Southeast baseball's winning streak comes to screeching halt

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team opened a three-game series with Austin Peay belatedly and awkwardly Friday night.

Rain delayed the start of contest 2 1/2 hours, and when play began, the Redhawks did not have the appearance of the team sitting atop the Ohio Valley Conference standings with an eight-game winning streak.

Southeast committed four errors over the first four innings and sprinkled in a variety of misplays, wild pitches and walks in allowing 20 runs over the first five innings in a 22-4 loss in Clarksville, Tenn.

The loss, which included a six-run first by the Governors, dropped the Redhawks to 22-11 overall and 13-3 in the OVC. Southeast entered the contest 9-0 in conference games played away from Capaha Field.

Austin Peay, which started seven freshmen, improved to 14-20 overall and 6-7 in the OVC.

The Governors banged out 22 hits and were aided by four hit batsmen and six walks by Southeast pitchers.

The runs were a season high for the Govs and the most allowed by the Redhawks, who previously had allowed 11 runs both in a win over Eastern Kentucky and in a loss to Saint Louis.

The Redhawks had given up a total of 23 runs in their eight-game winning streak.

How strange was it?

Austin Peay had 17 total hits off three Southeast pitchers in scoring multiple runs in each of the first five innings. A two-inning scoreless interlude was provided by two Southeast position players, who took the mound for the first time this season, before yielding to a regular Redhawks pitcher who was touched for two runs in one inning.

Cole Ferguson, a catcher, pitched the sixth inning -- the only batter that reached base against him was on a strikeout on a wild pitch -- and infielder Nolan Fisher pitched a scoreless seventh.

Before the madness set in, the Redhawks looked like they might extend their winning streak.

Southeast struck for the game's first run before an out was retired. Jason Blum led off the game with a single, stole second and scored on a double by Cole Mitchell.

Mitchell advanced on a ground out by Matt Tellor and scored on Derek Gibson's fifth sacrifice fly of the season for a 2-0 lead off Governors starter Alex Robles (4-2).

The Redhawks immediately ran into trouble in the bottom of the inning as Austin Peay scored six runs on three hits.

Southeast starter Tyler Iago (4-2) hit the leadoff man, Rolando Gautier, with his first pitch and the next batter reached on a fielding error to put runners at first and third. The Govs scored on a double steal on a strikeout of No. 3 hitter Ridge Smith.

An infield hit by Robles, who was batting cleanup, put runners at first and third, and a single by Dre Gleason tied the game. Iago issued a one-out, bases-loaded walk to score Robles and give the Govs a 3-2 lead.

Scott Mitchell's second passed ball of the inning with two outs added a fourth run. A two-run single by Chase Hamilton, who entered the game batting .111 with four RBIs, upped the lead to 6-2.

Southeast added a run in the second, but the Governors restored their four-run lead in the bottom of the second, knocking Iago out of the game after he retired only one batter and surrendered the seventh run. Iago gave up eight hits, and four of the eight runs he was charged with were earned.

Left-hander Skylar Cobb relieved and gave up a two-out single to P.J. Torres for an 8-4 Austin Peay lead.

The miscues continued in the third inning when the Redhawks unsuccessfully tried to throw out the lead runner on a sacrifice bunt attempt that loaded the bases with no outs.

Smith smashed a shot past Andy Lennington at third base to score the first run in the inning and brought up Robles, who sent a sacrifice fly to center field for the first out that upped the lead to 10-4.

The lead grew to 11-4 when the Govs pulled a double steal and nobody covered second, allowing the throw from Mitchell to go into center field for the third Redhawks error of the game.

Garret Stockton relieved Cobb in the inning and avoided any further damage, but an error by Lennington in the fourth inning led to two unearned runs and a 13-4 lead.

Gleason, a freshman, added a two-run home run in the fifth inning off Stockton, and Austin Peay added five more runs in the frame for a 20-4 lead.

Smith, Robles, Gleason and Hamilton all finished with three hits apiece for the Governors.

Robles allowed seven hits over six innings for the win.

Bieser and Boggetto both had two hits for Southeast, which had nine hits overall.