and Kenton Parmley broke the school's single-season record in runs scored in a 10-3 win.
• Tennesee Tech's baseball loss to UT Martin breaks the Golden Eagles 11-game win streak in the Ohio Valley Conference and prevented the fourth straight series sweep for the Golden Eagles, who's domination over EIU, Morehead State and APSU fueled them to second place in the OVC.
• UT Martin's softball team's winningest season in history came to a close much earlier than anticipated when the Skyhawks failed to hear their name called during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show Sunday night. UT Martin finishes the year with a record of 47-11, which is more wins than 60 of the 64 teams in the field. The Skyhawks were upset in the finals of the OVC tournament, losing the championship game 10-1.

Around the Ohio Valley: May 11

Spring sports are winding down for the OVC, as the softball tournament is this weekend and the baseball tournament will be held in two weeks. But there is still plenty to talk about, so here is your Around the Ohio Valley wrap-up for the week.

And as always, don't forget to vote on our poll. Last week we asked you who should be the softball player MVP and these were your results:

Kayla Ashbrook, Morehead State: 6
Megan Williams, UT Martin: 3
Jenny Bain, UT Martin: 1

This week we are asking you who will win the OVC softball tournament? Go vote!

• Austin Peay baseball stands at 22-19, 4-8 in the OVC, two spots out of tournament contention heading into the final games of the season. Here is what they need to do to squeeze into the tournament field.
• Eastern Illinois' Alex Gee’s four home runs and nine RBIs in the weekend series at Jacksonville State has earned the senior Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week honors from Collegiate Baseball.
• Eastern Kentucky junior Noelani Esperas tossed a five inning no-hitter as the Colonel softball team finished off its 2010 season with an 8-0 victory over Austin Peay on Sunday at Gertrude Hood Field. With the win, the Colonels edge the Govs for 7th place in the OVC, but the team just missed the field for the OVC softball tournament.
• The Jacksonville State softball team swept the Ohio Valley Conference’s weekly awards as Chrissy O’Neal and Ashley Eliasson were this week’s Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively as they helped guide their team to a weekend sweep of TSU. The sweep gave them the No. 2 seed at this weekend's OVC championships.
• Morehead State's Kenneth Faried waited until the Mother's Day deadline to announce he will be returning to MSU for his senior season. Others joined the OVC as well.
• The Murray State softball team clinched a spot in the 2010 Ohio Valley Conference Championship in its inaugural season with a split of its weekend series with Eastern Illinois; MSU men's golf learned they will be the 12th seed in the Notre Dame Regional of the NCAA golf championships May 20-22.
• Michael Adamson of SEMO baseball has been selected to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award watch list today by the College Baseball Foundation. He is one of 25 players nationally rewarded for players that make a difference at the plate and on the mound. The OVC has the second most players from its conference on the list, as the SEC leads with 4; Sophomore Kenton Parmley has named to the watch list for the Brooks Wallace Shortstop Award, which has been narrowed down to the top 25 shortstops in the nation.
• SIUE Track and Field signs three area standouts. Emily Conlon (Ballwin, Mo.), Renee Goodenough (University City, Mo.) and Hilary Conrad (O'Fallon, Ill.) will join the Cougar track and field team next season. Conlon and Goodenough will also compete for the SIUE cross country team.
• Tennessee State University Tigerbelle Martinique Guice will look to strengthen her chances of qualifying for the NCAA East Regional Track and Field Championship when she competes in the Georgia Tech Invitational. Guice is currently ranked 41st in the East region in the long jump with the top 48 in each event qualifying automatically for the regional meet later this month.
• The Tennessee Tech baseball team extended its Ohio Valley Conference winning streak to nine games Sunday, completing a three-game series sweep over Austin Peay with a 10-2 victory in Bush Stadium. The win put the Golden Eagles at second place in the OVC; the Golden Eagles softball team lost its final game of the season to SEMO, but two wins in the series the day before secured Tech a spot in the OVC softball championships. The team earned the sixth and final spot.
• UT Martin junior first baseman Wes Patterson connected on his 33rd career home run to become the all-time Martin home run leader today; the 2010 OVC softball tournament field is set, as UT Martin prepares to host the championships this weekend. The team has the No. 1 overall seed, and has a first round bye.

Have a story we missed? Comment and tell us, and we will post it!

Around the Ohio Valley: May 7

Here is your weekly rundown of headlines from around the Ohio Valley. We've got lots about softball. With the championships coming up next weekend, don't forget to vote on our poll for who you think is this year's MVP.

Got a story we missed? Send it to us, and we'll post it!

• APSU's Carrie Burggraf was awarded one of just 174 Postgraduate Scholarships awarded by the NCAA. The senior Pole Vaulter is one of the most decorated athletes at Austin Peay; Designated Hitter Matt Kole was named CoSida Academic All-District First Team; Catie Cozart, sophomore shortstop was named to the CoSida Academic All-District Second Team.
  
