The word journeyman is not usually associated with college baseball players.

But Asif Shah’s collegiate career has seen him play for three different teams in four years.

The senior pitcher and outfielder at Southeast Missouri began his college career at Akron in Akron, Ohio, after being named the Ohio state player of the year in 2003 out of Cincinnati Country Day School.

Shah played only one year at Akron before transferring to Wabash Valley College in Mount Carmel.

After playing one year for the Warriors, Shah transferred again to play for SEMO after being recruited by head coach Mark Hogan for his potential to be a two-way player.

Eastern (17-19, 7-7 Ohio Valley Conference) will have its hands full this weekend when they square off against SEMO (25-16, 10-5) for a three-game series at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Eastern head coach Jim Schmitz said he usually tries not to make too much out of each weekend series, but there has to be a sense of urgency to win two of three games against SEMO to solidify Eastern’s spot in the Ohio Valley Conference standings.

Currently, Eastern is in fifth place in the conference and only the top six teams make the conference tournament.

“If we don’t respond well to the sense of urgency, then we won’t play well,” Schmitz said.

SEMO is second in the OVC, and one reason for its success is Shah’s play, both on the mound and at the plate.

Shah is in the top 10 of nine different statistical categories in the OVC for both batting and pitching.

The statistics show Shah is a good mix of aggressiveness and patience at the plate as his 43 RBIs rank him second in the OVC and his 24 walks rank him fourth. He is also hitting .310 with five home runs in 39 games.

It’s on the mound, however, where Shah really shines.

He was undefeated on the season before last Saturday’s 4-0 loss to Austin Peay. His record stands at 5-1 with a 2.63 earned run average in 12 appearances.

Shah was named OVC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 28 and OVC Co-Player of the Week on March 27.

Hogan said Shah’s experience and confidence on the mound and at the plate has led to his success this season.

“It’s not a fluke,” Hogan said. “He’s been doing it on both sides for us.”

Hogan said it is hard to pinpoint Shah as either a pitcher or an outfielder.

“I’m excited when he’s in the lineup, and I’m thrilled when he’s on the mound,” Hogan said.

Shah’s stats were average during his first year in Cape Girardeau.

He hit .250 with 14 RBIs and had a 2-3 record on the mound. Hogan said as a new player from a junior college, it took Shah a while to put things together on the field.

Hogan said his team’s good record this season started with a solid pitching staff with good fielding behind it, but said he respects Eastern and counts on a battle between the teams.

One thing Schmitz said he wanted to do was create action through bunts and hit-and-run plays to make Eastern’s hitters more positive about their swings after struggling at the plate during midweek losses to Illinois and Illinois State.

In the two games, Eastern only scored one run.

“They say hitting is contagious,” Schmitz said, “and I really believe that.”

Schmitz said Eastern must capitalize on hitting opportunities when available, but doing so against SEMO would be difficult because of the Redhawks’ strong pitching staff.

Schmitz characterized Shah as more of a finesse pitcher with great command of the strike zone and his off-speed pitches.

“He’s a guy that throws a lot of strikes and three pitches for strikes,” Schmitz said.

Asif Shah

Height/Weight:

6-1/170 lbs.

Position:

OF/LHP

Bats/Throws:

L/L

Average: .310

Hits: 39

Runs: 29

RBIs: 43

Walks: 24

W/L: 5-1

ERA: 2.63

CG: 3

BB: 24

SO: 57

OVC Standings

Jacksonville State 11-4 23-19

Southeast Missouri State 10-5 25-17

Murray State 8-5 14-24

Austin Peay 9-6 24-17

Eastern Illinois 7-7 17-19

Tennessee Tech 7-8 20-20

Eastern Kentucky 6-7 17-20-1

Samford 6-9 21-20

UT Martin 4-10 15-26

Morehead State 4-11 11-27