Southeast Missouri State baseball team wins first two games of season

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team opened its season with a pair of road wins against Oral Roberts on Friday and Saturday, and will have a chance to sweep the three-game series today.

The Redhawks (2-0) used a four-run eighth inning that included a three-run home run by Branden Boggetto to defeat ORU 7-5 on Saturday.

Southeast got on the board first in the second inning when Dalton Hewitt drove in Cole Ferguson. The Redhawks extended their lead to 2-0 in the fourth on an RBI single from Boggetto.

Christian Hull started on the mound for the Redhawks -- his first start since 2012 after redshirting last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery -- and didn't give up a hit until ORU's Matt Brandy hit a home run to leadoff the bottom of the fourth. The Golden Eagles scored five runs during the inning to take a 5-2 lead.

Southeast chipped away at the Golden Eagles' lead when Derek Gibson singled to drive in Hewitt in the sixth. The Redhawks added four runs in the eighth on a Ferguson single, two errors and Boggetto's homer.

Southeast's Garret Stockton hit the first batter he faced in the bottom of the ninth and walked the second, but retired the next three batters to secure the win.

Skyler Cobb (1-0) recorded the win for Southeast. Boggetto was 2 for 4 with four RBIs, Hewitt was 2 for 5, scored two runs and had one RBI, and Ferguson was 2 for 4.

In Southeast's season opener on Friday, the Redhawks started with an offensive burst in the first inning and continued to pad its lead to defeat the Golden Eagles 10-4.

The Redhawks scored four runs in the first inning. After Cole Bieser was walked, Matt Tellor got a hit and Andy Lennington's two-out double scored Bieser. Tellor and Lennington scored on a single by Scott Mitchell, while Hewitt scored on a passed ball.

Transfer Tyler Iago started the game on the mound for Southeast. After getting the leadoff batter to fly out, Iago gave up pair of singles and ORU scored on a single and an error to make it 4-1.

Southeast extended its lead to 5-1 in the top of the third on an RBI double from Lennington that scored Tellor. Brandy drove in a run for ORU in the bottom of the fifth.

The Redhawks added two runs in the sixth to make it 7-2. Andy Lack singled to drive in Hewitt and Tellor drew a bases-loaded walk.

Alex Winkelman came in to pitch in the bottom of the seventh. He walked the leadoff batter and hit the next three batters to give the Golden Eagles their third run. Greg Mosel entered to pitch with one out and the bases loaded. He gave up one hit that drove in ORU's final run before retiring the next two batters.

Bieser hit an RBI double in the eighth and Clayton Evans singled to score two in the ninth for the final score.

Iago earned the win. He allowed two runs on nine hits over six innings and struck out four.

Tellor was 3 for 3 with an RBI and two runs, and Lennington was 3 for 5 with two RBIs.

The Redhawks face the Golden Eagles at 1 p.m. today in Tulsa, Okla. Transfer Ryan Lenaburg will get the start for Southeast.

Southeast softball

The Southeast Missouri State softball team split games on Friday and Saturday in the Mardi Gras Classic in Monroe, La., to even its record at 2-2.

The Redhawks lost their first game Saturday by a 6-3 score to Houston Baptist before defeating Grambling State 9-1.

Southeast got off to a strong start against Houston Baptist after Savannah Carpenter homered to give the Redhawks a 1-0 lead in the first.

The Huskies knotted it at 1-1 with a home run in the top of the fourth, but Haylee Krack answered with a home run in the bottom of the inning to give the Redhawks a one-run lead.

Each team added a run during the fifth inning, but Houston Baptist hit a three-run homer in the top of the seventh for the final score.

The Redhawks had an explosive first inning against Grambling State on Saturday afternoon, scoring seven runs on seven hits in the first inning. Alexis Anderson hit a two-run home run to start off the scoring.

Grambling State scored its lone run in the top of the third inning. Krack hit an RBI double to score Lindsey Patterson in the bottom of the fifth for the final score.

Southeast opened its season with a 9-7 win over Houston Baptist on Friday before losing to host Louisiana-Monroe 6-4.

The Redhawks trailed 5-0 after the first inning against the Huskies. In the fifth, Patterson hit a three-run homer and Rachael Duncan and Kelsey Gass each hit RBI doubles to tie it up.

Houston Baptist scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 7-5 before Southeast scored three in the sixth to take the lead for good. Carpenter drove in the winning run.

Transfer Leah Duffe homered in the seventh for the final run.

Southeast took a 1-0 lead against ULM in the second inning Friday on a homer by Carpenter.

ULM scored three runs in the bottom of the second, added two in the third and one in the fifth to take a 6-1 lead.

Southeast tried to make a comeback, and scored two in the sixth on an RBI double by Patterson, who later scored on a wild pitch. The Redhawks added one run in the top of the seventh but never got any closer.

The Redhawks will face Grambling State at noon today in Monroe, La.

Track and Field

The Southeast Missouri State track and field team competed at three different meets on Friday and Saturday.

Distance runners competed at the Grand Valley State Big Meet in Allendale, Mich., on Friday.

Southeast had three juniors compete in the women's 5,000-meter run. Gloria Westlake finished 20th with a time of 17 minutes, 39.47 seconds. Junior Craig Munie ran the men's 5,000 in 15:08.17 to finish 36th. Southeast senior Alex Zisser finished 15th in the 3,000 in 8:36.86.

The Redhawks also competed at the Hoosier Hills Invitational in Bloomington, Ind.

Sophomore Christian Locke finished fourth in the pole vault (16 feet, 1.75 inches).

At the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa, Southeast competed on both Friday and Saturday.

Junior Kevin Farley placed second in the shot put Saturday with a throw of 58-3.

Senior Courtney Gapelu finished sixth in the shot put with a throw of 48-3.50.

Gymnastics

The Southeast Missouri State gymnastics team pulled off a narrow 191.850-191.050 victory against Ball State on Friday at Houck Field House.

The Redhawks posted their best score of the meet on the vault with a 48.500. Senior Megan Fosnow scored 9.775 in the event to finish third.

In the bars competition, Southeast senior Taryn Vanderpool placed first with a 9.850 while Fosnow and freshman Lauren Israel each posted a 9.750 to tie for second. Southeast finished with a 48.700 in the event.

Southeast's lowest score came on the balance beam with 46.225. Freshman Ashley Thomas finished second in the event with a 9.700.

The Redhawks scored 48.425 in the floor competition. Freshman Bailey Walker posted Southeast's highest score with a 9.750.

The Redhawks improved to 7-4 with the win and are back in action Friday when they take on Midwest Independent Conference opponent Centenary in Shreveport, La. The Redhawks then compete against Centenary and Texas Woman's University on Feb. 23 in Denton, Texas.