• EIU Panthers men's and women's track team head to Billy Hayes Invitational at Indiana University this weekend to try to improve upon times this season before the regional meet in two weeks; EIU baseball travels to Jacksonville State for the first time since 2007 for its final OVC matchup. The team is currently in 6th place, while JSU is in 3rd.
• Eastern Kentucky softball will matchup with Austin Peay this weekend, as the two teams battle for one of two spots remaining in the OVC tournament. The Lady Govs (15-33, 7-12 OVC) are a half-game in front of Eastern in the seventh spot. The Colonels (13-33, 7-13 OVC) are currently in eighth place. EKU will need help from other teams in order to get in.
• JSU's Todd Cunningham tied the Ohio Valley Conference career triples record with 16 earlier in the game and finished with three hits to lead the Gamecocks in a 13-11 loss to Troy. The Gamecocks had a 9-5 lead but the Trojans rallied with four runs in the seventh inning to beat the third place OVC team.
• Coach Donnie Tyndall and the rest of Eagle Nation at Morehead State is anxiously awaiting the decision of Kenneth Faried, who has until May 8 to either turn professional and enter the NBA draft or use his final year of eligibility at MSU. As Faried was a big reason the team made it to the OVC championship game, the decision is a major one for the program.
• Murray Senior Wes Cunningham has been named to the CoSida Academic All-District First Team for the third straight year; The Murray women's golf team is competing in its second round of the NCAA regional in Columbus, Ind. Murray shot a 336 in round one for a spot in 22nd place.
• Southeast Missouri baseball (27-17) will dip out of conference this weekend for a three-game series against Big 12 foe Nebraska (20-24). This weekend marks the first time these two teams have met. SEMO is currently in first place in the OVC; Seniors Jim Klocke and Kyle Gumieny were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII Baseball Team Thursday.
• SIU Carbondale swept the SIUe Cougars baseball team, to extend its nine-game losing streak. SIUE scored twice in the top of the fifth inning to get back on top 5-4, but couldn't hold the lead. The teams travels to Bradley for a double header Saturday.
• The Tennessee State softball team will conclude the 2010 regular season on the road at Jacksonville State this weekend. The Tigers' final home games of the season scheduled for this past weekend were cancelled due to the weather conditions in the Nashville area.
• Tennessee Tech softball needs at least two wins this weekend to guarantee themselves a spot in the OVC tournament. The Golden Eagles currently sit in the sixth and final spot, Murray State is in the fifth seed, half a game ahead of Tech. The Golden Eagles are 1.5 games ahead of seventh place Austin Peay and two games ahead of eighth-place Eastern Kentucky.
• UT Martin women's basketball coach Kevin McMillan will take his young Skyhawks, which will include 10 freshman next year, on a summer foreign tour to Ottawa, Canada with the hopes of building team chemistry. With the "youngest team" in the league last year, McMillan was able to guide his team to the NCAA tournament. Coach will face a similar test next season.
  

OVC Insider - Episode 12 Now Available

The webisode companion to our blog, fans can now watch episode No. 12 of "OVC Insider" to catch-up on the latest news and information from around the league.

Below is the 12th episode hosted by OVC interns Grant Finley and Viki Arias.

Please let us know what you think and if you have any topics you would like to see covered in a future episode.

Around the Ohio Valley: May 4

It's a new month, and we wanted to start out with some headlines from around the league to get you started.

• The Austin Peay Lady Gov's tennis team will celebrate its OVC Championship and learn of its NCAA parings today, after beating Eastern Kentucky in the OVC Tennis Championships last week. APSU has The OVC Player of the Year (Vanja Tomic) and Freshman of the Year (Carolin Weikard) on its team.
• The EIU Panthers had a great showing at the track and field championships over the weekend as both men and women swept the titles. Zye Boey won male athlete of the championship, Kandace Arnold won female athlete of the championship.
• The Eastern Kentucky Colonels men's and women's track and field teams finished in third place at the OVC Track and Field Championships. EKU softball and baseball matchups this weekend were rained out. The Colonels won eight individual titles at the meet.
• JSU's Elizabeth Bond won OVC Freshman Track and Field Athlete of the Year. The freshman qualified for the USA Track and Field Junior National Championships in the 400 meter for her performance at the Ole Miss Invite.
• Morehead State signed high school basketball standout Dionte Ferguson to a National Letter of Intent. The Eagles also signed Brianna Athey, Jami Whitcomb, and Kelcey McMurray to its softball program. Softball and baseball matchups were also rained out over the weekend.
• Senior Wes Cunningham set a new single-season home run record at Murray belting his 17th homerun in a 13-9 victory over SEMO over the weekend. Last week, both the Murray men and women won the OVC Golf Championships, becoming only the second school that has ever won both titles in the same year. The women have been named to the NCAA Central Region while the men have yet to find out.
• SEMO track and field teams finished in second place at the OVC Track and Field Championships. Individually the Redhawks captured four individual titles and 15 top-three finishes on Saturday.
• Despite rainy conditions, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville freshman Kaleb Henry qualified for his second event at U.S. Junior Nationals.
• TSU Tigerbells had strong showings in field events at the OVC Track and Field Championships over the weekend. Martinique Guice returned as long jump champion.
• Tennessee Tech's Charles Newton travel to East Asia at the end of the Spring semester to participate in Reach USA- a christian ministry that bridges the gap between basketball and belief.
• Senior pitcher for UT Martin Paij Lintz became the program's all-time strikeouts leader in a 2-0 shutout win over Southeast Missouri that additionally clinched the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title.