Redhawks pay back Indians for home loss

JONESBORO, Ark. — The Southeast Missouri State baseball team had little trouble avenging a recent home loss to Arkansas State.

Southeast built an early 6-0 lead and cruised to a 12-3 nonconference road victory Tuesday night.

The Redhawks, who lost to ASU 8-3 on April 9 in Cape Girardeau, won their third straight and improved to 17-16. The Indians fell to 16-25.

Southeast banged out 17 hits — including the second collegiate home run in as many games by freshman right fielder Blake Slattery from Central High School — and received strong pitching from five hurlers.

The Redhawks have scored 30 runs in their last three games.

Junior center fielder Tyrell Cummings, who ranks high in most of the Ohio Valley Conference's major statistical offensive categories, led the Redhawks by going 4-for-5. He scored three runs.

Cummings, who began the day second in the OVC in home runs and RBIs, has taken over the team batting lead with a .361 average. He has 10 homers and 44 RBIs.

Senior third baseman Zachary Blemker continued his recent offensive surge with a 3-for-4 performance. Blemker drove in three runs and scored twice.

Sophomore shortstop Nick Harris went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, while junior left fielder Justin Wheeler added two hits.

Senior Ivan Nails started on the mound for the Redhawks and went the first four innings for the win. Nails (2-3) allowed seven hits and two runs. He struck out four and walked one.

Four relievers followed Nails to the mound, including freshman Brad LaBruyere from Central High School. He gave up two hits and one run in three innings, with two strikeouts and one walk.

Junior Ryan Poole worked a hitless inning, sophomore Andy Stephens from Scott City recorded the first two outs in the ninth and junior Josh Manning got the game's final out.

Southeast broke a scoreless tie and took the lead for good with a three-run second inning that featured Blemker's RBI single and Slattery's two-run homer. All the runs came home with two outs.

The Redhawks scored three more two-out runs in the third inning to go ahead 6-0. Blemker had a two-run single, while Wheeler added an RBI single.

ASU answered with two in the bottom of the third to pull within 6-2, but Southeast came back with a two-run fourth and led comfortably the rest of the way.

The Redhawks got one more in the fifth and three in the eighth to go up 12-2. ASU rounded out the scoring with one in the eighth.