Redhawks defeat nationally ranked Vanderbilt

Southeast Missouri State baseball coach Mark Hogan would have been glad to play Vanderbilt regardless of the outcome.

That the Redhawks upset the nationally ranked Commodores 12-8 in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday only made things sweeter.

"It's a really big win for our program, and a great team effort," Hogan said. "A lot of guys played a big part in it."

Hogan got a call from a Vanderbilt assistant coach Monday morning wondering if the Redhawks wanted to come to Nashville for a game.

Vanderbilt was looking for an additional contest after having some games rained out. Since the Redhawks already have had seven contests wiped out by bad weather, Hogan was happy to oblige.

"We've already lost so many games to the weather, it was a chance to play another game, and an exciting opportunity against one of the nation's top programs," Hogan said. "Vanderbilt is as good as it gets in college baseball."

In addition, as part of the last-minute arrangement, Hogan said Vanderbilt has agreed to play a game at Southeast next season.

As for what transpired on the field Tuesday, the Redhawks (11-8) took it to the Commodores (18-7) early, scoring three third-inning runs and never trailing.

The Redhawks banged out 15 hits in beating Vanderbilt, which is ranked sixth, eighth and 13th in the three major national polls.

"We all feel amazing right now, to beat a team like that. We're on cloud nine," sophomore shortstop Nick Harris said.

Added sophomore catcher Jim Klocke: "Our whole team is excited. It was a total team effort. It feels great."

Klocke led the Redhawks with four hits, along with two runs batted in.

Harris had a three-run home run among his two hits. He has three homers and nine RBIs in the last two games.

Junior college transfer right fielder Tyrell Cummings had two hits and three RBIs, junior first baseman Matt Wagner had two hits and two RBIs, and juco transfer left fielder Justin Wheeler added two hits.

Wagner extended his hitting streak to 11 games, the longest among any Southeast player this season.

"You have to hand it to our bats. We earned everything we got," Hogan said. "Klocke had a huge night."

Southeast senior ace Dustin Renfrow started on the mound and pitched three strong innings, allowing four hits and one run. He struck out two and walked one to notch the victory.

With Renfrow (2-1) scheduled to work one of Southeast's Ohio Valley Conference games against Murray State this weekend, Hogan did not want to use him too long.

Four hurlers followed Renfrow to the mound and, although they combined to walk eight batters, they did enough for the Redhawks to hold on. Vanderbilt finished with 12 hits.

Juco transfer Jake Kemper continued to shine out of the bullpen.

Kemper worked the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing one run and two hits. He struck out two and walked three.

Kemper has all three of Southeast's saves this season.

"He's been impressive," Hogan said. "Every time he goes out he shows a lot of poise."

Klocke, Cummings and Wagner all had RBI singles in the third inning as the Redhawks grabbed a 3-0 lead.

Harris belted his three-run homer in the fourth inning, making it 6-1.

The Redhawks spent the rest of the game answering every Vanderbilt charge.

Vanderbilt made it 6-4 in the fifth, but Southeast got two of those runs back in the sixth, including one on an RBI single by Klocke.

The Commodores scored once in the sixth and twice in the seventh to pull within 8-7.

Southeast responded with a four-run eighth, getting RBI singles from Cummings and Wagner, to regain control at 12-7.

Vanderbilt used three walks from Kemper to score once in the eighth, and the Commodores had the bases loaded.

Kemper recorded a strikeout to escape the threat, then closed out things with a scoreless ninth.

"We got ahead and we just didn't give it up," Hogan said. "Every time they made a push, we answered back. Our guys deserve a lot of credit."