Southeast Missouri State baseball team edges Arkansas

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team called on ace Alex Winkelman in an unusual spot Wednesday night.

Winkelman has served as the Redhawks' Friday night starter this season but was asked to get the final three outs on the road against SEC foe Arkansas.

He did so with ease, retiring the Razorbacks in order to secure a 12-11 victory for Southeast, marking the Redhawks sixth win against Arkansas in their last eight meetings dating back to 2000.

Winkelman's flawless outing was just the third 1-2-3 half-inning for either side in a game that featured a combined 23 runs, 26 hits, 19 runners left on base, 16 walks and 436 pitches thrown. It took 4 hours, 28 minutes to complete.

Southeast took a 1-0 lead on a Scott Mitchell RBI single in the top of the second inning before Arkansas plated five runs in the bottom of the third to chase Redhawks starter Jacob Lawrence, who allowed five earned runs on three hits and six walks in his 2 2/3 innings pitched.

Southeast replied quickly with four runs in the top of the fourth, which featured another RBI single from Mitchell.

Arkansas added a run in the bottom half of the inning and two more in the fifth to take an 8-5 lead, but the Redhawks hung up another four-run frame in the top of the sixth. Designated hitter Garrett Gandolfo had a two-RBI double and Dalton Hewitt added an RBI single to help give Southeast a 9-8 lead.

Clayton Evans extended that lead to 10-8 with a solo shot in the top of the seventh, but the Razorbacks scored twice in the bottom of the inning.

Two Arkansas errors and a sacrifice fly by Mitchell helped Southeast regain the lead with two runs in the eighth, and Southeast's Alex Siddle got a bases-loaded strikeout in the bottom of the inning to preserve a one-run advantage and set up Winkelman's first save of the season.

Greg Mosel, who allowed two unearned runs before giving way to Siddle with the bases loaded, was credited with the win. He pitched 1 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and walking three.

Poplar Bluff graduate and Southeast freshman Wesley Pyles recorded the Redhawks' only other perfect inning when he pitched a scoreless sixth.

Gandolfo, who was 2 for 6, and Mitchell, who was 2 for 4, each had three RBIs for the Redhawks, who had last beaten an SEC team with a 9-7 victory over Missouri in 2013.

Southeast improved to 10-9 with the win while Arkansas, which took the series opener on Tuesday, dropped to 10-9.

The Redhawks will play their first conference game on their home field this weekend when they host UT Martin in a three-game series. The opener will begin at 3 p.m. Friday with games at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday to follow at Capaha Field.

Sunday's game will be followed by a free clinic for children 5-14 years old.