Indians make it seven straight with sweep

Southeast Missouri State University's baseball team had not been above .500 since the opening game of the season when the Indians beat Alabama.

But more than five weeks later, the Indians finally have a winning record again, thanks to Saturday's doubleheader sweep of surprisingly stubborn Missouri Valley College.

Nearly 400 fans on a chilly afternoon at Capaha Field saw the Indians defeat the NAIA squad from Marshall, Mo., 5-0 and 4-3. Southeast improved to 10-8 and has won seven straight games. The Vikings fell to 7-16.

"It feels great to have this winning streak going," senior shortstop Zach Borowiak said. "We want to get on a roll going into conference play."

Southeast coach Mark Hogan shared similar thoughts and was thankful the Indians managed to hold off a gritty Vikings squad in the second game.

"This is a good club. Their record is not indicative of the type of players they have. They've got guys who were drafted, and they played us tough," Hogan said. "But we're starting to put things together. Our offense continues to come around, and our pitching is rounding into shape."

Borowiak did much of the offensive damage as he drove in six of the Indians' nine runs in the two games combined. Borowiak, who hit his fourth home run of the season and added two doubles, leads Southeast in RBIs with 21 and in doubles with nine. He is tied for the team lead in homers with four and is batting .343.

"I'm swinging all right, and the hitting is starting to come around for the team," said Borowiak, who has a 15-game hitting streak.

Senior catcher Tristen McDonald remained the hottest Indian when he went 5-for-8 for the second straight doubleheader. McDonald has raised his average nearly 90 points in the last four games and now leads Southeast with a .348 mark.

"It feels good to starting hitting again," said McDonald, who has a nine-game hitting streak.

Senior left fielder Brian Hopkins and freshman right fielder/designated hitter Aaron Fangman both added three hits. Hopkins is batting .328 while Fangman, one of the squad's early-season pleasant surprises, is at .344.

The Indians, who had 10 hits in each game, have raised their batting average to .289 after a slow start.

"We're getting our averages up there where I feel like they should be," Hogan said.

Ryan Forsyth, a junior-college transfer, made his first Southeast start and pitched a complete-game shutout to win the seven-inning opener. The right-hander, now 2-0, allowed just three hits -- all singles -- while striking out five and walking one.

"I'm real happy," Forsyth said. "I thought I had real good command of my pitches, and I threw strikes. We've got such a good defense, the big thing is not to walk people."

Like all of Southeast's many new pitchers, Forsyth got off to a slow start this season, but he has now had several consecutive solid outings.

"I've got my confidence back," he said. "It's an adjustment, coming from junior college."

McDonald's two-out RBI single in the first inning gave Forsyth all the support he needed. Borowiak did the rest, belting a two-run homer in the third and a two-run double in the sixth.

The second game, a nine-inning affair, was much tighter as the Indians had to rally from an early 2-0 deficit.

Borowiak's two-run double with two outs in the fifth forged a 2-2 tie and junior center fielder Seth Moulton two-run homer with two outs in the sixth put the Indians ahead for good at 4-2.

Senior left-hander Tim Alvarez, the Indians' ace, improved to 7-0 by getting the win in relief of starter Bill Clayton. Alvarez scattered five hits in four scoreless innings to lower his earned-run average to 1.47.

"Tim has been unbelievable for us," Hogan said.

Senior right-hander James Beever, who is developing into the Indians' closer, notched his second save by pitching the final two innings. Beever allowed four hits and one run, but forced the Vikings to strand the tying run on third base in the ninth.

The Vikings, who got a strong second-game pitching performance from Division I transfer Nick Parker, had 14 hits in the finale to finish the day with 17.

Southeast visits Southern Illinois Wednesday.

mmishow@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 132