Streak hits 13 - Red-hot Indians defeat SIU 4-3

Having to go deep into its pitching staff, the odds of tying the school record for consecutive wins appeared to be stacked against Southeast Missouri State University.

But the Indians bucked those odds by rallying for a thrilling 4-3 victory over Southern Illinois Wednesday afternoon in front of nearly 400 chilly fans at Capaha Field.

The Indians, posting their 13th consecutive triumph, improved to 16-8 by sweeping the two-game season series from the Salukis (17-13). The only other time a Southeast baseball team won 13 straight was in 1973, under late, legendary coach Joe Uhls.

"When you start talking about an all-time record, a 30-year-old record...I'm just real proud of the guys," Southeast coach Mark Hogan said. "SIU is an excellent club and it's a great win to battle back like we did."

The win came a day after the Indians swept Lipscomb in a doubleheader in Nashville, Tenn.

"We got home late last night and we were tired," Hogan said. "It could have been an easy game to roll over in, especially when we fell behind early. It says a lot about our guys that they didn't."

Tying the school record for consecutive wins was also special to Hogan because he both played and coached under Uhls in the 1970s.

"Coach Uhls gave me my first coaching job and he was just a special, special person," Hogan said. "To have my name mentioned with his means a lot."

Wednesday's win was sparked by three strong pitching performances, timely hitting in the late innings and solid defense that turned three double plays, even though Southeast did have two errors.

Starter Stan Skakalski and Korey Klein -- a pair of left-handers who transferred in from junior colleges this year and had seen limited action -- particularly gave the Indians a lift since their pitching options were limited because of a heavy recent slate of games and this weekend's Ohio Valley Conference series at Eastern Kentucky.

Skakalski, who had pitched just 10 innings before Wednesday, gave up two first-inning runs on Toby Barnett's monster homer, then settled down and allowed only one more run over his five-inning stint. He gave up six hits, walked four and struck out one in his first Southeast start.

"I was just trying to keep the team in the game," Skakalski said. "I didn't think I threw to the best of my ability, but I thought I did all right."

Said Hogan, "Stan gave us exactly what we were looking for. He kept us in the game."

So did Klein, who had worked only two innings before Wednesday. He fired two scoreless frames at the Salukis, allowing two hits as he was credited with his first Southeast victory.

Then, after Southeast rallied from a 3-0 deficit by scoring twice in the sixth inning and twice in the seventh, old reliable Tim Alvarez came on to close things out.

Alvarez, the Indians' ace lefty who is 8-0 with a 1.15 earned-run average, earned his first save of the season with two scoreless innings, allowing one hit.

"Korey did a great job, then the game presented itself for Tim and he's money," Hogan said.

Alvarez didn't intend to pitch Wednesday, but he was planning to get in a bullpen session. After the Indians grabbed the lead, his bullpen work was done on the game mound instead.

"I wasn't really wanting to pitch, but things worked out that way," Alvarez said. "It's just good to win and keep the streak going."

Zach Borowiak drove in a run with a double and another run scored on an error as the Indians made it 3-2 in the sixth.

In the seventh, Denver Stuckey singled with one out and Brian Hopkins followed with a single. With two outs, Borowiak singled to right to score Stuckey with the tying run and, when the ball was misplayed in the outfield, Hopkins came around with the ultimate winning tally.

"This is huge for us," Borowiak said. "We battled through some adversity today, but hats off to Stan and Korey for keeping us in the game. The streak is definitely something to be proud of."

So is another win over SIU as the Indians have now won seven of the last eight meetings between the regional rivals.

"I'm not going to lie, it's a little more special to beat SIU," said a smiling Borowiak, the Indians' senior shortstop from Nashville, Ill., who was never seriously recruited by his basically hometown Salukis -- which he has never forgotten.

Hopkins went 3-for-4 to pace the Indians' 12-hit attack. Borowiak, Seth Moulton and Aaron Fangman each added two hits.