Southeast Missourian

The Southeast Missouri State baseball team used a big comeback sparked by two home runs from Matt Tellor to win its second straight Ohio Valley Conference series.

Southeast trailed 7-1 after two innings and 8-3 after three innings but stormed back for a wild 13-11 victory at SIU Edwardsville Sunday afternoon.

The Redhawks prevailed 8-4 Saturday after dropping Friday's series opener 4-0.

Southeast, which has won five of its last six OVC games, improved to 17-16 overall and 9-6 in conference play. The Redhawks remained fifth in the 11-team league halfway through their 30-game conference schedule. The top six finishers qualify for the OVC tournament.

Southeast Missouri State’s Ryan Barnes scores on a double by Branden Boggetto during the second inning.

"A lot of character from this team to keep battling back. Just such a great effort from this group of guys," said Southeast coach Steve Bieser, whose squad tied its season high for runs Sunday.

Southeast banged out 14 hits for the second straight day after being held to four hits Friday. The Redhawks also stole six bases Sunday after swiping 10 bags Saturday.

Included among Southeast's hits were six doubles, a triple and Tellor's two home runs that accounted for five RBIs.

Tellor's three-run shot in the sixth inning gave Southeast its first lead of the day at 10-9. The Redhawks never trailed again, but sixth-place SIUE (8-18, 6-9) did forge ties of 10-10 and 11-11.

Tellor put Southeast ahead for good with a two-run blast in the eighth inning that made it 13-11. Junior left fielder Derek Gibson opened the frame with a single before Tellor connected.

Tellor, a junior first baseman in his first season at Southeast after transferring from Lindenwood University, leads the Redhawks with seven homers and 28 RBIs.

"Matt came up with some huge hits," Bieser said.

Sophomore second baseman Jason Blum went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two stolen bases. He also walked and was hit by a pitch for the 15th time this year, tying him for second on Southeast's single-season list.

Freshman shortstop Branden Boggetto tripled, doubled and had two RBIs.

Sophomore catcher Dalton Hewitt doubled twice. Gibson and sophomore DH Ryan Barnes added two hits apiece.

SIUE also had 14 hits, including three home runs.

The Cougars took a quick 2-0 lead on a two-out, two-run homer by Devin Caldwell in the first inning. The first two Cougars were retired before a hit batter preceded Caldwell's blast.

Southeast got a run back in the second inning before SIUE exploded for five runs on five hits in the bottom of the second, knocking out senior left-hander Zack Smith.

Smith suffered a finger injury during a game the previous weekend but returned before expected.

Smith allowed six hits and was charged with seven runs in 1 2/3 innings. He struck out two and walked one.

Southeast's bullpen, strong all season, kept the Redhawks in the game. Five relievers combined to limit SIUE to four runs over the final 7 1/3 innings.

"We made some quality pitches in tough situations when we had to," Bieser said.

Freshman left-hander Alex Winkelman allowed three runs and five hits in four innings. He struck out five and walked three.

Freshman Alex Siddle gave up one run and two hits in 2/3 of an inning.

Senior Michael Patman (1-0) received credit for the first win of his two-year Southeast career. He entered with two runners on and one out in the seventh inning after SIUE had tied the contest 11-11 and retired the next two batters.

Senior Tony Zerrusen pitched a scoreless eighth inning, working around a hit and a walk.

Senior closer Bobby Hurst finished with a scoreless ninth inning, striking out one and walking one.

Hurst recorded his fifth save of the season, moving him into a tie for fourth place on the school's single-season list. He has seven career saves.

The Redhawks are back in action Tuesday, hosting regional rival SIU Carbondale at 5 p.m.