Out of the Past: Out of the past: May 17 (5/17/23)

1998 It was standing room only at the Show Me Center yesterday as degrees were conferred on 921 graduates of Southeast Missouri State University; friends and families of the graduates filled every available seat, and some found seats on the steps and in the aisles; commencement speaker was Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon. Southern University put up a strong challenge, but there was simply no denying Southeast Missouri State University's baseball Indians in their quest to pull off a feat that no other men's athletic team in school has ever accomplished; breaking open a close game over the final three innings, the Indians knocked off the Jaguars 10-3 yesterday afternoon in front of more than 1,000 fans at Capaha Park, claiming the best-of-three NCAA play-in series; as a result, Southeast earned a berth in the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time ever.