Redhawks succumb to ASU home run

~ Arkansas State won 6-5 on a walkoff home run.

Late-inning rallies and heroics have played a big role in the Southeast Missouri State-Arkansas State baseball series lately.

In Tuesday night's clash in Jonesboro, Ark., the Indians' walkoff home run trumped Southeast's pinch-hit three-run homer that tied the game in the eighth inning.

With Josh Yates' one-out solo shot against Josh Parham in the bottom of the ninth, Arkansas State posted a 6-5 victory for its fourth consecutive win in the series.

The Indians improved to 6-6. Southeast, off to its best start since 2000, fell to 6-3.

Arkansas State won last year's lone meeting 4-3 in Jonesboro with a three-run eighth inning rally. The Indians swept two 2005 meetings, including a 3-2 win in Jonesboro with two runs in the eighth inning.

Southeast swept the 2004 contests, including a 12-9 victory that featured a six-run eighth inning to tie and a three-run ninth to win it.

The Redhawks looked like they were about to pull off Tuesday's game in a similar come-from-behind fashion.

They led 1-0 after two, fell behind 2-1 after three, 3-1 after six and 5-1 after seven.

Then came a four-run eighth inning that included a three-run blast by senior Asif Shah, who had been effective in his six innings as Southeast's starting pitcher.

Robby Moore started the inning with a walk. With one out, Omar Padilla was hit by a pitch. A passed ball moved the runners up and an infield error on Matt Wagner's tricky groundball scored a run and put runners on the corners for Shah. His drive to right field was his second home run of the season and gave him seven runs batted in.

Parham, who had come on in the eighth inning with a runner aboard, suffered his first loss of the year and fell to 1-1. He allowed one hit, one run and struck out two.

Shah had allowed five hits and three walks in six innings. Of the three runs scored against him, only one was earned. He struck out eight, as Southeast pitchers combined for 10 Ks.

But Southeast batters, hitting just .229 entering the game, were just 5-for-30 and struck out 11 times.

Shah, Wagner, Darryl Graham, Dustin Pritchett and Nick Harris each had one hit.

Pritchett's and Graham's hits came in the second inning, when Southeast scored its other run. After Matt Wulfers walked, Pritchett singled, and a passed ball moved both runners up. Graham's single drove in the game's first run.

Southeast is back in action 3 p.m. today at home against St. Louis University.