No. 1 Tulane pins two more losses on Southeast

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- As the son of Hall of Fame baseball player Bob Gibson, Southeast Missouri State junior Chris Gibson often is asked why he did not become a pitcher.

But Chris, whose father pitched many years for the St. Louis Cardinals, is making the adjustment from first base to left field and trying to make a name for himself as a position player with the Redhawks.

Gibson, an Omaha, Neb., native and trasnfer from Pratt Community College, got a great start to his Southeast career Saturday, as he had all three of his team's RBI in a 6-3 loss to Tulane in the first game of a double-header at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans.

Gibson's two-run, two-out hit in the seventh inning tied the game against the top-ranked team in NCAA Division I, according to Baseball America.

But Tulane All-American Brian Bogusevic, who had not yet had an at-bat in the season-opening series for both teams because of a slight hamstring injury, came off the bench to deliver a two out, bases loaded double in the bottom of the eighth to help prevent the upset.

Tulane went on to win the nightcap as well, pulling away in the eighth inning again with four runs en route to a 9-3 decision.

Southeast outhit Tulane in Saturday's doubleheader but still came out of the series with an 0-3 record.

"Last night was a terrible game to watch," said Gibson, who had one of Southeast's 13 strikeouts Friday against Bogusevic in a 9-0 Tulane romp. "He had a great curveball and abused me. It was nice to come out here and have a good game today. I heard a lot from their fans in left field but they quieted down after we tied the game."

Gibson had the first RBI of the season for the Redhawks earlier in the game, as he singled home Brent Lawson in the second inning on an 0-2 count. Lawson had doubled with two outs.

Tulane pitcher Micah Owings retired the next 15 batters, however.

Owings also made some big noise with his bat. Southeast left-handed pitcher Derek Herbig had shut out the Green Wave for three innings, allowing only one ball to be hit out of the infield.

But Owings, a former All-American at Georgia Tech, hit a solor home run for Tulane's first tally in the fourth inning. The monster shot to left-center was estimated at 430 feet.

Tulane took the lead in the sixth on a two-run homer by Mark Hamilton off Herbig, who allowed only three hits but two homers.

The home run was Hamilton's third of the series, equaling his total for all of 2004.

Southeast created some two-out magic again in the seventh. James Clayton broke Owings' 15-batter streak with a double. He moved to third on a single by Lawson, who went to second on the throw home. Gibson then delivered the game-tying single up the middle on a 1-2 pitch.

Josh Parham, a Jackson product, retired Tulane in order in the seventh but got into trouble in the eighth when he loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batsman. Closer Brad Smith came in with one out and struck out Brad Emaus for the second out. But Bogusevic, who led Tulane with 68 RBI last year, came off the bench and lined Smith's second pitch into the right-center field gap. Center fielder Frank Montiel made a valient effort with a full-out dive but the ball went off his glove and all three runners scored.

"I told the guys I was sorry I didn't catch it," Montiel said. "That was like the ball from hell. He really tattoed it and your first reaction on a ball like that is to freeze and then it started to knuckle. I made my best effort and thought I had it."

Southeast made things interesting in the ninth inning. Quenten Rouse walked and Ernie Bracamonte singled to open the inning. But Tulane closer Sean Morgan struck out Montiel and Clayton. Lawson hit a ball with had home run distance but foul. He flied out to left to end the game with the hot-hitting Gibson in the on-deck circle.

"I was just hoping to get a chance to bat in that situation," Gibson said. "How many chances do you have to play the No. 1 team in the nation and have a chance to be up with the game on the line?"