Mistakes doomed Southeast's bid to knock off Missouri

The school-record crowd of more than 3,000 fans who filled Capaha Park Wednesday night got their money's worth -- not that they had to spend a dime.

About the only thing missing for the pro-Southeast Missouri State University baseball crowd was a victory by the home team.

Missouri scored four unearned runs in the top of the sixth inning to go ahead for good and the Tigers continued their best start since 1985 with a 6-3 victory in front of an announced crowd of 3,084 -- the largest in Southeast history.

Bluff City Beer provided free food and beverages, which surely boosted the attendance considerably. And nice weather also didn't hurt.

"I can't say enough about the fans," Southeast coach Mark Hogan said. "This is the biggest crowd I've seen at Capaha and it was a very entertaining game."

The Tigers (19-4-1) and Indians (8-11) have played plenty of tight games over the past few seasons and Wednesday was no exception.

"We always play real close games with these guys," said MU's Cody Ehlers, who added with a laugh, "It's a tough environment. They always have good promotions here when we play them."

Trailing 3-0, MU scored four unearned runs in the sixth inning, thanks in large part to a three-base leadoff error by center fielder Frankie Montiel on what looked like a routine catch, two passed balls by freshman catcher Andres Fernandez and a balk by reliever Brad Smith. The Tigers had only two hits in the inning, both singles.

"We helped them in the sixth. It's unfortunate because we've been doing that lately," said Hogan, whose squad has lost three straight. "But MU has got a heck of a squad."

Left-hander Derek Herbig pitched his second straight strong game but took the loss. He blanked MU for the first five innings before being lifted in the sixth. Herbig (1-1) struck out six, walked three, allowed six hits and was charged with the four unearned runs.

"Herbig competed very well against some serious hitters," Hogan said.

Southeast grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning on four hits -- including a two-run single by Bryan Kurt and an RBI single by Montiel -- but the Indians were blanked on just five hits the rest of the way.

MU starter Nathan Culp (2-1) was the winner as he worked five innings. Three relievers followed, including closer Mark Alexander, who earned his fifth save after Southeast threatened in the ninth by loading the bases with two outs before Alexander struck out Gary Gilbert to end things.

Both teams had nine hits. Kurt and Ernie Bracamonte led Southeast with two each. Ehlers and Brad Flanders had two apiece for MU.