Redhawks drop two to Northern Colorado

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team dropped a pair of games to Northern Colorado at Capaha Field on Saturday.

The Redhawks allowed three eighth-inning runs in the first game to fall 4-2, then lost the nightcap 7-3.

The losses dropped the Redhawks to 2-4 this season, and they will try to avoid the sweep today in a noon contest.

Southeast jumped ahead in the first game when Justin Wheeler drilled a home run to center field to lead off the fourth. Northern Colorado answered in the fifth, but Southeast retook the lead when Tony Spencer reached after being hit by a pitch. Tyrell Cummings followed with a single, and Spencer was able to score on an error by Northern Colorado's right fielder, Mike Raudenbush.

Northern Colorado used two hits, three walks and an error to score the decisive three runs in the eighth.

Southeast pitcher James Leigh fires a pitch toward the plate in the third inning against Northern Colorado on Saturday, March 1, 2008. (Aaron Eisenhauer)

Lance Rhodes suffered the loss for the Redhawks.

James Leigh started the game, striking out six in four scoreless innings.

Kieran Bradford and Wheeler collected two hits each for Southeast.

The seven-inning nightcap turned ugly quick. Northern Colorado scored one in the first and another in the second before exploding for five in the third to put the game out of reach.

Southeast starter Todd Strahlendorf allowed four runs, three earned, in two innings of work.

The Redhawks tried to chip into the lead, striking for a run in the third on Jim Klocke's solo homer to right.

The Redhawks got two more in the sixth when Cummings singled and went to second when Bradford got hit by a pitch.

Matt Wagner delivered a single to right to score Cummings. Trenton Moses also drove in a run with a single, but that was as close as the Redhawks would get.

-- From staff reports