Gumieny tosses complete game in Southeast baseball win

Kyle Gumieny has struggled early in his past two starts.

It hasn't hurt Southeast Missouri State's senior right-hander, who bounced back in both of those outings to finish strong.

Gumieny tossed the first complete game of his Southeast career, going all nine innings Friday as the Redhawks routed Valparaiso 17-4 in the opener of a doubleheader at Capaha Field.

Southeast finished off a sweep in the seven-inning nightcap 5-3.

"It's exciting. I've been waiting two years for this," Gumieny said of his first complete game. "I finally got it under my belt."

Gumieny allowed three runs in the first two innings last Saturday against North Dakota. He recovered to retire the final 11 batters he faced while striking out a career-high 10 in seven innings.

Friday's start followed much the same pattern. The leadoff batter, Kyle Muhlsteff, hammered Gumieny's first pitch of the day over the left-field wall for a home run. The Crusaders followed with four more hits in the frame, which ended with them ahead 3-0.

"I don't really know how to explain it," Gumieny said of his recent slow starts. "Those kind of things happen."

Again Gumieny settled down, giving up just one more run and five more hits the rest of the way to finish with a 10-hitter. He shut out the Crusaders over the final six frames, finishing with three strikeouts and no walks while throwing 106 pitches.

"I felt real good. I feel like I could have thrown a few more innings," said Gumieny, who improved to 3-0 with a 3.48 ERA.

Last year, in his first season at Southeast after transferring from Lamar Community College in Colorado, Gumieny had some strong outings but was inconsistent. He went 3-2 with a 6.86 ERA as a conference starter.

"I feel a lot more comfortable, having a year in Division I under my belt," Gumieny said.

Said Southeast coach Mark Hogan: "He's grown a lot from last year. I'm not sure anybody has worked harder than Kyle. I'm really happy for him."

Gumieny was backed by an offense that continued to surge as the Redhawks had a season-high 20 hits while scoring a season-high run total.

The Redhawks, who entered the day batting .328 and ended it at .340, saw every starter hit safely. Seven players had multiple-hit games as Southeast hammered seven doubles and a home run.

Junior college transfer Michael Adamson went 4 for 5. He drove in four runs and scored three times.

Sophomore shortstop Kenton Parmley went 3 for 4 and scored four runs.

Sophomore first baseman Kody Campbell from Oran hit his first home run of the season and second of his Southeast career. The three-run shot to right field in the first inning put the Redhawks up 4-3 as they quickly erased Valparaiso's early lead.

"It was nice, especially after they scored a couple of runs early, to come right back like that," Campbell said.

Said Hogan: "Kody had the biggest hit of the day. I thought that swing turned the game around for us."

Southeast poured it on after that, knocking out one of the Horizon League's top pitchers in the fourth inning.

Junior right-hander Bryce Shafer entered with a 2.79 ERA. Shafer (2-2) was roughed up for 11 hits and 11 runs.

Southeast's offense also fared well in the second game against junior left-hander Jon Gulbransen, another of the Horizon League's premier hurlers who entered with a 2.01 ERA. Gulbransen (1-2) allowed five runs and 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings.

"There's not a cheap out anywhere in our lineup right now," Campbell said.

Juco transfer left-hander Jordan Underwood, who had pitched well despite losing all three of his previous decisions, notched his first Southeast victory.

Underwood (1-3) gave up five hits and one run in five innings as he lowered his ERA to 3.38. He struck out five and walked three.

"It's good to get that first one under my belt," Underwood said. "It was one of my more complete games."

Hogan was glad to see Underwood finally rewarded with a win.

"I was thrilled for him," Hogan said. "He's pitched really well. He probably should be 2-1 or something like that."

Juco transfer right-hander Jon Dicus pitched a scoreless sixth inning for Southeast before things got a bit shaky in the seventh and final frame.

Juco transfer right-hander Trent Wise allowed two runs, one earned, as Valparaiso pulled within 5-3. Wise retired just one batter and left with the bases loaded.

Freshman right-hander Shae Simmons from Scott City continued his strong early season mound work, escaping the jam and nailing down the victory by striking out the first hitter he faced and then getting a ground ball.

The hard-throwing Simmons recorded his first Southeast save.

"I've been looking for a spot like this for him," Hogan said. "He showed his fastball again, which is no surprise to us."

Senior catcher Jim Klocke went 3 for 3 with two doubles as he and Adamson both finished the day with five hits.

Junior center fielder Blake Slattery from Central High School had two doubles and two RBIs. He finished the twin bill with three doubles.

"We had an impressive day offensively across the board," Hogan said. "We hit the ball well against two really good pitchers."