Redhawks' freshman pitcher from Scott City is 3-0 with four saves

Shae Simmons is a young man of few words, but he has certainly wielded a powerful right arm for the Southeast Missouri State baseball team.

Simmons, a freshman from Scott City, continued his dazzling work out of the bullpen Saturday as the first-place Redhawks posted an Ohio Valley Conference sweep of visiting Tennessee Tech.

Simmons retired all three batters he faced in the top of the ninth to close out the nine-inning opener. He earned a save as the Redhawks held on for an 11-9 win.

Then in the top of the seventh in the seven-inning nightcap, Simmons retired two of the three batters he faced -- one hitter reached on an intentional walk -- to preserve a 3-3 tie.

Southeast pushed across a run in the bottom of the seventh to prevail 4-3 as Simmons was rewarded with the victory.

"Shae continues to impress everybody. He's so unfreshmanlike," Southeast coach Mark Hogan said. "He's just been an absolute joy for us."

While friendly and polite, Simmons doesn't offer many words of wisdom during postgame interviews.

But his performance all season has spoken loudly.

Simmons is 3-0 with four saves and a minuscule 1.47 ERA.

Perhaps more impressively, Simmons has allowed just four hits in 18 1/3 innings spanning 13 appearances. He has 23 strikeouts after getting two more Saturday to go along with 10 walks.

Asked if he is surprised to be having so much success so early in his college career, Simmons said simply: "I don't think about it too much."

Not only has Simmons been effective, he has shown an ability to recover quickly.

Last weekend, during a three-game OVC sweep of Eastern Kentucky, Simmons earned a win and a save. He also appeared twice during a series earlier in the year.

"I don't have a problem with it," Simmons said of pitching in both games Saturday.

Simmons, Southeast's hardest thrower who has been clocked in the low 90s while adding a biting curveball this year, saved perhaps his best work for the nightcap.

Tech had already scored a run in the top of the seventh to forge a 3-3 tie. The Eagles had a runner on second base with one out.

On came Simmons to face A.J. Kirby-Jones, who leads the nation with 15 home runs after banging out 20 homers last season.

Simmons struck out Kirby-Jones looking. After an intentional walk to the dangerous Chad Oberacker, Simmons got a fly ball to end the inning.

Asked about facing Kirby-Jones, Simmons said: "It's no different than anybody else."

Said Hogan: "He's so calm and collected. Here's a guy that last year was throwing against high school guys."

Hogan wasn't sure if Simmons would be available for today's series finale, but Simmons had no doubt.

"I could throw tomorrow. I know it," he said with a grin.

Haseltine on HR roll

Tech brought the nation's home-run leader to Cape Girardeau in Kirby-Jones.

But nobody in the OVC, and probably not across the country, is hotter with the long ball these days than Southeast junior right fielder Louie Haseltine.

Haseltine homered in both games Saturday, continuing a streak that has seen him homer in 10 of the past 12 contests. Haseltine, among the OVC's home-run leaders, has 12 this season after hitting 11 last year.

"I've never been on a streak like that but I'm enjoying it," Haseltine said.

Speaking of home-run hot, Southeast junior college transfer third baseman Casey Jones falls into that category. He homered twice in Saturday's opener after also homering twice in the previous game against SIU.

Jones, who had at least one homer in four of the past six games before not leaving the park in the nightcap, is second on the team with eight homers. He leads the OVC with a .459 batting average.

Noteworthy

* Southeast senior catcher Jim Klocke hit safely in both contests as he extended his hitting streak to 18 games, the longest by an OVC player this season. Klocke doubled in each game and finished the day with four hits.

* Southeast junior center fielder Blake Slattery, a Central High School graduate, had a nasty collision with the wall trying to catch Tech's game-tying double in the seventh inning of the nightcap. Slattery stayed in the game.

* Kirby-Jones had a solid day with four hits, but Southeast pitchers kept him in the park.