Southeast baseball wins thriller vs. Bears in 13 innings

~ Southeast prevailed 8-7 for its third straight victory

Southeast Missouri State and Missouri State hooked up in a marathon baseball game Tuesday night.

It was worth the wait for the visiting Redhawks, who ended a long string of futility at MSU.

The Redhawks won 8-7 in 13 innings, breaking a 14-game losing streak to the Bears in Springfield, Mo.

MSU still has captured nine of the past 12 meetings with Southeast, but the Redhawks now have a two-game winning streak against the Bears.

The contest lasted 4 hours, 13 minutes. It was Southeast's longest game since April 22, 2009, when the Redhawks beat Austin Peay in 4:12.

Southeast (10-6) has captured three straight overall while MSU (8-8) has lost five in a row. The squads finish their two-game series at 3 p.m. today.

"This was a big confidence builder for us up and down the lineup and throughout the pitching staff," Southeast coach Mark Hogan said.

Senior Louie Haseltine delivered the winning hit, an RBI single with one out in the top of the 13th inning that scored junior Trenton Moses.

Moses, from Advance, Mo., reached on an error. Junior Jesse Tierney walked and then Haseltine delivered.

Haseltine had a big performance, going 3 for 6 with four RBIs. Senior Michael Adamson also went 3 for 6.

Senior Casey Jones added two hits. The Redhawks outhit MSU 13-10.

Southeast received stellar relief work from several pitchers. The Redhawks held MSU hitless over the final eight innings.

The teams combined for 34 strikeouts. Southeast hurlers struck out 13 hitters over the final eight innings.

Senior Corey Harness (1-0) notched the victory. He hurled the final 2 2/3 innings, allowing just a walk while striking out six. He fanned the side in the 13th to end the contest.

Harness entered the night having pitched just 3 2/3 innings all season. He has not allowed a run in five appearances.

"Harness was devastating," Hogan said. "It took everything he had for us to get through this, and it was a fantastic win for the whole club."

Senior left-hander Logan Mahon continued his dominant work out of the bullpen with three hitless innings. He struck out three.

Freshman lefty Christian Hull replaced Mahon and retired the first batter in the 11th inning before giving way to Harness.

Junior college transfer lefty Ryan Prickett allowed four fifth-inning runs as MSU rallied for a 7-7 tie, but Prickett fired hitless sixth and seventh innings to keep things deadlocked.

Sophomore closer Shae Simmons got his first start of the season. He allowed a three-run homer to Brent Seifert in the opening inning as MSU grabbed a 3-0 lead.

Simmons worked perfect second and third innings, then was removed as he reached his pitch count after a walk and double to begin the fourth inning. Simmons fanned four and walked two.

Senior Jon Dicus, a weekend starter, relieved Simmons and avoided any damage thanks to a brilliant defensive play by senior Tim Rupp at third base.

Rupp made a diving stop of a smash by Aaron Conway, the Missouri Valley Conference's leading hitter, and tagged a runner going to third for the inning's final out.

Haseltine and Adamson had RBI hits in the third inning as the Redhawks pulled within 3-2.

Southeast exploded with a five-run fifth inning, getting six hits. Key blows were Haseltine's two-RBI single and RBI singles by Rupp and junior Taylor Heon.

The Bears came right back with four in their half of the fifth inning for the 7-7 tie. That's the way things stood until the 13th.