Southeast Missouri State baseball team drops series opener to Jacksonville State

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team dropped its series opener to Jacksonville State on Friday night in a battle of the top teams in the Ohio Valley Conference.

The Redhawks had a six-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 27-11 and 16-3 in conference with a 6-2 loss to the Gamecocks at Rudy Abbott Field in Jacksonville, Alabama.

JSU improved to 26-11 and 14-2 in the OVC with the victory.

The Redhawks had the tying run at the plate in the top of the ninth after singles by Andy Lack and Dan Holst and a walk to Branden Boggetto, but a called third strike to Garrett Gandolfo stranded the bases loaded to end it.

It was the ninth strikeout for Southeast and seventh strikeout looking.

The Redhawks jumped out to 1-0 lead when Trevor Ezell led off the game with a home run to left center.

Southeast maintained its lead through 3 1/2 innings as starting pitcher Joey Lucchesi allowed just two base runners in that stretch. He issued a one-out walk in the first and gave up a one-out single in the second but got out of both situations unscathed. He struck out the side in the bottom of the third.

Lucchesi walked two in the home half of the fourth and Clayton Daniel stole third to put runners on the corners with one out. Elliott McCummings singled to center to score Daniel and knot it at 1-1. A lineout and a strikeout kept the Gamecocks from taking the lead.

Daniel came through with a two-run triple in the bottom of the fifth and scored on a sacrifice fly to give JSU a 4-1 advantage after five.

Lucchesi faced one batter in the sixth and after issuing his fifth walk he was lifted. He dropped to 7-3 with the loss. He allowed four earned runs on five hits and struck out nine.

Ezell accounted for Southeast’s final run of the game in the top of the seventh. He hit a one-out single to right before Holst laid down a bunt single that pitcher Graham Officer threw away at first, allowing Ezell to score and cut it to 4-2.

Officer exited immediately, but picked up the win on the mound to improve to 7-1. He allowed two runs (one earned) on eight hits with a walk and six strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.

The Gamecocks added two runs in the bottom of the seventh off reliever Jake Busiek. After a walk, sacrifice bunt and error by Hunter Leeper at third, Peyton Williams scored on a sacrifice fly. Tyler Gamble followed with an RBI double for the final score.

Southeast outhit the Gamecocks 10-8 with Holst going 3-for-5 to lead the way while Ezell was 2-for-5. McCummings was the only JSU player with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Daniel and Taylor Hawthorne each had two RBIs.

The Redhawks stranded 11 base runners in the contest, including the bases loaded twice — in the ninth and in the top of the third when they held a 1-0 lead.

JSU’s Justin Hoyt picked up the save. He walked one and struck out one in 1/3 inning of work.

Southeast’s Alex Siddle, who pitched a scoreless eighth, broke the school’s all-time record for appearances with the 77th of his career. He allowed two hits and struck out one.

Game 2 of the three-game series is set for 1 p.m. Saturday.