Boggetto's home run propels Southeast Missouri State baseball team to extra-inning win vs. Morehead State

Branden Boggetto stepped up to the plate with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning with the intention of just finding a way to make it on base.

But Southeast Missouri State baseball coach Steve Bieser believed that his senior shortstop, a "smart hitter," who had already had one at-bat against Morehead State reliever Patrick McGuff -- a fly out to center in the bottom of the eighth -- had formed even more of a game plan when he got the chance to face the right-handed pitcher with the game tied 4-4.

Southeast Missouri State's Dan Holst, right, congratulates Scott Mitchell after scoring in the fifth inning against Morehead State on Saturday at Capaha Field.Glenn Landberg

"He knew he was going to get a slider at some point in the count and I think he was really sitting back waiting on his slider there," Bieser said. "He got a slider right in the middle of the plate. We've seen Branden for four years now and when guys will throw breaking balls in the strike zone he usually hits them really hard. He was sitting on that and he was all over it. He did exactly what he needed to do with it."

Boggetto sent an 0-1 pitch over the wall in left at Capaha Field for his first home run of the season, a solo shot that lifted the Redhawks to a 5-4, walk-off victory over Morehead State on Saturday evening.

Southeast improved to 12-8 and 5-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference as it clinched a series victory over the Eagles (12-6, 3-2 OVC).

Southeast Missouri State's Clay Chandler pitches to a Morehead State batter in the third inning Saturday, March 19, 2016 at Capaha Field.Glenn Landberg

"I just put a good swing on that ball," Boggetto said, "and thank God it went out."

MSU put some pressure on the Redhawks, who committed three errors in the game to up their total to seven so far in the series, in the top of the 10th.

Sophomore lefty reliever Adam Pennington issued a leadoff walk to left fielder Tanner Buenting. He was then bunted to second before the Redhawks intentionally walked catcher Hunter Fain.

Pennington got designated hitter Niko Hulsizer to strikeout on a check swing for the second out and to bring up leadoff hitter Jesus Carrera.

Pennington recorded his fourth strikeout of the game against Carrera, which snapped the first baseman's streak of reaching base at 17 consecutive games to start the season. Pennington stepped off the mound, pounded his fist on his chest and let out a loud yell as he headed back to the dugout minutes before Boggetto's homer.

"That final strikeout, I knew it was a clutch moment for me and the team," Pennington said. "It was a moment where we needed to come back in the dugout and be able to swing the bat against them."

Pennington entered with one out in the top of the eighth after the Eagles had just tied it up off starter Clay Chandler. MSU's Will Schneider got a leadoff triple after center fielder Dan Holst made a misstep on a hard hit ball to center and scored the tying run a sacrifice fly by Reid Leonard.

Pennington gave up three straight one-out singles before getting Hulsizer to fly out to short and then striking out Carrera to strand the bases loaded. He issued a two-out walk in the ninth, but nothing else.

"My fastball was feeling really well today," Pennington said. "I was struggling a little bit with my changeup, but I had to bear down and figure out what to do, how to fix it. Everything just started working after that first inning I pitched."

It was the first win for Pennington (1-0), who hadn't gotten in a game since going seven innings in a solid start against Ole Miss on March 9. He took a foul ball to the head last weekend at Eastern Kentucky.

"I saw the same thing that I saw at Ole Miss on Pennington," Bieser said. "Once he gets through those first three or four batters he really starts settling in and his stuff becomes better, he's locating better, he's competing better -- everything. I think those are those original nerves at first for him, and we've got to figure out how we can get those nerves out of the way in the bullpen before he gets in the game because he came in in a really tight situation and tough situation and had to work himself out of a tough jam. He did a great job. He threw the ball well and that's all you can ask for a guy coming out of the bullpen."

Morehead took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Reid sent a two-out, two-run single up the middle.

"The first inning he had a couple of balls that just found spots to get through," Bieser said, "and all of a sudden they get a really solid hit up the middle and a big hit to kind of give them that lead, but for him to basically shut them down the rest of the way, that was key for us today."

The Redhawks got a run back in the home half of the first after second baseman Trevor Ezell drew a leadoff walk, stole second and advanced to third when the throw went into the outfield. Boggetto sent a two out single to left to cut it to 2-1.

Southeast added two more in the bottom of the fifth. First baseman Ryan Rippee led off the inning with a single through the left side and designated hitter Scott Mitchell drew a walk before catcher Brian Lees bunted. The MSU third baseman bobbled the ball on the bunt and Lees reached to load the bases with no outs.

Right fielder Daniel Costello ripped a liner to first and Carrera got the force out, but his throw home to get Rippee was dropped by the catcher to tie it 2-2. An infield single by Ezell plated Mitchell to give the Redhawks' their first lead before they stranded the bases loaded.

Chandler, who gave up six hits, walked one and struck out three, did not allow another run until the seventh. Jake Hammon hit a one-out single over Boggetto and then Kent laid down a bunt with two outs that Chandler threw away, allowing Hammon to tie it at 3.

"They were able to lay off some on his slider," Bieser said. "Talking to Coach Rhodes and just looking at it from the side, it didn't look like it was as sharp as normal, but he was able to use the other pitches, get himself through 7 1/3 and that's the difference in the ballgame, being able to count on him to get us deep in the ballgame and keep us in the game so we've got a chance to continue to score and have a chance to win a ballgame."

Southeast regained the lead in the seventh on an RBI double by third baseman Hunter Leeper before the Eagles' knotted it back up in the eighth.

The Redhawks were outhit 9-6 in the win and struck out 11 times, including five times looking.

"I feel very lucky to come out of there with a win," Bieser said. "Right now there's frustration on my end because I want to see our club playing really solid baseball this time of the year. We're far enough into the season where we don't have that excuse of whether it's nerves or just not being ready. We're ready to play and we're just not letting the game come to us. Then on the other hand we're not being aggressive in certain situations. It's just kind of like we're caught in between.

"It's just like a hitter when they're caught in between a fastball and a breaking ball -- they're not going to hit. We're caught in between being over-aggressive and not being aggressive enough, so we just keep talking about it and we have to start making adjustments."

Southeast goes for the series sweep of MSU at 1 p.m. today.