Southeast's potent offense bails out error-prone defense

A struggling NAIA baseball team gave Southeast Missouri State much more than it expected.

But the Redhawks, uncharacteristically sloppy, were able to avoid an upset by rallying several times before finally subduing visiting Mid-Continent University 16-12 on Wednesday.

"It wasn't pretty," junior college transfer second baseman Tim Rupp said. "They played hard. They're a gritty club. Luckily we were able to come out on top."

Southeast, bouncing back from losing both ends of Sunday's Ohio Valley Conference home doubleheader against Murray State, improved to 27-17 as the Redhawks surpassed their victory total from each of the past two seasons.

Mid-Continent, from Mayfield, Ky., fell to 9-37. The Cougars have lost six straight and 13 of 14.

Southeast Missouri State's Casey Jones, center, is congratulated by teammates after scoring during the third inning Wednesday at Capaha Field. (KRISTIN EBERTS)

"They came in here trying to win one. They definitely played us tough," juco transfer first baseman Brett Russell said.

The Cougars came to Cape Girardeau carrying a bloated 10.64 ERA and batting just .266.

That mattered little as the Cougars scored four first-inning runs and capitalized on a season-high eight Southeast errors -- two on unusual catcher's interference calls -- to hang with the Redhawks most of the way.

Mid-Continent was ahead as late as the sixth inning in a wild game that had five lead changes and one tie while lasting 3 hours, 40 minutes. The squads used 16 pitchers, eight by each side.

"It doesn't surprise me that they played us the way they did," said Southeast coach Mark Hogan, whose team improved to 19-5 at Capaha Field this season. "It was a tough game for us all around.

Mid-Continent's Lance Davis slides into home as Southeast Missouri State catcher Jim Klocke misses the ball during the first inning Wednesday.

"It wasn't the prettiest thing. It was a bad day for us defensively with some weird plays. It was an odd day, but we're glad we won."

Southeast's offense, which began the day ranked fifth nationally in batting average, bumped its mark from .355 to .358 with 19 hits. That includes six doubles, two triples and two home runs.

"I love our offense," Hogan said. "We just continue to hit."

Russell had a career day by going 5 for 5 with three doubles, a triple and four RBIs.

"I hadn't been hitting too well at Capaha. I finally had a day," said Russell, who added that he remembers having a five-hit day last season in junior college.

Southeast Missouri State's Kirk Boeller pitches to a Mid-Continent batter during the third inning Wednesday.

Junior right fielder Louie Haseltine had three hits, including two doubles, and delivered three RBIs.

Juco transfer left fielder Michael Adamson tripled and doubled.

Sophomore shortstop Kenton Parmley got his 10th home run of the season while Rupp added his third of the year.

Parmley, Rupp and senior catcher Jim Klocke all had two hits. Juco transfer third baseman Casey Jones extended his hitting streak to 18 games.

Mid-Continent also had a solid offensive day with 11 hits, including a homer and four doubles, although five of the Cougars' runs were unearned.

Cody Tellor had three hits, including a home run, and four RBIs for the Cougars. Adam Connor doubled twice and delivered five RBIs.

The Cougars showed early that they meant business by scoring four first-inning runs and knocking out starter Corey Harness after the junior recorded just one out.

"We weren't expecting that," Russell said of the Cougars' big opening inning.

Southeast appeared to take control with a four-run fifth inning highlighted by a two-run homer from Parmley and a solo shot from Rupp as the Redhawks grabbed a 10-7 lead.

Mid-Continent answered with a four-run sixth inning that featured two unearned runs thanks to three errors.

After the Redhawks tied things with a run in the bottom of the sixth, they finally went ahead for good with a five-run seventh that included Mid-Continent's only two errors of the day as all five runs were unearned.

Adamson's ground ball drove in the go-ahead run. Russell punctuated the big frame with his fifth hit, a two-RBI double.

"Unfortunately we weren't able to play very good defense. It was nice our offense was able to put up a lot of runs," Rupp said.

Juco transfer Trent Wise, Southeast's sixth pitcher, notched the victory. Wise (2-2) allowed two hits and an unearned run in two innings.

Wise was knocked out in the eighth inning when a line drive caught him on the ankle. He walked off on his own.

That infield single loaded the bases with one out and brought on Adamson. He got a fly ball that scored a run to make it 16-12 then notched a strikeout.

Freshman Shae Simmons from Scott City closed out things in the ninth, striking out two and allowing one hit.

Also sharp on the mound for Southeast was senior Kirk Boeller from Notre Dame Regional High School. Boeller, one of the Redhawks' more effective relievers in recent games, worked 1 2/3 hitless innings.

"Boeller and Wise pitched well, Adamson came on in a big spot and got two outs and Simmons threw well," Hogan said.

Southeast, which leads the OVC by a half-game over Murray State, has its final nonconference action this weekend with a three-game series at Nebraska (20-24, 7-14 Big 12 Conference) that begins Friday.