Redhawks' rally stuns Govs

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team has had some gratifying wins this year.

Saturday's comeback victory deserves a spot right at the top of the list.

Southeast, after being handled with ease by visiting Austin Peay 9-4 in Friday night's opener of a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series, trailed virtually all the way Saturday.

But the Redhawks rallied for four eighth-inning runs -- three scoring with two outs -- to stun the two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament champion Governors 5-3.

"We did a great job of staying in the game the whole time," said junior first baseman Matt Tellor, whose two-run single broke a 3-3 tie. "Everybody on the field and on the bench stayed up."

The combination of a pleasant, sunny afternoon, coupled with free food and beverages on Southeast's second of six baseball tailgates, led to an announced season-high Capaha Field crowd of 1,472.

"We had a great crowd today. We wanted to do it for our fans," said junior left fielder Derek Gibson, who drove in the tying run with an infield single and pushed his hitting streak to 16 games. "It's a great win, against a team like Austin Peay. They're so strong up and down the lineup and they've got great pitching. It's a huge day for us.

"This team believes in our coaching staff and each other. We really believe we can win every game."

Southeast improved to 18-18 overall and 10-7 in OVC play as the Redhawks remained fifth in the 11-team league. Fourth-place Austin Peay fell to 26-10 and 9-4. The squads will conclude the series at 1 p.m. today.

"I'm extremely proud of these guys. I don't think it matters if we get beat 20-0 one night, we're going to play hard," said Southeast coach Steve Bieser, whose team overcame a triple play pulled off by the Govs. "They always come ready to play. That's the biggest compliment you can give a team."

Southeast scored a sixth-inning run -- freshman right fielder Clayton Evans tripled with two outs and sophomore second baseman Jason Blum followed with an RBI single -- to make it 3-1 but the Redhawks entered the eighth inning having done little off Austin Peay senior starter Casey Delgado.

Then Delgado hit his only wild patch and the game turned.

Freshman shortstop Branden Boggetto and sophomore catcher Dalton Hewitt drew consecutive one-out walks after Delgado had issued just one free pass in the first seven innings.

That brought on senior closer Tyler Rogers, who had a school-record 12 saves last year -- third-most in OVC single-season history -- and has already matched that total this year. His 24 career saves in just two seasons rank third-most in league history. He was also 5-0 this year with a 1.90 ERA.

Perhaps the key at-bat of the inning was by little-used junior college transfer Josh Meade, who had been 1 for 13 in his first year at Southeast.

The left-handed hitting Meade, sent up to pinch-hit against submarine righty Rogers, delivered an RBI single that made it 3-2.

"That's the toughest role in baseball, to sit there for two weeks and not get an at-bat," Bieser said. "It was so clutch for him to come through in that situation."

Leadoff batter Blum was hit by a pitch to load the bases. He has been hit 16 times this year, second on the school's single-season list and just two short of the record. Blum's 25 career hit-by-pitch are tied for third all-time at Southeast even though he is just a sophomore.

Rogers looked like he might escape the jam when he struck out junior center fielder Cole Bieser.

Gibson, after falling behind 0-2, hit a high chopper that just got over the 6-foot-5 Rogers but appeared to be headed toward senior shortstop Reed Harper.

But the ball suddently spun to the right and away from Harper. Gibson easily reached first base with an RBI infield single to tie things.

"I'm facing Rogers, I've got two strikes on me. ... I don't care where it goes, I just want to put it in play somewhere," said Gibson, now leading the OVC with a .383 batting average.

Cleanup hitter Tellor then ripped a hard ground ball just to the right of second base. It barely eluded a diving senior second baseman Jordan Hankins and rolled into the outfield as two runs scored.

"Me and DG [Gibson], being in the middle of the order, that's what the team expects from us," Tellor said.

The eighth-inning rally might have gone for naught if not for the strong pitching of sophomore left-hander Will Spitzfaden, who has been Southeast's most consistent starter this year.

Spitzfaden (4-3) allowed just one earned run and 10 hits in eight innings. He struck out two and did not issue a walk.

"A great team effort," said Spitzfaden, who is not overpowering. "I was just letting my defense make plays."

Southeast's lone error led to two unearned runs in the fourth inning as Austin Peay went ahead 2-0. Hankins, the OVC preseason co-player of the year, drilled a two-out homer in the fifth inning to make it 3-0.

"Just a tremendous job Spitz did. For him to be able to keep us in the ballgame against such a powerful offense was key," Steve Bieser said.

Maybe nobody was more excited to see Southeast take a late lead than senior Bobby Hurst, who has established himself among the top closers in program history.

The Redhawks' rally meant Hurst would enter for the top of the ninth inning.

"I was jumping up and down in the bullpen, I was really excited," said a smiling Hurst. "With all these fans out here, it created a lot of energy."

Hurst didn't disappoint the crowd. He set the Govs down in order with two strikeouts for his sixth save of the season and eighth save of his two-year Southeast career. He is fourth on the school's single-season saves list and tied for third in career saves. He is also 2-0 this year with an 0.57 ERA over 15 2/3 innings.

"Bobby has been very good in that role this year," Bieser said.

Gibson and Blum both had two of Southeast's nine hits. Blum pushed his hitting streak to 10 games.

The triple play came in the fourth inning. Blum led off with a single and Bieser bunted safely with nobody out.

Southeast had the hit-and-run on when Gibson's line drive was caught coming in by sophomore center fielder Dylan Riner. He threw to second to double up Blum and the relay to first retired Bieser.

Rogers was hit with his first loss of the season.