Colonels score in 11th, top Southeast

RICHMOND, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State saw its three-game Ohio Valley Conference winning streak end Saturday at the hands of an Eastern Kentucky squad that pushed its overall victory string to seven.

The host Colonels scored a run in the bottom of the 11th inning to beat the Redhawks 3-2 in the first game of a scheduled doubleheader.

Because of rain in the Richmond area that pushed the start time back one hour, and because EKU's field has no lights, the second contest was not played. There will instead be an 11 a.m. doubleheader today as the three-game series ends.

Southeast fell to 16-24 overall and 7-9 in OVC play. EKU improved to 17-21 and 8-7.

After both teams squandered golden scoring chances in the late going, the Colonels finally ended the extra-inning affair.

Tony Wells led off the bottom of the 11th with a double off Southeast reliever Jamie McAlister. Adam Visnic then hit a grounder to second baseman Bo Jenkins that would have moved Wells to third base anyway, but Jenkins booted the ball for an error that allowed Wells to come home.

Both starting pitchers were impressive. Southeast freshman right-hander Joey Evans allowed two first-inning runs, then blanked a hot-hitting EKU squad that was averaging 7.4 runs per game. Evans worked into the ninth inning, allowing eight hits while striking out five and walking three.

EKU sophomore right-hander McKenzie Willoughby also worked into the ninth. He allowed two runs on six hits, with five strikeouts and four walks.

McAlister a junior right-hander who relieved Evans after a leadoff walk in the ninth, fell to 2-5. In two innings, he allowed the one unearned run and two hits, with one strikeout and one walk.

Senior left-hander Andy Polzin, who replaced Willoughby with two on and one out in the ninth, got the victory and improved to 2-1. He allowed no hits while striking out four and walking one.

Eric Horstman went 3-for-5 to finish with half of Southeast's six hits. Four players each had two of EKU's 10 hits.

The Colonels jumped on Evans quickly with two first-inning runs, getting an RBI triple by Bryan Stevenson and an RBI single by Will Whisenant.

But Evans shut down EKU after that, and Southeast finally got to Willoughby for two fifth-inning runs. Chris Gibson walked with one out. With two outs, Jordan Payne delivered an RBI single. Horstman followed with an RBI double to tie the contest.

Both teams had excellent chances to go ahead but failed to capitalize.

In the fifth, EKU put runners on first and third with nobody out, but Evans escaped the jam.

Southeast had runners on first and second with one out in the ninth when Polzin relieved Willoughby and kept the contest deadlocked.

EKU placed a runner at third with two outs in its ninth, but failed to score thanks in large part by a great play by Jenkins earlier in the frame.

The Redhawks had their best chance to go ahead in the 10th. Payne led off with a walk, went to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on Horstman's ground out. But Polzin struck out both Ernie Bracamonte and Frankie Montiel. Montiel leads Southeast in batting average while Bracamonte is second.

EKU had runners on first and second with one out in the 10th but failed to convert.

Junior left-hander Derek Herbig, scheduled to start the third game of the series when the weekend began, will instead start today's opener.

McAlister, the scheduled starter in the second game of the series before he had to be used in relief Saturday, might still start today's finale, although that is not definite.