Southeast Missouri State baseball team wins series opener vs. UTM

~ Southeast evened its OVC record with an 8-5 victory

The Tennessee-Martin baseball team generally finishes toward the bottom of the Ohio Valley Conference standings.

But the Skyhawks are tough to beat with senior Dan Tobik -- among the OVC's premier pitchers -- on the mound.

That's why Southeast Missouri State was so excited after knocking off Tobik and the Skyhawks 8-5 Thursday night in the opener of a three-game OVC series at Capaha Field.

"It's big to beat a guy like that," sophomore third baseman Andy Lennington said. "He struggled a little bit to throw his offspeed for strikes, and we had guys come through in clutch situations."

Southeast Missouri State's Alex Burridge runs for home in the fifth inning of the Redhawks' 8-5 win over the Tennessee Martin Skyhawks Thursday, March 28, at Capaha Field. (ADAM VOGLER)

The Redhawks improved to 13-14 overall and 5-5 in conference play, moving into sole possession of sixth place in the 11-team league.

Tenth-place UTM fell to 8-17 and 1-9. The loss was the ninth straight in conference play for the Skyhawks.

"Against a guy like that [Tobik], to win that first game is big. It really sets the tone to either win the series or hopefully get a sweep," junior left fielder Derek Gibson said.

Tobik entered Thursday's contest with just a 1-2 record but a solid 3.82 ERA. He was averaging better than a strikeout per inning after ranking among the nation's strikeout leaders out of the bullpen last year.

Southeast got to Tobik for eight runs -- all earned -- and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five, walked one and was hurt by three hit batters.

Southeast Missouri State’s Matt Tellor rounds third on his way to score on a single by Jason Blum during the fourth inning.

"Any time that you can face a pitcher like Dan Tobik and be able to get eight runs off of him, you know your team really put some good at-bats together," said first-year Southeast interim coach Steve Bieser, whose squad had dropped five of its last six. "We knew this was going to be a tough first game. It was a great win for us, but we know it's going to be a tough series. Those guys are scrappy."

Despite Tobik not being as effective as usual, the Skyhawks made things tough on Southeast. UTM led 5-4 entering the bottom of the sixth inning.

"We were down twice, but we did a good job battling," Gibson said. "We showed a lot of fight."

The Redhawks, who led 3-1 after four innings, finally went ahead for good as they knocked Tobik out during a four-run sixth that featured four hits.

Freshman shortstop Brandon Boggetto's RBI single plated the first run of the frame, forging a 5-5 tie. The go-ahead run scored on a throwing error after sophomore catcher Alex Burridge's infield single.

Gibson then provided some insurance with a two-RBI double after Tobik had departed.

"It felt good," Gibson said. "I wanted to put the ball in play and hopefully score a couple of runs."

Bieser shuffled his pitching for his squad's fourth OVC series and, according to the coach, things went just as he had hoped.

Senior Trevor Kill, impressive during two nonconference starts, received his first career OVC start and worked five innings.

Kill allowed six hits and four runs -- three in the fifth inning -- while striking out two and walking three.

"I was hoping Trevor could come out and have a solid start, give us five innings," Bieser said. "He did that."

Bieser then turned to freshman left-hander Alex Winkelman, primarily a reliever early in the season but a starter in each of the Redhawks' first three OVC series.

Winkelman had struggled recently, which prompted his move back to the bullpen. The touted rookie from Crystal City, Mo., said he tried to remain strong mentally.

"It's hard to keep your confidence when you're struggling, but I've got really good leaders and coaches on the team. They kept me positive," he said.

Winkelman came on to begin the sixth inning and allowed a solo home run to Nico Zych. The sophomore's first career homer gave the Skyhawks a 5-4 lead.

But Winkelman kept UTM scoreless the rest of the way. He finished with a flourish by getting the final two batters of the game on called third strikes. He allowed three hits and just the one run in four innings, with six strikeouts and one walk.

"Alex did a great job," Bieser said. "I'm really proud of the way our pitching staff responded. It went exactly like we wanted it to. We wanted Trevor to get us through the fifth inning and then get Alex in."

Winkelman (3-3), who took over the team lead in wins, said he's comfortable either starting or relieving.

"Just helping the team is really all I want to do," he said.

Both squads finished with nine hits.

Lennington and sophomore DH Ryan Barnes both went 2 for 4 to pace Southeast. Barnes, who leads the Redhawks with a .354 average, matched Gibson by having a double and two RBIs.

Byron Johann led the Skyhawks by going 3 for 5.

Southeast and UTM continue their series today at 5 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for a 2 p.m. start but pushed back due to the threat of rain this morning and into the early afternoon.

The series finale is set for 1 p.m. Saturday.

"Two more big games left," Gibson said.