Southeast Missouri State baseball team salvages finale of weekend OVC series vs. Tech

There's been one constant for the Southeast Missouri State baseball team this season that has helped it stay atop the Ohio Valley Conference standings: Ending each series with a win.

The Redhawks defeated Tennessee Tech on Sunday behind a 10-strikeout performance from starter Robert Beltran and three innings of perfect relief from Jake Busiek and Justin Murphy to improve to 8-0 in the final games of OVC series this season.

With the 7-1 victory in Cookeville, Tennessee, Southeast avoided a weekend sweep by the Eagles and improved to 32-15 overall and 21-6 in OVC play.

Garrett Gandolfo, Chris Osborne and Dan Holst blasted home runs to support the three Southeast pitchers, who combined for 13 strikeouts on the day.

Beltran allowed four hits and walked three in reaching a season-high for strikeouts in a game to remain unbeaten in OVC play. Beltran, a junior transfer from Arizona Western College in Yuma, Arizona, and the Redhawks' Game 3 starter in series, upped his OVC mark to 5-0 and improved to 7-1 overall.

The Redhawks hold a 2 1/2-game lead over Jacksonville State in the conference standings and their magic number for claiming their third consecutive OVC regular-season title was reduced to 3.

Jacksonville State lost 7-5 on Sunday as Eastern Kentucky claimed two of three games in their weekend series.

Gandolfo, a senior, staked Beltran to a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a home run after senior shortstop Branden Boggetto drew a two-out walk off Eagles starter Nick Osborne.

The Eagles scored their lone run in the fourth inning to close the gap to 2-1, but Southeast countered with solo home runs by Osborne and Holst in the sixth inning for a 4-1 lead.

Osborne's team-leading 11th home run -- all in OVC play -- came off Nick Osborne to open the frame. Chase Burkett replaced the Eagles' starter with two outs, and Holst greeted him with his sixth home run of the year.

Osborne tacked on a two-out, two-run double in the seventh inning before scoring on a double by Boggetto, who broke a tie with Gandolfo for the team lead in RBIs with his 45th of the season.

With the six-run lead, the Redhawks lifted Beltran, who had thrown 100 pitches. Busiek struck out two in retiring the side in order in the seventh and eighth innings, and Murphy pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out pinch hitter Chase Chambers to end the game.

Osborne, who finished with three RBIs, Holst and Hunter Leeper each finished with two hits as the Redhawks finished with 11 overall. Daniel Costello added a double for Southeast, which had six extra-base hits.

Nick Osborne took the loss for TTU, allowing four hits and three runs over 5 2/3 innings. TTU, which won the first two games of the series by scores of 7-2 and 4-3, fell to 25-20 overall and 12-12 in the OVC.

Southeast will play its final six games of the regular season at home. The Redhawks will step out of OVC action this week, hosting Stephen F. Austin in a three-game series that begins at 2 p.m. Friday. They will then complete their regular season when Belmont visits for a three-game conference series May 19-21.