Southeast Missouri State baseball team drops 9-5 decision against host Eastern Illinois

The Eastern Illinois baseball team came from behind in the seventh inning and defeated Ohio Valley Conference leader Southeast Missouri State on Saturday afternoon in Charleston, Illinois, to claim just its second conference win of the year.

The Panthers (3-25, 2-12 OVC) overtook the Redhawks with a five-run seventh en route to a 9-5 win in Game 2 of the weekend series.

Southeast held a 5-4 advantage after 6 1/2 innings.

A one-out fielding error by third baseman Trevor Ezell and a base hit knocked Southeast starting pitcher Travis Hayes out of the game in the seventh.

Alex Siddle inherited the runners on with one out and loaded the bases by hitting the first batter he faced.

EIU right fielder and No. 3 batter Caleb Howell doubled down the left-field line to score a pair and give the Panthers their first lead of the game at 6-5.

Siddle reloaded the bases with a walk before freshman Wes Pyles came in to pitch. A sacrifice fly made it 7-5.

Pyles then threw a wild pitch, walked a batter and hit another batter, which drove a run in when Ryan Lenaburg took to the mound. Panthers first baseman Adam Casson, who led off the inning with a fly out, came through with an RBI single to make it 9-5.

Redhawks shortstop Branden Boggetto hit a one-out double in the top of the eighth but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. Southeast got one base hit in the ninth but nothing else.

Hayes (5-4) took the loss on the mound. He allowed six runs, four earned, on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings of work. He struck out three and walked two.

The Redhawks scored a run in the top of the first and went up 2-0 in the second on an RBI single by catcher Scott Mitchell.

EIU tied it up in the bottom of the inning with a couple of hits and an error by right fielder Dalton Hewitt.

Mitchell, who was 2 for 3 with three RBIs, broke the tie with an RBI single in the fourth, but the Panthers answered in their half of the inning to make it 3-3.

A Mitchell sac fly and a Boggetto single gave Southeast a 5-3 lead in the sixth. Hayes allowed three consecutive singles to start the bottom of the inning to make it a one-run game before EIU's seventh-inning outburst.

Chase Thurston (1-0) got the win on the mound. He pitched three innings of scoreless relief and allowed just three hits. He walked one and had a pair of strikeouts.

The Redhawks dropped to 20-14 and 12-5 in conference with the loss.

The series finale is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. today.